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The Complete Metalsmith Professional Edition

Jewelry Discussion
#1

Has anybody bought The Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition
by Tim McCreight? The ISBN number is 1-929565-05-4 and the list
price is $30.

Normally I would always choose the newest printing, but this edition
represents a change from the original publisher to Brynmorgen Press.
Publishing houses have different processes and standards, and the
only book I own from Brynmorgen is a little hard to read.

The pages looks more like photocopies than actual printing–very
good photocopies–in that there is not enough black-and-white
contrast. But this won’t be a problem for most readers; it’s just
that my eyes aren’t what they used to be, so reading this text is a
little tiring. For me.

I’d like some opinions on this new printing, both on readability and
content. Is the “Professional Edition” too complex to be useful to
hobbyists?

Janet

#2

Janet, Brynmorgen Press is owned and run by Tim McCreight. If you
visit his web site at brynmorgen.com, you will see a whole bunch of
familiar titles done by Tim and others. He brought Jean Stark’s
wonderful Classical Loop-and-Loop Chains into print in a wonderful
new format. My favorite book is Boxes and Lockets, but
Fundamentals of Metalsmithing is also excellent. I keep his little
book on design as bedside reading.

In other words, you couldn’t hope to have a better publisher for
Complete Metalsmith, since it is one of the rare times when the
author has had complete control of the book’s production. It is
truly a labor of love.

I have not had an opportunity to see the three new versions of
Complete Metalsmith side-by-side yet. However, I would strongly
recommend the professional edition because of Tim’s breadth of
knowledge and his gifts as a teacher. It will certainly be
accessible to you as a hobbyist. You can expand your skills at your
own pace, and you can use it as a reference when you encounter
something you’ve never seen or done before and want to know more.

As for the difficulty that you mention with the printing of this an
another Brynmorgan book, I would suggest that you send Tim e-mail at
the Brynmorgen Press web site and tell him about the problem. This
is an important thing for a publisher to know.

Anne Hollerbach

#3

Tim McCreight answered one of my questions personally:

The pages looks more like photocopies than actual printing He
indicated that this had been due to a situation that does not apply
to his new book.

The only remaining question is on the new content of the
"Professional Edition." If you bought this book or have read any
reviews, I’d be interested in your comments.

Janet

#4

I haven’t bought it yet, though I have been waiting for over a year
for it to become available. There are two new editions of The
Complete Metalsmith, both are updated. What I read about it a year
ago was that the regular version would be updated and expanded, but
stay affordable.

The professional version includes more than before, and
from what I read, was to cost more and include a CD.

All Tim’s books are professionally printed – no photocopies.

~Elaine
Elaine Luther
Chicago area, Illinois, USA
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
Studio 925; established 1992
@E_Luther