Any inventors out there? Here are some ideas I’ve had that I’d love
to see someone produce for the jewelrysmithing market. Maybe some of
them even exist… in which case I’d love some pointers to them!
– Brass “bristle balls” in varying sizes that can be placed in the
tumbler with a detailed piece to brass brush it thoroughly in all
the recesses. I envision these as bristle-brush spheres, more so than
little “brillo pads,” so the bristles can get into those
hard-to-reach areas.
– A brass-bristle head and a steel-bristle head for my beloved
"spin-brush pro" toothbrush… or a similar piece of equipment,
designed to be run “under water” and with interchangeable heads…
also cheap!
– A pin-stem sharpener (I envision something like a pencil sharpener
that could work on a flexshaft to provide an evenly tapered and
beautifully pointed pin for those of us who like to make our own pin
backs)
– Wax gun (similar to glue gun) with really TINY wax-thread output
(like.5mm - 1mm) and great temperature control. Nirvana would be if
you could feed it with ANY type of wax (chips, sticks, chunks)
– An “all-in-one” casting unit that would handle burnout as well as
investing and pouring. Ideal for small-studio use.
I’m sure there are others that will come to me, but these are the
ones that have kept popping up over the last few months. Figured I’d
share and see what other ideas you all might have, and whether you
know of any sources for these items!
The bristle brushes pretty much exist - look to machinists catalogs,
even though your description isw vague, they have those, in essence.
The casting machines have been around for some years - all you have to
do is cut a check. What we really need is a way to turn a parcel of
melee all table down - now that would be an invention!!!
Brass bristle balls…isn’t there some ceramic tumbling media
that comes pretty close?
Brass bristle electric toothbrush head…this wouldn’t be much
different than a brass bristle cone brush you can buy already, would
it?
Pin stem sharpener: the easiest way I came up with is to put the
pin part into the chuck of your flex shaft and run it up against
your abrasive paper.
Wax gun: here is a possibility? How about a Batik ‘gun’ (called a
tjanting)? Their made for putting thin lines of wax onto fabric as a
dye resist. Different size heads available. Dharma Trading Company
even has an electric one. No idea if it would work or not since I’ve
never done wax carving…but I have done batik!
Casting thingy…not a clue, I’m still afraid of my new kiln
-- A pin-stem sharpener (I envision something like a pencil
sharpener that could work on a flexshaft to provide an evenly
tapered and beautifully pointed pin for those of us who like to
make our own pin backs)
I’m not an inventor but I do have an invention request to add. Since
it doesn’t seem to exist, here’s what I’ve been working on. In my
bedroom, behind a standard bevelled glass dressing mirror 60"x16"
mounted to the wall, I have removed the drywall between studs. I
constructed a case with OD 60x16 and turned the miror into a door
with a piano hinge. The case is 3 3/4" deep so the mirror still
appears to lay flush to the wall. It is lined with batting and light
blue satin. What’s not installed yet is the cross shelf with two
brass carouselles mounted underneith to hang chains, my standard
black foam-rolls ring display, the pendant hooks board, the earrings
board, bracelet rolls, 40 brass hooks in a grid pattern, etc. Last
to go in will be the lights that come on when the glass door is
opened. Picture a full lenth medicine cabinet full of bling. I’ll be
able to (hide) and see all I’ve got without plowing through little
jewel drawers. IMO, this is the most practical thing never invented.
Or has it?
Hmmm, sounds familiar. Always concerned about theft, I envisioned a
deep heavy picture frame, with a mounted tapestry, painting, or
portrait. It would have hidden hinges, and behind the front would be
just as you describe, hooks, cubicles, whatever.
Two minds can run parallel. Mine is about 20 years old and still not
developed.
Wax gun: here is a possibility? How about a Batik 'gun' (called a
tjanting)? Their made for putting thin lines of wax onto fabric as
a dye resist. Different size heads available. Dharma Trading
Company even has an electric one. No idea if it would work or not
since I've never done wax carving...but I *have* done batik!
There is a wax gun available, made by Matt Wax. I have one that I
bought years ago and have not used for some time. If you are
interested, contact me off line.
I would like to see a base metal alloy for model making that welds
with the laser as good as gold. It would be nice if it cast well also
and was available in all the sizes of wire and sheet.
-- Wax gun (similar to glue gun) with really TINY wax-thread
output (like.5mm - 1mm) and great temperature control. Nirvana
would be if you could feed it with ANY type of wax (chips, sticks,
chunks
I don’t know the others but wax gun is invented already. It uses
cylinderical wax pellets.
mounted to the wall, I have removed the drywall between studs. I
constructed a case with OD 60x16 and turned the miror into a door
with a piano hinge. The case is 3 3/4" deep so the mirror still
appears to lay flush to the wall.... IMO, this is the most
practical thing never invented. Or has it?
Yep, Handymn Magazine had a project like this for small bathrooms.
They removed one stud and used cabinet doors.
-- A pin-stem sharpener (I envision something like a pencil
sharpener that could work on a flexshaft to provide an evenly
tapered and beautifully pointed pin for those of us who like to
make our own pin backs)
Oh yes, please!!!
The pin stem sharpener has been around as long as there have been
flexible shaft machines with adjustable chucks…
Simply chuck the wire in a #30 handpiece, spin and drag it at an
angle across a NEW single cut flat file. Finish it by spinning it on
a sanding board or stick. Then put it in a pin vise to hold it while
polishing and rounding the point on your buffer. You want a rounded,
blunt, bullet shaped point - not a tiny, fine, overly long, or
extremely sharp point. Long fine sharp points bend and the resulting
little “hook” is a PITA. Snags on clothing. Takes between 30 seconds
and a minute, depending on how fast you are.
P.S. All of this assumes that you are starting with a straight piece
of hard drawn wire… trying to point annealed wire will be similar
to trying to put a point on cooked spaghetti…
-- A pin-stem sharpener (I envision something like a pencil
sharpener that could work on a flexshaft to provide an evenly
tapered and beautifully pointed pin for those of us who like to
make our own pin backs)
try looking at the Slydart electronic dart sharpener. it works
something like a pencil sharpener. it’s electric, anyway. I used to
play darts and sometimes they have to be pretty sharp to stick in
those old really hard bristle boards! If I remember the stones are
pretty coarse, but it would rough out the point pretty quickly. Maybe
the right shape of flexshaft wheel, with a deep v-shaped cup in a
finer grit?
here in NW Montana waiting for the rain to stop
Frank A. Finley
Salish Silver
Handmade Indian Jewelry
-- A pin-stem sharpener (I envision something like a pencil
sharpener that could work on a flexshaft to provide an evenly
tapered and beautifully pointed pin for those of us who like to
make our own pin backs)
I mentioned exactly this idea to Tevel, from Allcraft, at SNAG a
couple of years ago. He seemed interested, and asked me to mention
it to him again after the conference was over. I confess I did not
follow through. But it isn’t too late, of course.
I think it would not be very difficult to design this. It would be a
lot like a cup bur, but deeper and conical. My guess is it would
need to be like the cup burs with slits, not just teeth, in order to
put a really sharp point on.
I feel quite sure that commercial pin stems are not sharpened by
hand, so the tool is out there already. It just needs to be adapted
to the flex shaft.
I can get you part-way there with a pub-darts sharpening stone. It’s
moulded silicon carbide, with a detent for making the
tip-sharpening. Just hold in a pin vise and make circular motions.
This isn’t exactly like a pencil sharpener but works quickly. It
takes longer to type the process than to do it.
I make my own pinstems from stainless steel wire. I mark the length
I’ll need for the specific piece and use a cut-off wheel to trim the
pinstem to length.
Place two blue “sanding-disks-of-everlasting” face to face on a
threaded mandrel in your flexshaft - don’t overtighten the screw but
leave a tiny skosh of play between the disks. Put the pinstem wire in
a pin vise. Place the business end of the wire between the two
spinning sanding disks and rotate the pinvise. As the tip begins to
taper, insert it farther until the end is shaped the way you want.
Now remove the sanding disk mandrel and replace it with a felt or
muslin buff charged with your favorite polishing compound. Continue
to rotate the pinvise as you use the polishing buff on the sanded
pinstem to remove the scratches and bring up a beautiful polish. Give
the tip some delicate attention, bringing it to a fine “ball point”
so that it will slide between fibers instead of piercing them. Check
the tip by thrusting it through several layers of fabric a few times
to be sure it moves smoothly without snagging.
“Sanding-disks-of-everlasting” are Ikohe’s zirconium disks. They are
a favorite tool and last for a very long time. I learned about them
while taking a class with Blaine Lewis.
I noticed one of my setters using one to sharpen a tool. They should
work just fine for pins too.
Lisa, (Today: got the wood in for the wood stove that we use for
heat, septic to be pumped tomorrow because toilet has been backing
up…and besides, its about time… and Duchess the horse has an eye
infection…Ahhh…the country) Topaga, CA USA
I usually don’t point my pin stems until one of the last steps in
the process, after it’s been soldered to the piece and the spring has
been bent into place. That’s the first point (pardon the pun) where I
can truly measure the length of the wire, determine exactly where I
want the catch to be so it balances correctly, and file the point. As
a result, it’s far too late to use your approach, which would require
chucking the entire piece on a dead center. Unfortunately, because
it’s an elegant solution.
Right now, I use a belt sander, followed by a finishing file and
hand-sanding, but that’s a pain, too – and too frequently results
in the “hook” you refer to, which has to get trimmed off and
hand-finished. The process is a PITA that takes WAY too long!
I think I’m going to look at those dart-sharpeners that a couple of
folks have mentioned, assuming I can find a source for them. Given
their use, it seems like that could be ideal! I’ll let you all know
what I find.
Someone mentioned that the brass bristle balls may be available
through machinists supply houses, but I haven’t found any yet. Anyone
have any reference points for suppliers to start with on that one?
Any idea what they might be called in the machinist’s trade… I’m
guessing that asking for “brass balls” would just be asking for
trouble ;-).
Finally - someone mentioned a “brass bristle cone brush” that was
available as a possible answer to my desire for a brass bristle head
for my electric toothbrush. If you’re talking about the brass cone
brush heads for the flex-shaft, then my answer would be “kinda.” The
cone brushes don’t have bristles in toward the center of rotation and
you can’t (as far as I’m aware) use the flexshaft under running
water. (Correct me if I’m wrong folks! I have a #30 handpiece and a
Foredom S-series). The attraction of the electric toothbrush, for me,
is that you get both vibration and rotation, a wider surface area of
bristles, and you can use it under water, for example, as I’m working
on a patina or trying to remove stubborn investment or flux.
Decent setters clamps please. not metal,plastic,none of those hinges
in the middle,no big tightening nuts just where your hand should be!
I’d like to see the old wooden type back or at least know where to
get some if they still exist?
Funny you should mention this…I cleaned out and organized
my storage area the other day and came across a draftsman’s pencil
lead sharpener put out by Keuffel and Esser ( Gawd knows when ! ) I
have never tried to use this gizmo, but I will take it into the shop
today and see whether it will do the job. I can’t stand to throw away
mechanical weirdness and this gizmo is definitely a relic from a
bygone age. It is a cast iron inverted cup like device which is
topped by a rotating cap which has a tube protrusion. The top part
rotates around the base. It is about three inches tall and three
inches wide at the base.It weighs about a pound ! The stock number on
the box is 58 0510 and it is called the Tru-point pencil lead
pointer. The box is nearly as sturdy as the gizmo. There is a
pencilled price on it of $2.92. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that
the initial two numbers represented the year if issuance. I would be
very dissappointed if all you trivia collectors were not in ecstasy
over this gem of !!!
The pin stem sharpener has been around as long as there have been
flexible shaft machines with adjustable chucks...
Simply chuck the wire in a #30 handpiece, spin and drag it at an
angle across a NEW single cut flat file.
Since I was the one who said “Oh yes, please!!!” and Brian made the
comments that follow, I feel it incumbent on me to respond :-).
I don’t use a #30 handpiece. I love my Techno X quick release and
wouldn’t trade it for a dozen #30s :-). (I do have a couple of
adapters I use for off-size bur shafts but it’s very, very rarely
that I need them.)
Also, I use commercial pin stems which means that one end is curved
around and flattened so it couldn’t be chucked even if I did have a #30 handpiece.
When I have to shorten one of these pin stems I hold it against a
sanding disc and twirl it. It is not easy to twirl and apply equal
pressure at the same time against a spinning surface! And when you
finally get it right, you have to smooth and refine the surface (and
slightly round the point) so it won’t catch in fabric – which you
would have to do with your method as well. In other words, it’s a
PITA to sharpen these pin stems.
So, I say again “yes, please”, would someone invent a “pencil
sharpener” for pin stems?! I promise to be the first customer :-).
Beth
P.S I wrote this and then noticed the posts about dart-sharpeners.
Wow! It’s worth the $20 just to see if the Slydart will work for this
purpose. I’ve ordered one and will report back when I’ve tried it.
