I've been wondering about the new cup burs that have slits on the sides in the Rio catalog, rather than flutes on the inside. Do you think this would be a good choice for sharpening the little
That’s what we need, a bur like a cup bur, but shaped like a
pinpoint.
Janet Kofoed
Has anyone tried a fishook sharpener to sharpen pins?
Back to the desire for a wall mount mirror/jewelry cabinet. The
current America West Airlines seat pocket catalog has one.
Thank you, Bill, Deborah, Michele & Sarah
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
800/876-3434 - 928/634-3434 - F928/634-6734
That's what we need, a bur like a cup bur, but shaped like a pinpoint.
Instead of trying to make a bur, why not place what you are trying
to shape in a handpiece and rotate it at an angle against a stone or
other abrasive tool to form a point, just as might be done in a
lathe. A bur shaped like what you suggest woyld be a poor tool
because it would be difficult to create effective fluting capable of
carrying away swarf (cut metal).
Wayne
After posting about the illustrators' lead sharpener a day ago I checked an art supply company I use: they have them, called a "Rotary Lead Pointer". I've never seen the draftsman's kind having the metal knurled cylinders inside that another poster mentioned. Another thing: the lead pointer was designed to produce a very long skinny taper: not like the schoolhouse rotary kind that mostly shaves off wood. Again, good for pinstems. (Geez, where IS mine?)
funny! (I am new here…but that will come later) I remember having
both metal bodied ones with teh replacable cone of samdpaper, and
believe i also once owned one with the metal burr as well. my smaller
plastic portable ones were definately using the metal “burr” inside.
My amusement is actually from the number of y’all who like me come
from a similar background…illusrators and draftsmen(women). I find
this interesting, as well as a good sign for my future as a jeweler
as i am just in teh beginning stages…still learning and yet to sell
any of my piecdes as of yet…i have sold photographs in years past
as well as worked as a designer, so am looking to be able to get some
of my designs out there and thus enabling me to continue to buy more
equipment
paul(newbie)
Has anyone tried a fishook sharpener to sharpen pins?
I’m always looking for a shortcut, especially on a chore I detest.
Where might you find one of these fishhook sharpeners?
The cup burs I was wondering about are not the regular cup burs.
Besides having the traditional cutter on the inside, they also have
crosscut flutes to allow metal to come out. I also came across one
that had just 2 slits and none of the cutting thingies on the inside.
I presently do the shaping of the pin stems the regular way, but I
sure wouldn’t mind an easier, stupid-proof way that would only
require a little spit and polish to finish it up. Therefore, I
ordered some of those snazzy burs. I figure if they don’t work, I
won’t need to order cup burs for awhile. I’ll let you know if they
do the job a little easier, because getting the end of the pin stem
“just right” is my big hangup.
I’d like to have a brooch (pin style) back with a mechanical clutch,
that’s no more than 1/16" deep. This would allow brooches ( large
with two pins, and small with one) to be attached thru the garment,
parallel to the plane of the fabric, and without pushing the fabric
away from the body (what the usual pin clutch back does). With these
one could make tiny brooches, that would seem to be glued on the
fabric…
I’ve been working on designs for this. Is there a manufacturer out
there who’s interested in producing such a product?
Sydney Cash
Sculptor & Jeweler
http://www.sydneycash.com
I'd like to have a brooch (pin style) back with a mechanical clutch, that's no more than 1/16" deep. This would allow brooches ( large with two pins, and small with one) to be attached thru the garment, parallel to the plane of the fabric, and without pushing the fabric away from the body
This one is easy-- doesn’t need to be invented or manufactured. Just
solder a short piece of tubing to the top of the back of your
brooch. Thread a piece of wire through it, and bend each side 90
degrees (an upside-down, squared-off “U”). Sharpen the ends. Put a
pair of hooks or catches at the bottom and voila! Lies very flat.
–Noel
I would think a sporting goods supply house such as Gander Mountain
or Cabela’s have hook sharpeners.
Tim
With these one could make tiny brooches, that would seem to be glued on the fabric....
I just recess the back of a brooch if I want it to hug the surface
of a garment. This can put the pinstem in the same plane as the edge
of the brooch’s back. This seems so simple to me. Why would you not
do it?
M’lou Brubaker
Minnesota, USA
The cup burs I was wondering about are not the regular cup burs. Besides having the traditional cutter on the inside, they also have crosscut flutes to allow metal to come out. I also came across one that had just 2 slits and none of the cutting thingies on the inside.
OK, I got some of those snazzy burs. Called C-4 Lynx cup burs, Rio
Grande supplier. Guess what? They work like a charm! A touchup with
a pumice wheel and some tripoli, and that’s it. Puts a nice polished
and rounded point on the end. However, I got the 1 mm burs. I use
nickel wire, and they’re just a tad too small for the gauge of wire
I use I use… I’ll get the 2 mm next time. Try 'em. You’ll like the
results. And thanks, Tim, for the suggestion of a fish hook
sharpener, but these burs were on order already.
I did some checking on a couple of sites for fishhook sharpeners.
After looking at them, I don’t think they would work really.
Tim
Online classes: I’d like to take a class held at the Alan Revere
Academy from my home in Cincinnati.
Plasma tool: A hand tool that can cut, file, and polish without
changing hand pieces.
Transparent Aluminum: I got some whales I need to ship out.
Side note: I’d like to see any one of these in my life time. I
have already seen the transparent aluminum (sorry, it was in liquid
form in a vacuum…alloyed with 1% silicon).
Jeff Simkins
Cincinnati, OH
Online classes: I'd like to take a class held at the Alan Revere Academy from my home in Cincinnati.
Couldn’t agree more! I’d love to see this happen, using something
like WebCT with video elements like we use here at the college. That
could be awesome and make the courses accessible to many of us for
whom travelling just isn’t an option.
Plasma tool: A hand tool that can cut, file, and polish without changing hand pieces.
This sparked something for me. I’d love to see a flexshaft handpiece
with a chuck like the #30, but with a quick-change button (motorized
chuck, I guess) to make those changes – even between different
shaft sizes – easy and quick without having to scrabble around for
the &$#( chuck key that always manages to elude me on the
workbench.
Transparent Aluminum: I got some whales I need to ship out. *Side note*: I'd like to see any one of these in my life time. I have already seen the transparent aluminum (sorry, it was in liquid form in a vacuum...alloyed with 1% silicon).
I’m always fascinated by how the creative process of “imagining” is
frequently what leads to the act of “inventing.” Look to folks like
Jules Verne and Leonardo da Vinci for examples of how setting vision
is still leading to innovation and invention. One of the reasons that
science fiction resonates with me is that process of envisioning,
and it’s always fun to see how we’ve made real, take-it-for-granted,
useful objects out of things that were first envisioned in fiction…
and Star Trek was at the forefront of that. Think it’s coincidence
that flip-phones look like the old communicators??? Or pocket doors
that auto-retract with motion sensors became popular?
Seriously, that’s what I was trying to get at with this thread… if
we can articulate the things that frustrate us and that we WISH
existed, I’d bet that there are folks out there reading this who are
eager for the $$ who will try their best to invent those things. And
they may come up with some unexpected wonderful inventions along the
way.
Karen
Jeff,
Online classes: I'd like to take a class held at the Alan Revere Academy from my home in Cincinnati.
In lieu of online class for now get his “Professional Goldsmithing”
book, it has detailed projects to learn. Also, his “The Art of
Jewelry Making” has detailed projects by other amazing jewelers
such as Don Friedlich, Charles L-Brain and Michael Good to name a
few.
Marta
One of the reasons that science fiction resonates with me is that process of envisioning, and it's always fun to see how we've made real, take-it-for-granted, useful objects out of things that were first envisioned in fiction... and Star Trek was at the forefront of that. Think it's coincidence that flip-phones look like the old communicators??? Or pocket doors that auto-retract with motion sensors became popular?
I feel that same resonance with Sci Fi. And just last week, there
was a TV program titled How William Shatner Changed the World. It was
a very neat show about how Star Trek sparked inventive imaginations
that have resulted in many of the things we use today. Very fun to
watch.
James S. Duncan, G.G.
James in SoFL
I was certain that when this thread initially appeared that the
author was being ironic: “I’d like to take a class from my home”.
“You have to be there” is most appropriate in this area. The “How To
Videos” that I’ve seen are pretty “weak” IMHO. Classroom in a box,
aside from Blaine Lewis’, seem to me overly stated. Books are, to
me, more useful, some are exceptional. But there is nothing like
being in the presence of a good teacher. Mind you, not all "teachers"
are equal.
You will see and possibily learn things that you cannot learn
otherwise. I know about not having time. money, etc; but… Save up
your money take a class.
Disclaimer: I am not now a teacher, although I used to be in a
totally unrelated subject. and have never played a teacher on TV.
Kevin Kelly
This sparked something for me. I'd love to see a flexshaft handpiece with a chuck like the #30, but with a quick-change button (motorized chuck, I guess) to make those changes -- even between different shaft sizes -- easy and quick without having to scrabble around for the &*$#(* chuck key that always manages to elude me on the workbench.
I have a cheap simple and downright silly solution for that. I have
four chuck-keys scattered throughout my bench, one is always at
hand. After all I am my own worst chuck-key fairy, I have been known
to find one beside the coffeepot.
Cheers,
Norah Kerr
www.besmithian.com
I have a cheap simple and downright silly solution for that. I have four chuck-keys scattered throughout my bench, one is always at hand. After all I am my own worst chuck-key fairy, I have been known to find one beside the coffeepot.
And I have a cheap, simple solution for that-- I bought one of those
retractable key tethers that janitors clip onto their belts and put
my chuck key on that, attached to my bench. The constant tension on
the chuck key made it tough to use it, so I added about 10" of
string between the chuck anf the retractor, and I’m all set. The key
is always right there where I need it.
Noel
easy and quick without having to scrabble around for the &*$#(* chuck key that always manages to elude me on the workbench.
Try this tip from Small Bench Tools Descriptions by Charles
Lewton-Brain:
Another solution aside from the “holster” he describes for storage
of the newly-handled chuck key is to drill the end of the handle and
insert an eye-ring so that you can tie or chain it to the side of
your bench. Loosely grasp the chain, thumb down; bring your hand back
to your working area and the tethered handle feeds into your palm
ready to use. When you’re done it drops back into position til you
need it again.
Pam Chott
www.songofthephoenix.com