[Jewelry making - Article 00015] - Re: [Orchid] Drawbenches notes

[bill wismar]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Andy

>     considered the word metalsmith (or gold & silver smith) to reflect
>     a sense that the material is being manipulated by forging, filing,
>     etc. in a way that transforms it from the original stock. 

    The basic idea I am trying to make relates to your statement above,
    basically the last two words original stock. I also use my rolling
    mill, everyday and my drawplates almost everyday. But I am working
    with stock that I buy (original stock). I do not have every size
    that I need. I have several sizes and can manipulate that into what I
    need very fast. I bill my time at $100.00 an hour for custom and wax
    work, so it does not pay for me to pour an ingot and work it to get
    10 feet of 15 gauge wire. If you are anyone else wants to do that, of
    course thats great. I choose not to go that way. I do not think it
    makes me any less of a metalSMITH than you or anyone else, in my
    humble opinion, it sets me and others who buy stock ahead of the
    game. I never use old gold or scrap to make anything that I sell. My
    customers come to me because they want and deserve the best. My
    solder matches my stock which matches my casting grain. After 30
    years in this business I have seen absolutely horrendous castings
    and fabricated items from designers that should have known better. We
    as experienced smiths need to consider all the beginners that are
    reading our post. Of course you and I, Frank Goss, Daniel Spirer,
    and many others can pour and roll our own wire or plate fairly fast
    and with good results, but what does it take for the less experienced
    to make good flat plate or wire. I still remember my failures of
    cracked stock and bad wire. I just do not understand why we as
    metalsmiths can use computers with cad cam, laser welders, high tech
    casting machines, microscopes for stone setting and all of the rest
    of the fancy equipment we have, but we cannot buy stock or wire made
    under perfect conditions, drawn on perfect dies with no chatter
    marks, perfectly annealed, no firescale, flat not wavy plate and to
    the exact tolerance that we need for the fine pieces of jewelry that
    we create. In my world, time is money and I don't get paid to roll
    stock and I don't think anyone else does. Creating well made product
    in the most efficient way possible is what keeps us ahead in this
    crazy market. We need all the help we can get and I get help by using
    someone elses labor for my stock. 

Happy hammering
Bill Wismar
www.metalbendersgallery.com
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________