At 180$ a bottle it’s no surprise that i have tried to find ways to extend the life of my Rhodiuim. I don’t generally go thru all the steps I should before plating a piece, time constraints usually prevent it, but by going thru a couple of steps I generally get very good results.
The process in pictures (more…)
These things are great! I just got over a hundred of them. You can use them for lots of different purposes, but my main use is for holding diamonds and colored stones. It saves me from having to open the tin to see if I have what I’m looking for. you can get them HERE
I bought the inexpensive drillpress from Habor Freight with visions of doing all sorts of cool things with it. Unfortunately it’s just too small to do anything but be a drillpress. It just wasn’st tall enough to effeciently use my Cross Slide Vise, or my Tubing Notcher. So begins the process of figuring out a way to make those things work, or accept the fact that I had wasted a LOT of money.
A nerd at heart, and research junkie. Just thought I would post a shot of what my computer worstation / jewelry workbench looks like. Keep in mind that this is just 1 of my 5 computers….! A resolution to any problem is just a google search away.
All the excitement of closing on my very first dwelling thru me for a loop and certainly off track. I feel I have some new drive now! Leading up to the Xmas season there are some intresting projects in my path, and I plan on taking them on in methodical fashion. One of the things that has held me back as far as posting to this site and my business site is the utter lack of photo evidence of my work; that stops imediately. For the last week I have been putting as much effort into documenting what I do as doing it. So keep an eye out for more of the tools I like to work with and possibly some animated tutorials coming soon!
Im getting ready to move into my new condo (first time homeowner 
, and with it I will fianlly have a rather good size home studio. With this new freedom I am looking forward to venturing into new territory, Steel sculpture and woodworking in particular. Another thing that intrest me is bicycle building. One of the things that attracts me to it is how its done, it involves brazing, using 56% silver solders and bronze to create fillets or to solder lugs. Whats cool about it to me is…I already know how to braze, its part of my job. Bicycle building would just be on a larger scale. Here is a link to a site that gives you some valuable information on how to get started doing just such a thing.
A custom job that you think will be quite easy can turn into a monster that you never expected. A miscommunication to the caster, and your one earring short for the set. Some 18kt accents that you were sure you had the metal for, but didn’t. An overzelous chasing hammer that neglects to remember just how brittle Topaz is. Not to mention combine that with some crazy treated “Mystic Topaz” stones that the customer brought in, (where the hell do those come from). Well, luckily from a dealer about 15 minutes drive from here, but that was luck. So, only 3 weeks late on the finished job…! What! Thats right, you can’t be 3 weeks late on a job, thats bad business, plan better and don’t EVER let that happen!
I started messing with the backend of the website and screwed up all the photo links. I have been upgrading both my business and personal websites as well, just one of the reasons for the utter lack of content here lately. Things will be back to normal soon, please be patient with me.
You will have to excuse the long absence, I have been busier than ever, on vacation, and wrapping up the details on my currently under construction townhouse (with 250 sq. ft. workshop that got thrown into the deal today). So if anybody out there is actually reading this, I will be getting back into the swing of things again shortly. Stay tuned.
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