BenchNews

I can’t stand wearing goggles, or any other kind of eye wear while working at the bench. That fact led me to think of something I learned while attending the Revere Academy. With a lens from some welding goggles and a paper clip you can rig up the little device seen below. Just slide it down toward the gas adjustment valves when not in use, and toward the nozzle when in use, and you have yourself a non intrusive welding eye shield.

If you work in multiple locations like myself, you understand the dynamic of not being able to (or wanting to) have a duplicate of every one of your tools at each location. There just happen to be a pair of dark lenses at 2nd location I work at, and after months of holding one of them in my hand while brazing, it finally dawned on me what I had learned at the academy. I learn by seeing things, so check out the pics



The right tool is 75% of the job, and every now and then there comes a time when you just don’t have the right tool. Thats when you have to make it! Take this 3 prong earring holder. I love the 3 prong look, but they are the hardest damn things to hold.

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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.

One of the best bench mods I ever did was to permanently attach my benchmate articulated 3rd hand to my bench. It folds neatly out of the way and is always on call when I need it, without taking up valuable bench top real estate.

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I have seen a lot of these, but this one appears to the most well thought out and documented. With photgraphs of individual parts, the stores they came from, how to do it of course, and all for under a $100. You can link to the full article HERE , or from the image.

I have been finding trade related tips in the darndest places latey, namely popular online blogs. Here is one that struck me as particularly usefull. It explains a technique for removing a ring from a swollen finger without having to cut the ring itself. I am actually pretty excited to see if this works (Im sure it does), but I think there will be a number of customers who will be relieved that there is another way. Even though ring cutters are very safe, I can’t help but notice the looks of concern on the customers faces when doing the cutting. Any way here is the link to the original post.
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What, you don’t believe me? How would you like to replace your big smelly oven, your way overpriced timer/ controller, and that vacuum machine with a $75 microwave from Walmart? Well, if you master this, it appears to be entirely possible. So who’s going to try it first? I want to hear about it.

Ever have a great idea, but not the means to patent it or push it to market yourself (I have)? Everyone has heard horror stories of someone sharing an idea for a great product with another just to see it on the market later, and someone other than the idea maker getting rich. Here is a link to a great legal form to help you protect yourself, and get your idea moving.
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I had an extra ring clamp for my Benchmate system so I decided to modify it for holding bezels eazily without mess.


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Not only is it fun, it lets you express your creative side. Being able to carve a wax puts you into a whole diferent catagory of metalsmithing. Being able to go from idea, to product, expands the posibilties of customer relations/your business potential. Here is a great tutorial on wax carving basics.
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