[Jewelry making - Article 00002] - Re: [Orchid] Tools priorities

[Willis Hance]

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    The last two times I said anything here, my post showed up twice.
    Here's hoping that straightened itself out. 

    Anyway, if you're able to weld steel, or know someone who is able to
    weld steel, it shouldn't be too hard to make an adequate draw bench
    yourself for a lot less than buying a "real" one. 

    Just buy a hand-cranked strap winch from Harbor Freight or a similar
    cheap tool store and cut out the hook they had in there and replace
    it with a steel ring wide enough to hold your draw tongs. The bed can
    be made out of steel C-Stock, and it's just a matter of mounting the
    winch at one end, and two vertical posts to hold the drawplate at the
    other end. To keep the drawplate from rattling around, snap it to the
    posts with a C-clamp or vise grips and you'll have a drawbench for
    cheap. 

    And the Beverly shear truly is a beautiful tool. If you're just
    going to use it to cut nonferrous metals, the lightest model, the
    B-1, should be just fine, not to mention a few hundred dollars
    cheaper. It is rated for 14 gauge mild steel, so for jewelry
    processes "light" might be a bit of an understatement. I've also
    heard that the lighter the shear, the closer the radius it can cut.
    I've only used the B-2, so I can't really be sure about that. 

    Not to advertise for Harbor Freight too much, but they've got an
    imported knockoff B-1 throatless shear for a fifth of the price of a
    real Beverly. I know a lot of people who have gotten the cheapie, and
    for some of them it worked straight out of the box, but others have
    had some issues with the blades. I think most of them were able to
    either get it replaced or fix it themselves, but if you aren't good
    with a grinder or you don't want to risk paying shipping three times
    on a 20 pound package it might be worth it to buy name brand,
    especially if you plan on doing a lot of sheet work. You get what you
    pay for and all that. 

Willis Hance
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