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Workshop
Photos
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To the left is a photo of me straightening out a piece of heavy gauge triangle wire, in preparation for making a cuff bracelet. I use a rawhide mallet on a hardwood surface. This moves the metal without marring its surface. To my right is my soldering bench; behind me is my drill press and polishing lathe. Am I also a computer geek? Why do you ask? |
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At left is an overall photo of my workshop. In the foreground is my All-U-Need lapidary machine. This machine uses interchangeable flat diamond abrasive discs for shaping, smoothing and polishing all kinds of stone material (not shown in this photo). Water drips from the white cup to cool and rinse the diamond discs and then drains out the hose to a bucket on the floor. I have halogen floodlights in each of the gooseneck lamps for plenty of light. In addition to the grinding/polishing unit, I use a small diamond saw for slicing the rocks into smaller chunks for shaping. |
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My good friend David scored this nice chopping block for me. The owner of a house he was working at told him that they didn't want it anymore and if he knew anyone who wanted it it was his for the taking. He called me and I of course wanted it immediately. I sanded and re-oiled it and it's been a wonderful addition to my shop. I mounted my vise onto it and nailed an old belt to it to hold my hammers. At lower right is a eucalyptus stump that I carved impressions into for shaping metal. You aren't truly a metalsmith until you have a stump. Beyond the chopping block is another very important piece of shop equipment: the stereo (in the cabinet). Where would I be without music or NPR news as the soundtrack to my work day? |
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This my main fabrication bench. This bench is a converted computer desk I bought from someone many years ago. I try to stay fairly organized with my tools, but the benchtop still gets covered with so much miscellaneous, temporary stuff - notes, jobs, half-done projects, etc. At far left is a low-speed fan for warm days. Mounted on the pegboard are my sawframes, shears, optivisor, burnisher, and bezel pushers. My pliers are on a stand I made out of a piece of galvanized steel and a block of wood. The rotating bur holder is a handy addition to my bench and keeps at least most of my burs handy and organized. On the shelf under the bench are my sanding sticks and files. I keep my metal catch tray lined with mat board or foamcore or something. Just outside this photo are two gooseneck lamps with halogen bulbs. |
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This is my soldering bench. I am glad to be able to keep these processes separate from my other bench. I have two torches: an old Prestolite acetylene/air torch; and a Little Torch with propane and compressed oxygen. I use an old cast iron skillet as my fireproof surface and do my soldering on various surfaces like charcoal, magnesium, ceramic. In the crockpot is my pickle solution, next to it is a fireproof dish of water to rinse the pickle. I use paste flux for all soldering. |