Thank you for that insight, Leonid. I believe your advice on
taking timeto stop and clean your work area and allow time to think
through the steps is exactly what I need.
You welcome. Another point to consider is how much metal can be lost
if hands are not kept clean. I understand that a lot on this forum
are studio jewelers and they are accountable only to themselves, but
working for someone else can get one in trouble.
In large shops it is common practice to have monthly inventories.
Everybody has a storage box where one keeps all his metals and
solders. Once a month, content of such boxes is weighted and compared
to written record. The difference should not exceed shop tolerance.
Since we talking about metal loss I can offer another advice. A lot
of shops installs parquet floors trying to look haute couture. This
practice could cost them thousands of dollars annually, depending on
turnaround. When I ran contractor’s shop, the floor was linoleum
covered with chicken wire.
Floor was vacuumed periodically by a dedicated vacuum, the content
of which was refined annually. It was a nice year end bonus.
A friend who went into social work after many years teaching
kindergarten discovered she had never gotten a cold since switching
careers. Since children transmit a lot of germs, she had been
subject to almost constant colds.
I used to have a workshop at home (still do) and as always I have my
special dedicated vacuum cleaner that I only use there. Every year
or two depending on when the bag got full I would pack it up and
send it off to Hover and Strong and they would send me a very nice
check which would pay for a very nice vacation…
Well I met this wonderful woman and eventually got married. About a
month after we were married, I went to work at the jewelry store I
owned. Francis decided my shop needed cleaning. so she set out
cleaning my shop. I came homeand she was proud of the surprise she
had done for me. It was spotless. every thing was put up. most of
which I found over time:-) after I thanked herI casually asked where
the vacuum was. wasn’t where I usually kept it by mywork bench. she
said it was drying outside as it was all dusty and needed to be
washed down. I must have looked like I was About to have a stroke.
when she said and the bag was full so I threw it in the trash and
put a new bag in it for you. I immediately realized that that
afternoon was garbage collection day and there was no way I would be
able to find that bag in the city dump… after I recovered.
I calmly looked at her and said : guess we will not being going to
Europe this year. She looked confused, that is when I told her that
the bag she disposed of was worth somewhere between
$9,000.00-12,000.00…she has never offered to clean my shop and I
keep it much cleaner now also so she never feels like she needs to
clean it again:-) that was 28 years ago and we are still married…
And have not missed another wonderful vacation…
Shop dust is valuable…
I have a dedicated sink that I use to wash my hands in that I have
installeda water filter on the drain. slow draining but gets all the
gold dust I waswashing down the drain…
Had to chuckle over Leonid’s comments - I was reminded of a tale
told me by an internationally recognised jeweller who was apprenticed
in Italy.
Apparently his ‘friend’ kept his hair heavily coated with a greasy
hair oil and, when filing, frequently ran his hands through said
hair, which dutifully collected lots of precious metal. When his
’friend’ went home, he carefully washed his hair in a large basin
and filtered the water very, very carefully. Made a lot of extra
money, apparently. And on a visit to the Perth Mint (in sunny Western
Australia, where it’s currently perishing cold), where they
demonstrate melting and pouring a 1kg ingot for the tourists, the
spiel goes that when they had to replace the original ceiling a
decade or so ago, they recovered several ounces of gold! I save all I
can, including used sandpaper - eventually there will be enough!
Had to chuckle over Leonid’s comments’; I was reminded of a tale told
me by an internationally recognised jeweller who was apprenticed in
Italy. Apparently his ‘friend’ kept his hair heavily coated with a
greasy hair oil and, when filing, frequently ran his hands through
said hair, which dutifully collected lots of precious metal. When his
’;friend’ went home, he carefully washed his hair in a large basin
and filtered the water very, very carefully. Made a lot of extra
money, apparently. And on a visit to the Perth Mint (in sunny Western
Australia, where it’s currently perishing cold), where they
demonstrate melting and pouring a 1kg ingot for the tourists, the
spiel goes that when they had to replace the original ceiling a
decade or so ago, they recovered several ounces of gold! I save all I
can, including used sandpaper; eventually there will be enough!
I must agree with Leonid here! I was taught to do this also.
Cleaning the face removes particles of all sorts of things from
metals to compound, silicates, and glass brush bits that can be
painful if you wipe a brow and they are carried into your eyes when
you take off glasses or a visor. And resetting the bench is a good
thing as well. Its a great idea to get up and stretch your body for a
few minutes every few hours anyway. Also, as Leonid points out to
take one’s consciousness out of the “creative stupor” for a brief
period makes the work following that much more clear after a break.
Dirty hands mean dirty metal- yes, i have callouses from gravers, a
permanent linear one on my thumb from saws and years of using it to
control the tool and at the end of a day, when I look at my hands
with a loupe the metal powders that are collected may add up to grams
each week( i do have a system set up on the hand washing sink to trap
sludge from hand washing in a bin that gets sun (or car) dried and
goes to the refiner annually (if not sooner)- you would be amazed at
what you are letting go down the sinks after metalworking daily or
for the hours in a week ( unless you have a near commercial set
up/studio with high volume I don’t recommend spending the money for
anything more than the small p-trap attachment available from many
vendors. the cost will not be recouped fast enough to rationalise the
purchase when you can make your own from recycling materials into
your own assembly or for under 10 bucks for new parts necessary from
a home store). Students will work how they work- some clean some not.
we as teachers shouldn’t suggest it is a “clean"exercise” but to have
sound work habits. and no that’s not semantics! I had a student that
was fairly healthy but after sitting for 6 hours and longer his
ankles would swell terribly. After a week it was a concern. This is
pretty common and gender has zero to do with it- both are affected
by immobility and a period of time with a chair’s edge at the back of
one’s leg or knee area. It takes about 10 minutes for the lymph to
flow correctly again, better results if you can walk for a short time
around a yard or the building, etc. Adjusting your chair up or down
may help too. Pay attention to your body at the bench and make
adjustments or furnishings when you get recurring pains in the same
area day after day. Chances are it’s not going to go away with time.
The point however was about books, and I urge anyone to look in
books published with photos in the 50’s. bitten fingernails, skin
cracked around the cuticle, and I can still see it and remember how
bad it seemed years later! It is just a distraction from the lesson.
It is not a judgement on the quality of one’s work. and what happens
to women in a manicure is not at all a man’s experience of the same
service. When one is validated as a jeweller or metalsmith because of
dirt under your nails or the condition of your hands - it’s a sad
day! I do think though that fake acrylic nails caps, etc. have zero
place at the bench for the dangers they present to the student, but I
don’t consider beaders to be jewelers, though they may have it
printed on a ‘business’ card! I have seen plenty of them with the
whole nine yards so-to-speak, at shows and in classes at various
events. these are the people that can’t pronounce a stone’s name
correctly, couldn’t fabricate a jump ring, buy into the latest trendy
component or base metal finish colour and think is a great
wholesaler !..rer (BTW I think I met the same guy as Janet
(selling stones as I recall ) at some show.- Funny but I didn’t
notice him checking any hands other than those of the women that said
they were jeweller’s).