Outfiiting a jewelry studio at new maker space

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello all,
A local children’s science museum, The Discovery Space, is starting a brand new community maker space adjacent to the museum, called The Rivet. I would like to help outfit a basic jewelry studio for classes of six to eight students; my personal budget is about $1200. Here’s my challenge: I am self-taught, so I have no clue how to set-up a classroom. The Rivet has already received donations of a small combination roller mill, a Durston dapping set in need of TLC, and some pliers.

What tools are needed for classes in basic fabrication and in what quanitities? Which tools are best shared and which should be allotted to each student? What other larger tools do we need for the studio----I will start a wishlist.

I would appreciate any guidance you can give me!

2

Congratulations! Very exciting venture for you. I’m self taught as well.

I would suggest maybe checking out starter kits from Otto Frei, or getting some of the tools from Harbor Freight (not great quality but good for first timers).

You can always build your benches, check the forum for ideas. Do you have a local jeweler that you can speak with and maybe sponsor your maker space? You can also checkout @metalsmithsociety on instagram (we’re a helpful bunch!) and reach out to some local jewelers and see if they can donate anything?

The local gem and rock club that I took some classes at had a nice little set up. 8 benches (4 on each side of the room). Each had a bench pin, a flex shaft (you can get cheap ones from www.sciplus.com and other tools from them too) and desk chair and a plastic shoe box of: 1 ring mandrel, 1 set of files, 2 large files, scissors, saw, blades (various sizes), sharpie, mall bench block… I think that was it.

We had 3 soldering stations set up in the back- various solder blocks, annealing pans, tweezers, third hands and other little things. 3 tanks and torches- those were purchased from a local plumbing store, cheaper than buying online.

We had a shared cabinet with polishing stuff- sandpaper/emery paper on mandrels, 3M disk sets, rubber wheels, various polishing compounds, mops, buffs, etc. But those had to be checked out from the teacher.

We had 1 rolling mill on a stand, a large tree stump for hammering, 1 tumbler.

That should give you some ideas for a small set up. Hope this helps!

1 Like
3

Thank you! These are great suggestions. I believe one of the local big box home improvement stores already donated some files and sanding equipment. (Part of the space will be dedicated to woodworking, too.)

Once I have a list of equipment I want to purchase, I was planning to contact Rio Grande, Contenti and Otto Frei to see where I can get the best price on pricing and shipping. Harbor Freight is an excellent tip.

4

Hi,

I have some expertise in this area. Contact me at karen@karenchristians.com and let’s have a phone conversation.

A few questions:

How many students are you serving?

What is the square footage of your space?

I encourage you to come up to Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, MA. I built the Jewelry Shop in their maker space and can guide you. Best if you visit in person.

-k

Ratchisonz

    July 13

Hello all,
A local children’s science museum, The Discovery Space, is starting a brand new community maker space adjacent to the museum, called The Rivet. I would like to help outfit a basic jewelry studio for classes of six to eight students; my personal budget is about $1200. Here’s my challenge: I am self-taught, so I have no clue how to set-up a classroom. The Rivet has already received donations of a small combination roller mill, a Durston dapping set in need of TLC, and some pliers.

What tools are needed for classes in basic fabrication and in what quanitities? Which tools are best shared and which should be allotted to each student? What other larger tools do we need for the studio----I will start a wishlist.

I would appreciate any guidance you can give me!

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Karen Christians
Western Avenue Studios #506
122 Western Ave.
Lowell, MA 01851
www.karenchristians.com
karen@karenchristians.com
781 367 4992

5

If you would like to offer enameling classes. I can help you apply for a grant to the Enamelist Society for a kiln and some basic equipment. contact me at artnun@jps.net if you are interested.
Leslie

6

I know all about a studio set-up for 5 students. We built one here for the employees at Halstead. You don’t need too much depending on the skills sets and you can always build as you go. We have long tables that sit 2 students at a time. Each side has bench pins and bench vises. Since we used strong wood (solid doors would work, too) to build the desk tops we found that mounting peg boards on each side of the station could hang the hammers, safety glasses and aprons. That eliminated the need for drawers. They share pliers and cutters.
Station
As the employee’s skill sets took off, we added individual flex shafts at every station as well as a soldering station because we needed larger torches.
Untitled-1
Two people can solder at a time at this station. We have one table that we use for LOS, rolling mill, tumbler and drill press. That we all share. Sharing in teams of two has worked out perfectly for our group here.
LOS Storage is the biggest issue. We eventually found a small storage container that fits metal sheet and beads perfectly. Sm%20Storage We found this large metal cabinet that holds extra tools like pliers, cutters, bench pins, stamps and other misc items.
Lg%20Storage . Last but not least, this article is full of great tips on setting up a jewelers bench on a budget.
Setting up a New Jewelry Bench If you have any questions contact me. Hope this gives you a few ideas.

1 Like
7

Thank you for your very generous offer. I will see if we can find someone locally who can teach enameling classes (this is one skill set I don’t have). I will be in touch with you again soon.

8

Hi Karen,
I will be contacting you soon. I need to confer with the Camille, who is manager of the maker space, to get the specs for the jewelry studio.

The building itself is enormous; it was previously home to a commercial printing business. The plan is to have several dedicated spaces for electronics/robotics, 3-D printing, and welding, as well as the jewelry studio. An entirely separate room (about the size of small airplane hanger) is set aside for woodworking and a CNC mill. I have no doubts that outfitting the entire space will take several years.

9

Please watch your local classified ads and Craig’s list. I’m an instructor at a non-profit school and I’ve been able to obtain a rolling mill, two acetylene air torches, an oxy- propane torch set up and small hand tools that way which significantly reduced my cost of better outfitting our classroom.