[Jewelry making - Article 00166] - Re: [Orchid] [Source] Hard Charcoal

[Jane Walker]

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    I understood 'hard' charcoal blocks to be a composite (crushed
    charcoal that's been compressed into a really hard brick) and 'soft'
    charcoal to be 'natural' charcoal, still in the original form. Right
    or wrong, I find both have their uses - I prefer the soft, or natural
    charcoal, as it's easy to make little indentations or poke steel pins
    in to hold a piece steady, the hard kind, you can burr out very
    precise little indentations for say granulation. 

    The soft, natural charcoal is quite brittle and can easily break in
    two, so it's important to prepare and protect it - wrap a double
    twist of binding wire all round, tighten gently with a twist or two,
    and ideally, make your block a little copper tray in which it can sit
    all the time. (I've seen a good description of this here somewhere a
    while ago.) 

    However, since I acquired my precious BenchMate, I've hardly used
    either type of charcoal!! 

Jane Walker
www.australiannaturalgemjewellery.com.au
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