Finding Frei & Borel on the Web

Jewelry Discussion
1 
    you mentioned frei and borel for a tubing draw plate. could
not find them on the web. how can i contact them or if anyone
else knows a dealer thanks inadvance.

Hi all, Finding Frei & Borel on the Web is a bit tricky as they
are nested within a much larger [and fascinating] site called
PaleoArt. The main homepage of PaleoArt, with all its great links
and info is:

	http://www.paleoart.com/paleoart.htm

The partial [c. 20 pages] catalog from Otto Frei and Jules Borel
can be found at

	http://www.paleoart.com/frei/freindex.htm#index

There is a page of drawplates in this web catalog:

	http://www.paleoart.com/frei/fbpage7.htm

Please note that what is online is a fraction of their total
offerings, which are considerable. Their unique strength lies in
their inventory of superb Swiss and German tools; they are often
the only source in North America for these goodies. [You could
order such items direct from Fischer in Pfortzheim, too.] They
have cutting jigs, setting tools, hand tools, and lots of lovely
treats that nobody else carries. They also tend to get some
interesting items like the draw bench I mentioned, and the tubing
[i.e. large diameter holes] drawplate, both made by local people
in the Bay Area that John Frei knows. They also carry a really
complete line of platinum and 18K findings in a separate catalog.
You can reach them at:

Frei & Borel
P.O. Box 796
126 Second St.
Oakland, CA  94604
(510) 832-0355
(800) 772-3456
FAX: (501) 834-6217 and (800) 900-3734

In addition to a Swiss tube cutting jig, the draw bench, and
that tubing draw plate, I also recommend the electronic foot
pedal for flex shafts that they carry [c. $60, made by Lucas]. It
lets me get 5 rpm to 10,000 rpm on my handpiece [SO nice for
stone setting], and I can run my little Zippee belt sander with
it, too – great to have a belt sander that runs s-l-o-w-l-y! As
for the rest of their inventory, as always, comparison shop for
the best price. F&B can be very expensive in the oddest areas,
and dirt cheap in others, so it pays to check around. Please note:
I don’t work for them, or get any special brownie points for
posting this. I just got some nifty tools there and hope others
will find them as useful.

regards,
Anne Hollerbach
@alhollerbach