January 5/07

Front matter 6Foreword 2 how about tim mccreight?sIntro 2Text 56Benches 40Resources 14Plans 6Safety checklists 4Total is roughly 120-130

Maximum Bench practicesThe titlesThe Jewelers benchSetting up the Jewelers BenchThe Jewelers Bench book

Chapter 1 basics of bench design will include benches across cultures, some history as it relatesto current bench constructionChapter 2 functions performed at the bench,Piercings, torch work, grinding and polishing, pliers and holding, metal forming etc.

Chapter three, a Tour of your bench, in depth analysis of why you set up the bench the way I didand the advantages to certain features. Also, use a standard north American bench for this

Chapter four Tours of additional benches , showing time saving and organization tips heavy useof orchid encouraging members to share photos of their benches and specific aspects.Appendix 1 Safe practices at the benchAppendix 2 bench plansResource section

Trim size same as flex shaft book, no more than one or two pics per page, spreads are used, thatis pics on one page an d text on the facing.

Introduction

Acknowledgements:

My great thanks to the many contributors to this book, hundreds of individuals in the course ofmy life showing me new ways of looking at things, new details and fresh insight into what we do

as jewelers. The Ganoksin Project and the Orchid community threw its group mind into theproject and confirmed what I understood. While I will forget worthy people I would like to thankmy friends and role models Dr. Hanuman Aspler, Alan Revere, Kate Wolf, Tim McCreight,Blaine Lewis, Karen Christians, my spouse Dee Fontans, editor and industry leader RichYoumans, and all the others who have shared wisdom and experience with me.

The Jewelers Bench Lewton-Brain©2006

This book looks at the jewelers bench, the main piece of furniture for the goldsmith, theproduction station for jewelers all over the world. It is a universal object and serves universalfunctions for the goldsmith, and has done ever since there were jewelers. It is the pivot aroundwhich the jeweler creates, the center of making. What is the bench? How does it work? What arethe kinds of work done on it?

What is a jewelers bench for?

The short and trite answer is ‘making jewelry’, and in broad terms that is true. Making jewelryhowever encompasses a lot of activities, and in this book I am going to look at exactly what wedo at a jewelers bench.

I have been working as a goldsmith now for longer than most of my students have been alive,and have worked in Germany, the US and Canada, as well as visiting jewelers for research inmore than 15 countries around the world. A survey was done for this book, with over 140 Orchidlist and Metal Arts Guild of Canada members contributing. The results from this anonymoussurvey are scattered through this book. It was amazing how many people said almost exactly thesame things, a true test of what matters. The prime issue people mentioned was bench height,that it had to be correct, contributing to good posture, and keeping the neck straight. The height Iwas taught was flush under my armpit but it can vary from there. The work is at eye level. Thebench is as one person wrote “a place of practical magic”.

Casker company Workbench worldCaption: The two main kinds of benches in North America are a shallow cutout with a lot ofdrawers or the European style deeper cutout bench, often with fewer drawers.

In the past I’ve said that ‘Your bench is like the cockpit of an airplane”, and made the case thatthe bench is an instrument panel, an entire working environment, where speed, accuracy, easyaccess to and return of tools, ergonomic thinking, an easy place to work are all considered. Thebench is where the goldsmith lives, where much of the action happens – a most important spot inour shop. Specific modifications and design decisions for your own bench will depend on thekinds of work and jobs done at the bench, as well as your body size and whether you are right orleft handed etc. Tools are set within easy arms reach (that is a hint about how deep a benchshould be) and one should avoid having to twist or reach to get or put away a tool.

Setting, or production, one of a kind work, wax carving; any form of specialization will havedifferent considerations for design, and the details of the working space around your body that isthe bench. One respondent wrote: “Jewelers spend up to two thirds of their waking hours at theirbenches so comfort, functionality, and even aesthetics are important.”

Caption: David Baird’s bench (Mass). Notice the multiple layers of drawers and metal catch pan.

There are a number of factors that come into bench design which are cultural and tradition based,for example there is a Vietnamese bench design where you sit on the floor, the bench about threefeet high, with thin drawers under the bench pin for each metal type or a Senegalese one whereone sits circle cross legged on a carpeted floor around a shared charcoal firepit for soldering.There is a very recognizable bench pin made from a tree branch embedded in the ground orclamped with the legs with the working area at a similar distance to the eyes as a western benchpin. For most North Americans it is either a European style deep circular cutout bench with aleather bag or the North American flat fronted bench with a filing drawer. 44.5% of surveyrespondents used a North American commercial bench, 18.8% used a European deep cutout and36% used something else – probably a home made or adapted bench. Jewelers have converteddesks, computer hutches, doors, chests of drawers and kitchen cabinets into benches.

El Haich.tifCaption: Jeweler at El Haich company, Dakar, Senegal, note bench pin locked between leg andanvil.

(Lacy Company) Caption” This is a Chinese made bench, note the two filing drawers.

In a time when most goldsmiths don’t make their own benches the economics of running a woodshop and production carpentry often dictate what North American benches look like, how storageand drawers are arranged and how sturdy the legs are etc. They are designed to take advantage offast construction methods and of packing a number of efficient benches and workers into theleast space possible for an urban workshop.

I feel that North American bench designs are not the best solution for a goldsmith but because itis such a normal standard for goldsmiths we will pay attention to them and talk about workingwith such flat fronted, desklike benches. Based on experience and observation these ready madebenches certainly work well enough for lots of people. They can also be very affordable,between $250 and $500.00 for a decent, useable bench. If you don’t want to try carpentry tomake your own it is an acceptable choice.

Many people will adjust a commercial bench, adding to its height by thick wooden blocks underit, changing it to suit. A repeated survey comment was not to be afraid to change your bench foryour body size and functions, not to be afraid to cut it, drill giant holes or add to it. Some peopleliked a hutch/shelving assembly/bin stack/plastic drawer on the bench top. Commerical benchesvary surprisingly in the distance from the floor to the bottom of the drawer, and those with longer

legs sometimes have to raise the bench to make it work. The same goes for being able to use footpedals for flex shafts, you need enough room to operate them. Some jewelers will attach theirfoot pedals to an angled board set on the floor so they can work them more easily: 40 degrees hasbeen suggested. I color code mine to match each flex shaft and have the pedals attached to thecarpeted floor with Velcro tape on the bottoms. One respondent said they wished they could“magically lower and raise the bench’s height”, addressed by having different heights built in tothe bench, or an adjustable height bench pin.

Best in my opinion however is to design your specific bench according to your body size, reach,proportions and the kinds of work you do most as a goldsmith, but all kinds of solutions work.Don’t be scared to change it to make it more workable. A survey respondent said ”Don’t takeyour bench for granted. Treat it as the special tool it is”.

The scale of work done will determine much in bench design. Many working goldsmiths makingand repairing jewelry never have anything bigger than about an inch and a half at their desks andthis means that if precautions are taken for ventilation and other safety issues addressed thensoldering work can be done there without a problem. Most North American Goldsmiths currentlysolder at the bench.

New views of safety can affect bench design, with a separation of some activities being advisedin the modern shop, soldering and its chemicals happening at a separate dedicated ventedsoldering station or flexible shaft polishing with its flying polishing compounds being done at anisolated vented station to reduce the chemical exposures and dusts in the main workingenvironment. I like to have my soldering and polishing areas separate from the bench for thisreason as well as to break up my day and make me stand up and move around. Only have thetools you need to at your bench, you do not have to do everything in one place, Unless youspecialize, then you would design your workspace to your specialty, such as chasing orengraving.

Consider the working space, and your tasks, as part of a holistic lifestyle, taking safety,ergonomics, exercise, healthy eating into account. Your work is part of your life and you are partof your work. It is a good idea to do stretching exercises for your whole body at the beginningand during the day to make sure you use all parts of your body at least a little.

The standard North American bench is wood, is about 4 feet wide and 2 and a half feet deep.Many work happily in this space but a number of respondents commented that there was “neverenough space” and that they liked having more surface area on top to lay things out on. Somehave a double bench or use more than one bench for this reason. The bench top is usuallyhardwood and may have a stainless steel plate flush in the surface behind the bench pin. It has avery shallow cutout, if at all, and uses a rigid flat fronted filing collection drawer that slides outtowards the stomach under the bench pin to collect filings as they fall. A shallower cutout on thebench generally works well with a filing drawer.

It usually has a set of drawers to the right, for right handed people, but are available with themon the left and in various, but similar configurations. Quality, solidity, number of drawers vary.I find the design to be an echo of factory production and woodworkers considerations rather than

fully serving the goldsmith and her working needs. They look good, work well for mostpurposes.

(note this from contenti)Caption: A standard commercial North American bench.

The type of bench I prefer is a European style bench with a deep cutout. The cutout is not in facta semicircle, but a half a deep oval. General dimensions for the basic cutout are about 11 inchesdeep and 24 to 28 inches wide, the central area near the bench pin being flatter. There is a leatherbag instead of a drawer.

cbenchfront.tifHere is a picture of my bench skin, made from an old leather coat. It cost a dollar from a thriftstore and has pockets for storage!

I find a filing drawer takes more time to clean out than the European style bag for changingmetal types. To find an item or clear out filings in a bench bag you just tap it at one point andeverything instantly goes to that spot, letting you scoop it out with an egg-shaped copper scoop.It is very easy and fast to collect items in the bag. It does require cleaning out now and thenwhile working so if you find that irritating then a filing drawer may be preferable. A respondentnoted for them a bag was “Too deep, bench skin not great for storage, cannot leave lemel, justplain awful”, so clearly it is also a matter of taste which you prefer.

A gem dropped in the drawer can bounce, or even break, while a bag cushions a falling object(providing you keep putting your tools away while working). For silversmiths and those workingwith larger objects a bag gives more room to work with an object in the cutout area than a drawer

would offer. One respondent said they had cut a semicircle out of a North American bench stylebench to find “This has improved access to my tools and given me more table edge to hang toolsfrom or to work against”. The table edge comment is interesting as I too use the edge a lot, fortool storage, hanging pliers and so on. From another “It allows more movement as a maker”.Another noted that in a shop where they were impeccably dressed for the customer that if theywanted to sit down and do something quickly the bench bag bottom got dusty and transferreddust to their legs or waist. I had never noticed this problem.

fischercutout.tifCaption: European style cutout bench (Fischer)

Fischer cutout1.tif

Here is a rough sketch of my own bench, with several levels to work on, a deep cutout good forbracing during stone setting, a bench skin, surfaces to hang tools on. It is a U-shaped desk thatwraps deeply around the goldsmith, increasing the kinds of work areas, storage and access easilyavailable to me. Some jewelers will set up a similar arrangement by using more than one benchset into an L or a U shape. This lets you separate functions without having to move far.

benchdiagram.tif

Tools are arranged, hung, installed and stored at the bench according to their frequency of useand the ease of putting them away. If it is any work to put a tool away you won’t do it, so youhave to make it really easy to return a tool to its spot the moment you have finished with it. Thismeans analyzing your bench space to find unused areas where tools can be stored for rapidaccess. Some jewelers contrive to have tools that put themselves away, angled holes drilled in aboard or pipes attached to the bench for mandrels, a chuck key on a retractable janitor’s key ringthat zips back to its place after use and so on.

SturdinessThe second thing mentioned most by survey respondents was sturdiness. This is especiallyimportant if hammering, heavy filing, and shaping work need to be done at the bench. Settingrequires bracing the body on the bench and sturdiness is prized for that too. 92% of respondentssaid their bench was stable enough, only 8% said it was not. Thick wood, real wood (hardwoodis preferred -not pressboard) and a very thick top (2” best, 1 1/2” acceptable) are all important tostability. All joints must be tight and not wobbly. Many jewelers will bolt the bench to the walland floor with metal braces. This makes it rock solid.

Chapter 2 Functions at the Bench

The space you can easily move in and around when seated at the bench is your working area.The areas you can reach while sitting and where your hands can go is your ‘hand space’, andunderstanding this space and how you use it will help you work better and more efficiently at thebench. There are zones in your hand space you use more and less frequently in the course ofworking. Notice these areas as it will tell you where to best place more and less used tools, waysto easily replacing tools you have used and where the best storage opportunitites are for tools andmaterials. The ‘dance of production’ is a balancing of movement in time and space epitomizedby the smooth movements of a good pizza maker as they work, a kind of ballet. It is only learnedin a job by work so repetitive that experimenting with how to move and set up procedures andsequences for smoothness and speed is the only creative aspect left. Once learned however theprinciples and body memory can be applied to other jobs and work sequences. The set up of toolsat the bench, its organization and design all have to do with this interest in efficiency andintelligent working.

Lets look at our jewelers workstation then in terms of what happens, what occurs at the bench.

We Sit

Various physical problems can result from sitting, from back problems to hemorrhoids. Postureshould be good, and relaxed. When sitting, spine near vertical, legs and hips are about 90 degreesto each other, with feet flat on the floor, thighs close to parallel to the floor. Have an adjustableseat and supportive backrest, in angle, tilt and height from the floor, a swiveling seat and nowheels. Wheels are stressful to inhabit in the course of the day as energy is expended on stayingstill and they don’t let you brace your body properly for stonesetting and other jobs. Considerchanging your body’s position during the workday. Watch out that head and neck are not bentover forwards when working, this strains them – adjust your chair, bench pin and working heightto prevent this. This is one of the reasons that the jewelers bench surface and bench pin is set sohigh compared to other kinds of workstations – it keeps the head up. If you have a covered seatthen woolen cushion covers are preferred to vinyl or other synthetic ones, because they breatheand don’t burn easily.

Choose the chair you want to live in and then construct your specific bench around that heightand decision. Make sure you pick the right chair for a long time. While you can buy goodbenches from suppliers I always think that a bench that is designed especially for your own bodysitting in its favorite chair, your reach and activities is the best idea.

Looking and InspectingWe look at our work carefully, under magnification, and with a need for an even light on thework. Two desk lamps, one on each side of the bench lets you eliminate shadows. A good close-in overhead diffuse light source can help as well, as do nice white shop walls and ceiling toincrease the general lighting. It is important to pick an easy on the eyes, low glare, matt, benchsurface color. You want a surface which has sufficient contrast to your tools to make findingthem easy. I like to have a smoke-grey urethane finish, at least five coats on the bench top. Youmay find a traditional finished natural wood color right for you. Survey respondents mentionedfavorite colors as being white (too bright for me), brown, light blue and green. I have heard of anentire removeable bench top surface which can be replaced when damaged. Some people likeArborite and one respondent had half their bench made of granite. It “allows me to solder and doanything with heat. It allows me to have a very flat hard surface to work from and is easilywashed. Just don’t put stones or gems on the granite and forget about them, they like to skate offbecause of vibration and other things.” Marble or chemistry lab slate has been used as a benchtop. One person said they had a bench anvil inset, flush with the surface of their bench.

Whatever you choose make it a conscious decision. I have two bench lamps on either side of mybench. They can reach all areas if I need intense lighting there, and together eliminate shadowswhen I am working assisted in the day by diffuse light from a large skylight with a white paintedlight well directly over my bench.

benchtop.JPGCaption: Two lights at my bench for even lighting..

Several survey respondents mentioned windows, one said they liked having it there to look out ofand two said it was too distracting to the work flow. If you do sit in front of the window takelighting at different times of day into account as you plan.

The recommended distribution of light intensity in the workshop is 10:3:1 that is, ten units oflight on the bench pin and close working area, 3 units on the desk top and 1 unit of light for thebackground room lighting. This means that the light level on the bench pin itself is ten timesstronger and more powerful than the background room lighting, and the lighting on the top of thebench is three times stronger than the background room lighting. Think of it like a surgicaloperation – you have most of the light right on the part being worked on.

Jewelers will drop gemstones. Crouched over on hands and knees, bottom in the air and face tothe floor is even known as ‘the jewelers position’ (pointed out by Kate Wolf). For this reasonjewelers will have a flashlight handy, its sweeping beam at ground level will pick up the glintfrom most dropped stones. I have known goldsmiths install lighting under their bench just forthis purpose. Jewelers will drop drill bits and burrs and a handy magnet is a quick way of pickingthem up. In North American benches which have several recessed shelves under the bench topabove the filings drawer a small fluorescent light installed can improve working in those layersand in the filings drawer. That flashlight can serve as well for searching in the back of a benchdrawer if it is too long or deep.

Quality work demands magnification. There is a reason that surgeons, and the best stonesettersand engravers use stereo microscopes to work with. More jewelers today than ever before areusing optivisors, binocular loupes such as surgeons use, binocular microscopes and for the topend of the field, video cameras aimed at the working area which magnify onto a large TV screenor a mobile flat screen which is placed on the bench pin. Not looking at your hands while youwork takes a moment or two to get used to but when the gem is two feet across you can reallydeal with subtleties in gemsetting quality. There are a lot of aging jewelers as well who arefinding a need for magnification for ordinary work, taken care of up to a point by using drug

store reading glasses. I have heard of stonesetters getting prescription glasses made at 4 or 6times magnification which provide a large field of enlarged view. You tell the optician howmany inches from the eye to the work you want and the magnification and they can make themfor you.

zeissglasses.tifCaption: A pair of Zeiss magnifiers, very clear and powerful.

It has been shown that when concentrating hard the blinking rate slows down. One is supposed toblink about 40 times a second to keep the eyes properly moist. When blinking decreases eyes canbecome sore, drys and itchy-so remember to blink. It is a good idea to change what you are doingnow and then and as an exercise focus at different distances and in different directions to keepthe eyes feeling fresh.

We Use ElectricityLighting demands electric power, as do flexible shafts, micro-motors, miniature belt sanders,wax working tools and other powered devices used at the bench. This means that the shop needsto have sufficient fusing and outlets for safe power use. Not all tools are used at once so a poweroverload is unlikely. Make sure when the shop wiring is done you have enough plugs in theright places. Sometimes a plug half way up a wall is an appropriate place, as are ceilings.

There will need to be appropriately placed holes for access in the back of a bench to run cordsthrough. One respondent said they wanted plugs as part of the bench itself. If a bench is isolatedin the middle of a room power should be supplied from a floor outlet or a ceiling drop outlet toavoid having cords underfoot or hidden under carpeting which is a fire hazard. Many jewelerswill have multiple flex shafts so as not to waste time changing bits. This means they will need aplace to hang from. I like to use 3’ solid piece of iron pipe threaded into a floor flange which isscrewed onto the tabletop a little back from the front of the desk, on the right for right handedpeople and left for left handed. A thick steel rod is bent into a Z or long L shape and inserted intothe pipe. Flex shafts can be hung from this and it can swivel over the bench surface if needed.

cbenchflexshafts1.tifcaption: Here are my flex shafts on an arm which can swing over the bench.

micromotors.jpgCaption: a selection of flexible shaft tools, battery powered Mini-Mite and Micro-motor

Because one have have as many as six or seven power cords at the bench jewelers will often usea power bar (multi-outlet strip) or two to spread the load. This can be useful because the powerbar is separately fused, and in theory will trip should the load be too much. I have howeverknown of two serious house fires, one with a fatality, from power bars that overheated and shortcircuited. Make sure it is a good quality power bar with a internal breaker and reset switch. Makesure you can get at it easily to hit the switch and cut the power in case of need (an entanglementwith a power tool for instance). I will often have the power bar mounted vertically on a leg of thebench. Think about potential spills and electrocution hazards.

We Work at Different LevelsThe physical work done at the bench is the rest of it, the tasks and jobs and skills that make upthe life of the goldsmith, the jeweler; the maker. We can divide up the main different kinds ofwork that occur into different altitudes or levels of the work bench. The main height levels ofwork are at the bench pin, on the top table surface and at a lower, abdomen area in the form of aplatform that can be reached without leaving the chair (often served poorly by the filings drawerused in a North American bench). 75% of respondents agreed their bench had sufficiewnt benchsurfaces and heights to work at and 25% said it did not.

MarkNelsonbench 1.JPG MarkNelsonbench 2.JPGCaption: Mark Nelson of Albuquerque’s bench has three levels, the third a clever use of acomputer keyboard drawer, very good for lightweight work like wax carving.

dbaird1.jpgCaption: David Baird (Mass) has a series of slide out shallow drawers at his bench.

On my own bench I have three main levels, the top, another about three inches below the heightof the bench surface, set to my left, for a second bench pin, some stamp work, layout, for aminiature belt sander and other benchtop power tools. Another level on my right gives me thebelly height that is sometimes used.

Caption: A top view showing the several working heights of my bench. GRS drop down tablescan also slot into the GRS mounting blocks at the bench and on its left to give more heights.

The CutoutI like a fairly deep cutout to the bench. This increases the surface area around the worker, and theeasily reachable places on the benchtop. For setting operations a shoulder is jammed onto part ofthe cutout for bracing. The survey shows that 34% like less than four inches , 49% of NorthAmericans like an 8” deep cutout and 20% like me prefer 12 inches deep, so I am in theminority.

A cutout shape that we have worked out as a reasonable compromise shape is the long half of aflat ellipse that is 11 inches deep by 28 inches wide. The width can vary, as small as 20” forsome people.

cbenchlongview.JPGCaption: Here is a view of my bench’s cutout. It is half an oval rather that semicircular.

Bench Pin HeightMany tasks are done at the bench pin. The bench pin is usually level with the top of the bench.

I’ve often thought that bench pins are wonderful objects. I’d love to do a luscious coffee tablebook with rich platinum prints of peoples’s bench pins. Each is individual, each mark, cut, planeand texture indicative of process, of what is made while held against it. The pin, usually made ofhardwood like maple or beech, is used for holding metal against while sawing, filing, drilling andworking. In England it is called a bench peg, in the US sometimes a V-block. On a westernbench it is flush or close to flush with the bench top. The bench top height is just under the armswhen they are extended out straight from the body.

cbbenchpins.tifCaption: three bench pins, the right hand one my main, the middle a non-skid rubber one and onthe left an interchangeable benchmate one that moves in and out as needed.

cbbenchpin1.jpgCaption: a close up of my main bench pin.

It is essential that the bench pin is completely solid and immoveable, so using tightening wedges,or altering the inserted portion of the bench pin or the hole in the bench for tightness may benecessary. I use a heavy C-clamp to hold mine in place, and sometimes have a bench pin boltedthrough the bench top, but a wedged bench pin set flush with the top of the bench can be nice.

The GRS mounting system for the Benchmate lets you rapidly change bench pins and otherequipment in and out. Several different kinds of bench pins can be quick to use like this. If thebench top is not thick enough a GRS mounting plate can interfere with any pull out surface ordrawer set flush under the bench pin area.

There are different shapes to the bench pin. A stonesetters bench pin has a large half round scoopor a broad V shaped cut in it. This serves to brace and jam a pitch stick against while setting apiece of jewelry fixed on the stick. Art School bench pins often look similar and the sawblade

runs in a similar large notch when sawing sheet. I prefer a goldsmiths bench pin, with no notch.Sheet metal is held on top of the pin and the blade used at the side of the pin. The front surface isangled to a slope to hold things on for filing, with suitable deep notches, grooves andindentations developed in it.

The Cadillac bench pin system is the Bench Mate System from the GRS company. This verysolidly machined and built set of tools is an interchangeable series of parts, bench pins, dropdown tables, an inside ring holder, the Bench Mate clamp itself. The Clamp lets you have bothhands free to guide a file and work, and for any regular jeweler is a superb addition to theworkshop.

Benchpins can be made of other materials, or adapted and changed for different kinds of jobs.

cbbenchpin.tifCaption: an interchangeable bench pin I use for setting and filing.

A wooden bench pin can be covered with silicone bathtub caulking to make a soft platform tohold wax models against while filing – this prevents wax breakage. I have stapled rubber innertube onto a bench pin to make a no-skid surface for holding metal against while filing, and it ispossible to buy a bench pin that is made of a large rubber block for the same purpose.

A thin 16 gauge (1.5mm) tempered aluminum or steel plate bench pin with a single slit in it for asawblade is used for subtle, delicate sawing. Such a thin metal bench pin can have stops andfences attached as well as measurements scribed on and is usually used in addition to a standardpin, positioned on the left for a right handed person. It is often bolted so that it can swivel overor under the bench surface when not in use to get it out of the way. The very slight flexing of thesurface when sawing seems to give an advantage..

Some people like to have a bench pin that is higher than the normal bench height, to keep theneck evcn straighter. I have known someone who preferred to stand when sawing and had their sraised for this reason. A taller bench pin can be achieved by literally having a platform at thebench which elevates the bench pin. Another way is to have a vertical slab of wood at the benchpin location and have an adjustable height mounting plate for the bench mate system on it, lettingyou choose a series of heights from the bench top. Kate Wolf uses this approach. Most peoplejust have a plain bench pin clamped or wedged into a hole at the center of the bench cutout.

bench pin.eps benchpin2.epscaption: Bench pins on a support to increase their height. The design on the right is easilyclamped to the edge of a bench.

Measuring and FittingJewelry parts are measured with vernier calipers, dividers, compasses, rulers, templates, trysquares, center finders, micrometers and so on. These tools have to be placed close by the handspace and stored so as to take up the least room. As with other tools they are placed accessibly inorder of frequency of use. Measuring and fitting are done at all the levels of a goldsmiths bench,and a flat, clear area about 10 inches square will usually suffice for most such work. Somegoldsmiths will attach a ruler or measuring grid to the front of a drawer or the edge of the benchtop. The same thing is often done with a ring size chart, where the a line is measured off indifferent ring size lengths.

Drawing, Notes and DesigningSome jewelers like to have a pull out drafting or drawing surface at their bench, sometimes setunder the filing drawer. Others use a clip board or tray that they place in the filing drawer or ontheir lap. The small stomach height table area on the right of my bench serves me for thatpurpose.

Sawing and piercing.The jewelers saw is pretty much the same for all cultures. Important is the depth or ‘throat’. Thedeeper it is the less stable the saw is but the larger a piece of metal can be cut. In general I like a3” deep sawframe for good control. Many bench pins have a V-notch in them (usually used forholding a pitch stick or ring clamp in) and metal sheet is held on it and either sawn in the notch,or as I prefer, against one side of the V-less flat-topped bench pin. It is a good idea to have asmall wad of beeswax or Burr-life attached to the (right) side of the bench pin so as you need tolubricate the blade you simply slide what you are sawing forwards a bit on the pin to get waxonto it. Brad Simon puts a thimble with some cotton wool in it soaked in liquid burr-life on theleft hand side of his bench pin to lubricate burrs with, he just touches the stationary burr to thecotton wool, the lubricant wells up slightly onto the burr giving just enough lubrication to helpwithout spraying it around the hand space. This works for gravers as well.

jdrsaw rack.tif jdrsaw rack close.tif

Caption: John De Rosier’s saw rack, each blade size in a frame ready to go, the frames clippedinto hardware store latch clips.

jdrbladeholder3.JPGCaption: Here John De Rosier has built a sawblade holder that tilts out to deliver a blade whenyou press on the projecting tab. Magnets clips the color coded sawblade tube back in place.

Plier use, bending and holding metals.Jewelers use pliers to clamp and hold components being sawn or filed. They are used for bendingmetals and adjusting parts. The pliers are stored close to hand, in the least used space on thebench, on the side that the person is handed, that is right or left handed. Usually they are hungon a wire that protrudes and parallel to the edge of the bench top. The pliers are arranged withthe most used closest to hand to make using them more efficient. Rarely used pliers are storedunder the bench top, in harder to reach areas. I like to have my odd pliers accessible on hooks onvertical surfaces near my legs, some people use a drawer for this. Pliers are used freehand orbraced against the bench pin while holding a part being worked on. It must be easy and as fast aspossible for you to get them and put them back – we use them frequently in the day. 34% ofrespondents said it was easy and fast to reach for and put away their tools, 48% said it was easyand 17% said it was not so easy or difficult to do so.

benchviewfull2.JPG

Filing with hand and needle files.Filing is one of the most important activities that happens at the bench. Larger files removematerial quickly and smaller needle files sculpt and shape the details of jewelry. Objects beingfiled are held against the bench pin while filing, or in clamping tools like the GRS Benchmate®system, a pitchstick, a hand clamp or a mounted vise on the bench. The advantage of a holdingtool like the Bench-Mate is that it gives you both hands free to control a file. Some jewelers usea non-skid bench pin for some filing, a rubber block version or a wooden pin with a sheet ofrubber inner tube stapled onto it to grip the metal being filed and discourage slipping.

cbenchtopfiles.tif

jdrfileholder.jpg

Caption: Needle files set into a mobile tool block on my bench and John DeRosier’s needle filesystem, files stored reversed in handles, color coded.

Files should be stored easy to hand and easy to put away. They should not be able to bump intoeach other which can dull them, instead be hung separately, or as I do, slid into individual tubesstacked under the bench in a less used area of handspace, their handles easy to reach andidentify. Some goldsmiths color code or otherwise mark the handles of the files so they knowinstantly what shape, size and cut the file is just be seeing the end of the handle. Color codingcan be used for different metal types to prevent cross contamination, say between platinum andother metals. I glue plastic tubes together to create slots for my files.

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cbenchfiles.tifCaption; These are examples of using tubes as file storage at my bench, the tubes before andafter loading with tools.

jlivingstubes.jpgCaption: Jerry Livings bench with tubes underneath for file storage. Note the rack in the benchdrawer to keep tools out of filings and allow them to fall through.

Drilling and making holesThe jeweler drills holes with the flexible shaft, and sometimes by hand at the bench. Usually thisis done with a flexible shaft, held freehand. It requires a small bench anvil handy to be able tomake a dent with a center or prick punch for the drill bit to bite properly. The bit can be dippedinto the blob of beeswax stuck on the side of the bench pin to lubricate it. It is important not todrill through metal into the bench pin as this creates a moonscape of holes which swallow metalfilings and even stones. Instead use a separate drilling board, a piece of wood that metal is placedon when being drilled. This ends up looking like it has been attacked by marine worms but itsaves your bench pin. I have one attached to the side of the left of my cutout, on the edge of thebench to drill into, as well as a free floating block.

Sometimes there is a small drill press or a drill press stand at the bench, though usually at a sidestation rather than at the bench itself. Wax carvers will often use a flex shaft drill press forroutering and smooth operations.

drilling board.tifCaption: Here is a drilling board, this one spread thinly with sealing or dopping wax for holdingsmall parts while drilling.

drills stand.tifCaption: Here is a small drill stand for tiny drills. They are spaced so fingers can pluck them outeasily from the dense Delrin base.

Hand sanding and abrasive operationsBesides filing emery and sanding stick work is done at the bench pin on handheld or clampedwork. This is usually done at the bench pin. Sometimes a flat sheet of hardboard or a low plastictray is used to put a sheet of sandpaper in for sanding the sides of rings and other parts.Commercial sanding sticks are very useful and you can make your own from paint stir sticks orsimilar wooden strips like garden lath. These need to be stored accessibly. I place mineunderneath the bench pin in a stack of tubes. Some goldsmiths will color code or number theends of the sticks so as to quickly sort and choose a given sanding grit.

jdr sanding sticksCaption: John De Rosier’s emery stick organization.

Powered sanding and abrasive operationsMost production and jewelry making today is power sanded, usually with flexible shaft tools.These can be rolled belt sanding strip (shop roll) onto split mandrels, abrasive rubber wheels,silicone points and so on.

emerymandrels.tifCaption: Flex shaft mandrels made with belt sander strip, an essential tool.

As with all power tools safety considerations are important, eye protection especially. I have asmall belt sander (a Zipee®) at the left of my cutout. It has a very small footprint and is placed inmetal bread baking tin to contain sanding dusts from using it. I use this tool often for regulargoldsmithing work. There are also hand held ‘power files’ that can be useful at the bench forsilversmithing operations and other heavy removal work.Zipee/power file.

Zipee.tif wolfsander.tif

Caption: A zipee sander and a new Wolf Tools benchtop sander.

bench lathe.tifCaption: A Foredom Bench Lathe to the left on my bench. While intended for polishing Iprefer to think of it as an ‘abrasion station’ and use it for numerous abrasive and finesanding operations – a very useful addition to my shop.

Polishing (flex shaft)This is a function that may be displaced to a different workstation in some shops in order toreduce the dirt and polishing dusts at the jewelers bench. If there is room to have a separatecontained, easily cleanable, possible vented workstation for such polishing it will make your lifeless dusty. Usually small brushes and cotton buffs are used mounted in the flex shaft to do this.Fine polishing buffs like rouge are kept inside a sealed box to keep dust from contaminatingthem. Occasional use often means the jeweler does flex shaft polishing at the bench.

StonesettingStonesetting is a very important part of what happens at the bench. It is vital to be able to braceyour body well in order to put sufficient force into pushing bezels, engraving etc. A chair withoutwheels (or with locking wheels) is essential, and a deep semicircular cutout gives a shoulder thebracing point needed to do the job well. Many commercial benches do not have a sufficientlydeep cutout (some have almost none) for proper stonesetting. They will often have small slidingplanks that come out of the bench on each side of the bench pin for the jeweler to rest their armson while working, but these are not strong enough to do the job of bracing for hard pushingduring setting. Stonesetting uses burrs and drills to prepare the settings.

johnson 5_04_62 top.jpgCaption: Jeffrey Johnson’s (Columbus, Ohio)bench set up for stonesetting, note the curved filingtray and the rounded indentation in the bench pin for a pitch stick. Some setters like a large feltpad to set stones onto while working as it stops them rolling. Placing a soft, white cloth in thefloor of a filing drawer when setting prevents stones from breaking if dropped and makes themeasily findable.

benchpinsetting.tifCaption: here is a notch for a pitch stick in a bench pin, some use a rounded shape instead.

The GRS benchmate system is acclaimed as superb by everyone who has one, and with its insidering holding tool it serves really well to hold most objects for stonesetting. It is a good idea tohave several places you can mount your benchmate parts. I have a mounting plate in the middleof my cutout and one to my left at the side.

benchmate.tif benchmateinside.tifCaption: Benchmate unit and inside ring holder.

Some setters like the Kingpin® expanding mandrel for setting. Which pivots out from where itmounts on a bench. Many setters will simply stick their mandrel into a hole in the side surface ofthe bench and set a ring on the mandrel. It helps to have a really deep hole so the mandrel can bejammed tight into it and support itself freeing both hands to do the setting. A slight downwardsangle to the hole can be helpful for this. Having holes into the side of the bench top is anotherreason to have it 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Some setters will attach a bungee cord to the ceiling, or to the swinging arm over the bench thatthe flexible shaft motors are hung on. The bungee cord is tied to the flexible shaft handpiece,usually just behind the handle, so that the handpiece floats just over the bench pin. When this isused it provides a vertical resistance upwards and helps keep a burr at ninety degrees to thebench pin. I also use the bungee cord for certain heavy tools like the hand held ‘power file’ (anarrow belt sander). When such a heavy tool is suspended, weightless, at the right height overthe bench pin it is very easy to use and control without strain. Some setters like powered hammerhandpieces which run off a flexible shaft.

lewy5_05_48.JPGCaption: Gerry Lewy’s (Toronto) bench for setting with his burs on display. He too has arounded indentation in the bench pin to brace and rotate a pitch stick.

Alan Revere likes to have a rounded oval depression burred into the back area of his bench pin toput gems into while working, and I’ve heard of people routering a number of depressions intotheir bench top for the same reason.

EngravingSetters use engraving tools for a number of gem settings. When engraving on a pitch stick youmay need that deep cutout for bracing a shoulder. Engraving also is done on an engraving ball.The ball is usually set on a drop down table or in the bench drawer of a standard bench. The GRSdrop down table works very well for this, and gives a nice solid table addition to a bench with aleather bag. Many bench drawers are not solid enough or strong enough for an engraving ball.Like a pitch bowl a built in lower area,

Some setters will have a stereo microscope which can swing into the cutout area in front of thebench pin for this job. Many serious engravers these days use powered graver systems like theForedom powergraver, the GRS gravermax or the Lindsey airgraver. Some of these need acompressor to run and this has to be fitted under the bench. Noise can be an issue with acompressor.

sturlin5_05_44.JPGMichael Sturlin (Arizona) has a filing tray insert for his engravers ball.

Wax workingWax carving is often done at the bench. Some jewelers will have a soft bench pin surface forthis, sometimes silicone caulking spread onto a bench pin, sometimes a large solid eraser or asponge to support the wax while it is sawn or filed. While jewelers automatically gravitate to thebench pin height the pressures used in wax working are less than those needed for metals, and somuch can be done with the hands in the air filing the wax (this increases sensitivity to amountbeing removed with the file). Much wax working can be done at a kitchen table height, so that adrop down table that replaces the bench pin, having a part of the bench at that height or a cover

to the file drawer to obtain a lower table surface is a good idea for wax working. Because usingburrs on wax makes dust clean the desk fully before beginning so you can wipe it up easilyafterwards. I have often thought that a powered dust collecting box such as is used in beautysalons for grinding acrylic nails on would be a useful addition to the jewelry shop for dustyprocedures like wax working, enameling and so on. Electric and alcohol lamp heated wax toolsare used for shaping wax and spruing models for casting. Hot wax fumes are hazardous, andshould be vented. Production wax working requires adequate local ventilation, for dust whencarving, and fumes if spruing or hot working. Local ventilation means that the air is being suckedaway very close to the source, often by a flexible tube. There are several very good commercialbench systems there now, though primarily intended for dusts rather than fumes. It is worthremembering that wax does not easily stick to aluminum, so some people will use aluminum foilor a sheet of aluminum to work wax on to avoid leaving the bench surface itself a mess. Aaluminum baking tray with a low rim used as a filings drawer works well, and a number ofjewelers like to have such a drawer under their filings drawer to pull out for wax carving.

31% of survey respondents said it was easy and fast to work wax at their bench, 45% said it waseasy and 22% said it was not so easy or difficult.

wax turning.tifCaption: Checking a wax ring size while turning the wax on the flexible shaft.

Functions by AltitudesThere are a number of activities that happen predominantly at different altitudes. The nextsections describe bench functions by their main height zone.

Top Bench Surface Work

Holding thingsHolding devices at the bench top include small vises, I suggest one on each side of the front ofthe bench near the cutout. The GRS Bench Mate® system is highly recommended as it holdspieces securely and frees both hands to hold a file or other tools. The Kingpin® also holds ringssecurely from the inside while working on them as does a mandrel jammed into an appropriatepipe lined hold in the side of the bench. Aquaplast and JettSett are plastics that soften in hotwater and harden at room temperature, thus replacing pitch for many quick and secure holdingoperations, especially for setting. JettSett is so hard you can even make a hammer or hydraulicpress die from it.

benchvise.tif benchvise2.tifCaption: here are two of the vises within reach while sitting at my bench.

The piece being worked is usually held against the bench pin, making the bench pin a mostimportant tool. Hand vises, both large and small are vital at the bench. Locking pliers and smallvise-ggrip like tools are helpful.

Light hammering, Stamping and Punch workRings are flattened, metal hammered onto bench blocks or small anvils. I like to use the bottomfrom an antique iron as a bench block. It can be a good idea to do any serious hammering withthe block positioned over a leg of the bench as it reduces noise and vibration. A nice thick (2”)bench top helps if you do much of this work, as may a narrow stump with an anvil plate setalongside your bench. 27% of respondents said it was easy and fast to hammer or stamp at theirbench, 36% said it was easy and 37% said it was not so easy or difficult to do so. This is asignificant proportion who find it difficult and who either need a stronger bench, more workingheight options or some solution like a narrow stump.

Stamping and punch work are done on the same anvils and blocks as hammering at the bench.Some punch work is done at the lower abdomen height, the same as chasing and repousse.Chasing and repousse is done at a stomach height, and so will usually be done elsewhere than atthe bench, unless the drawer is very heavy duty to support the weight of the pitchbowl andsupport. It should also not vibrate or bounce which wastes the energy of the blow when chasing.The GRS drop down table which works well for an engravers ball does not do so well with apitch bowl as it does not really have enough room for holding chasing tools at all the angles youneed to.

I have a solid chasing surface at my bench on the small side table area. I have seen a productionchasing shop in Toronto where there was a series of benches in a row. The cup being chasedwould be passed from one worker to the next, each fitting into a pitch bowl in front of the chaser.Each would use a small series of tools in their production step and then pass on the work and doit again on the next. Four guys chased about 400 cups a day. The bench was lower chest height

and there were large round holes cut into the bench that the pitch bowls fit into and which letthem swivel easily.

19% of respondents said it was easy and fast to chase at their bench, 37% said it was easy and43% said it was not so easy or difficult to do. This points out that many benches are not designedfor this activity.

cb chasing area.tifCaption; This is the lower working surface to the right of my bench for chasing and hammerwork. One of my bench lamps can easily swing over this spot.

Bracing the body and Bracing ToolsWhen filing, using pliers and stonesetting the body and legs need to be braced solidly so as touse its strength effectively on the metal.

The body is braced in the cutout of the bench with a shoulder, ones legs against the legs of thechair and less effectively, by the sliding narrow plank armrests that standard benches have whichcome out on each side of the bench pin area. 68% of respondents said that they had enoughstrong bracing places for their body on their bench, 32% said they did not.

Tools too need to be braced on the bench sometimes, usually ring and bezel mandrels. For a righthanded person I like to have a 1’ diameter steel pipe embedded in the hole the side of the benchto the left of the bench pin. One inserts the end of the ring mandrel into the hole, braces the otherend on the lap or chest and then has two hands free, one to manipulate the ring on the mandreland the other to wield the hammer. Many people in the survey liked having several sized holeson each side of the bench pin for a mandrel end.

ArmrestsThere are sliding armrests which come out on some benches. I’ve always found them too weakto use for the kind of bracing I do while engraving or setting, but for some resting or lightbracing they are useful. One respondent said “I use the left arm rest for my left arm, but for myright arm I open one of the drawers half way to rest the right arm on”. Pins can be installed tostop them from coming all the way out.

SolderingI prefer to solder at a separate, ventilated bench to reduce my chemical exposures, fire hazardsand the mess at the bench.

soldering station.tifCaption: My separate, vented soldering station.

Many jewelers however solder at the bench, and if items are small then it becomes less of aproblem. 63% of survey respondents soldered at the bench and 37% (like me) did not. Thissurprised me a little, I expected more to solder at the bench.

The main fume hazards are cadmium from solders, old solders usually because contemporarysolders avoid cadmium. Any jewelry repair activity and cadmium solders are likely to beencountered. Fluoride based fluxes give off dangerous hydrofluoric acid fumes that can attackthe eyes and mucus membranes of the throat and nose. Constant and long term exposure cancause bone damage. Gold soldering, especially high karat golds allow the use of self picklingfluxes like Batterns or Pripps, which do not release fluoride fumes. The buildup of borax spillsaround the soldering area can lead to a messy desk and to borax skin contact. Borax skinexposure is bad for pregnant women, it can threaten the foetus. Regular cleanup and wet wipingthe desk will help. Soldering brings fire hazards with it, one survey respondent said they wantedanother benchtop material than wood because it “sometimes… just sometimes… catches onfire.”. Others commented they wanted a non-flammable bench top. I might suggest a sheet ofstainless steel larger than your soldering area set flush into the bench top.

Matters are improved by using a removeable soldering tray, such as in a large square baking tinor cookie sheet. This lets you move it out of the way and reclaim bench space as well as isolatingthe soldering acitivity. Jeff Demand had a large tuna can set onto a swinging arm. The tin wasfilled with firebrick so it became a small soldering surface with a rim that would swing out of theway underneath the bench surface when not in use, and lived right in front of the bench pin inspace when using it.

The GRS benchmate system of soldering jigs and clamps which switch in and out of the benchpin is excellent for soldering rings and other small jewelry items. Combined with a minitorch this

is how many jewelers work. Jewelers will cut a vertical notch into their bench pin to insert a pairof tweezers that clamp an object in the air for soldering. Large metal staples can be used thesame way on bench top and side, the back of the tweezers are slid in and the narrow rectangularhole clamps them tight.

35% of respondents said it was easy and fast to solder at their bench, 45% said it was easy and18% said it was not so easy or difficult.

I would like to repeat that ventilation and chemical exposure can be an issue and that we shouldbe taking it into consideration in our bench activities.

Alcohol and Boric Acid UseI have been involved as an expert witness in cases where jewelers have been severely burned andpermanently disabled by spilling their boric acid and alcohol mixtures (used for preventingoxidation of jewelry during soldering) across the bench and onto themselves. Having aflammable liquid on the bench and then waving a lit torch around it can be very dangerous. Ifyou need to have it on the bench then I recommend avoiding a round container (it can roll iftipped), have a heavy one with a metal lid (to drop over the container opening if the contentscatches fire) and avoid easily shattering material for the container. As well, I recommend arounded groove carved just inside the edge of the entire front of the bench so that if there is aspill it is contained in the groove instead of pouring flamining out onto your lap.

Pickling and Rinsing metalsJewelers who solder at the bench will usually have a small jar of acid pickle and a rinsing jarthere as well. The pickle is usually sodium bisulfate (Sparex®). A small coffee cup warming padis often used to keep the pickle container warm. There are fumes and splash hazards from this,and sodium bisulfate residues splashed onto the bench are a dermatitis danger, so wet wiping isnecessary to keep the bench area clean. Some jewelers use citric acid or alum instead which aresafer. You can see why I prefer a separate soldering bench to mixing the procedures at my ownjewelers bench.

Other Chemicals at the BenchSome jewelers will keep other chemicals on the bench top, flammable toxic solvents for shellacfor example. I knew a repair jeweler who kept an open jar of sodium cyanide solution on thebench. He would dip silver jewelry in it with his fingers to strip the tarnish off it. Whew!Basically I urge you to avoid chemical exposures by using substitution: find a less dangerousway of doing the same thing. And please consider using chemicals in a separate ventilated area,away from the bench. Like maybe a fume hood.

Storage of tools in stands, and materials.The top of the bench serves to store materials and tools like burrs and drills. Metal boxes withmany small plastic drawers can be useful for storing small parts as can stacks of small bins andother parts storage solutions. I like to use wooden blocks to organize burrs, 1 block for each typeof burr. Ranked holes are drilled in them with enough space in between them so that fingers cangrasp and replace the burrs easily. The blocks can be moved around the benchtop and taken to

other places in the workshop as well. A solid survey theme was that you needed lots of storage,safe storage, small compartments or open bins. Some people like to have burrs in a drawer, theyopen to the drawer to get at them, and they are ranked in slanted holes drilled in a drawer inserts.I like to have mine on top of the bench instead. A number of people liked magnetic strip aroundthe inside of their bench cutout, on bench and wall surfaces to keep burrs and drills on. It canalso be useful to drill holes for tools in the top or sides of the rim or rail that runs around threesides of the bench. Several respondents said they wanted a wider rim so they could add moreholes to it for burr storage.

burssstands.jpgCaption: A selection of home-made burr stands with a commercial rotating plastic one.

vertburstand.tifCaption: A vertical, hanging, moveable burr stand on my lower left as I sit at the bench.

I like to use a similar, but taller and deeper block for needle files at the bench, and a small blockor so for the tiny drill bits that are otherwise slow to retrieve from a tin or drill index box. Awooden block with suitable holes serves to hold quality and logo stamps. Some jewelers will usea desktop rack for less used pliers.

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plier rack topCaption: mobile benchtop stands for stamps and pliers.

tool rack standing.tifCaption: A freestanding tool rack separate from the bench which can be moved around.

Metals needed, and sometimes solders etc are usually kept in low rimmed tins or trays. Aprinciple is to keep everything isolated, and mobile to permit cleaning and flexible positioning.Metal cough drop boxes work well for this.

Goldsmiths who do engraving or stonesetting will have other needs, wax floored metal boxes toorganize and keep gems in rows, and graver holders. I’ve used a test tube holder for gravers, andWalter Zeiss, my German setting teacher liked to use a rotating rubber stamp holder for hisgravers, they were easy to remove, well organized, and the gravers hung down with the tips inthe air so they did not knock against anything and blunt themselves.

Goldsmiths frequently do production work. This requires separating and sorting small parts. Aswell it is standard to organize components by the production step they are in, so for examplewhen a batch of rings is worked on as each is filed it is then moved into a different stacked rowor sorting tray, so that each production step is separated out. In jewelry factories wooden trayslined with velvet are often used. This keeps parts from being damaged or scratched, and the trayscan stack as needed. Other sorting trays I’ve seen include muffin tins, copper scoops, watercolormixing trays and eggcartons. Styrofoam trays from the supermarket work very well as worktrays. They are color coded for organizing, come in pink, blue, yellow and white and the meatdepartment will give you as many as you want if you ask them.

While I believe that open shelving, shallow enough that you don’t have things pile up in the farend and surface panels for tools to hang on are often best many people still like drawers. It hasbeen shown that drawers are more stressful to use and involve more twisting and body strain thanopen access to tools. On the other hand shallow, flat drawers are a good idea for storage of manyitems. The handles can be replaced for sturdier, easier to use shapes. Alan Revere made handlesout of the object the drawer contains for his desk, a ring clamp for clamps, an old narrowdrawplate for the drawplate drawer etc. Drawer location is important, a number of jewelers notehow a bench with a drawer right under the bench pin cannot be opened if you are sawing, and isawkward at other times. Make sure you can get at your drawers in all working circumstances,and that there is space for you to open them when you are sitting at the bench. Many commercialbenches have the drawers on the right, and one respondent noted they wanted the drawers on theleft instead of the right “where the flexshaft and torch hoses are”. Shallow drawers work betterthan deep (or long) ones which all too often fill with items that then become inaccessible. It canbe a good idea to line the drawers or have corrosion resistance built in for humid areas – thismight be a tight fitting plastic food container in the drawer with a silica gel bag inside to keep thetools from rusting.

Several respondents mentioned that locking drawers were important for them, that in a publicarea or shared studio the ability to lock a drawer made for better security.

AstorShopWfldz.jpgCaption: One of Sheldon Warren’s benches with lots of drawers. (Mableton, GA)

Lower Bench Surface WorkThis is an area set at waist height of just above, sort of laptop-like. It is used for engraving,chasing, stamp and punch work on a surface plate, wax work and for looking straight down atwork. Many jewelers use their bench drawer for this purpose. Benches with skins often have anarea to the side of the bench for this function. Some benches with a skin will have an insert, dropdown table for this purpose. The GRS system drop down table is a great addition.

Other Activities

Cleaning and Putting items awayPlan cleaning into your bench. Design your bench and its layout to permit easy clean up.Cleaning means removing chemical residues, dusts, oils, polishing compounds and so on. Itmeans getting your tools put away so you can clean. What you do at the bench will determinewhat kinds of cleaning problems you have. Cleaning your bench has to be easy and fast so you

will do it often. The ideal is once a day, and once a week for a thorough damp wiping is wise.Building in cleaning time into your day, and paying for it is an overhead cost, like lighting ortelephone.

31% of respondents said it was easy and fast to clean their bench, 42% said it was easy and 26%said it was not so easy or difficult.

Getting at the surfaces quickly with a brush or cloth is necessary for easy cleaning. This is one ofthe reasons that I like burrs in stands by type, files in stands and things in separate boxes andtrays on the bench. They are easy to move around for cleaning. A shaving brush works well as abench brush. A traditional jewelers bench brush in Germany was a dried, furry rabbits foot, well,actually a foot and part of the leg as a handle. I still remember my shock when a vegetariangoldsmith friend of mine in Pforzheim, Germany handed me one as a nice traditional addition tomy bench.

Damp wiping is considered safer than brushing, so bench surfaces that are sealed with a urethaneare good. A curving seal wipes clean better than a sharp inside angle at the rim around a benchtop. Few nooks and crannies on a desktop make for easier cleaning. Some people use a smallhand vacuum. A curving seam on the inside of the side walls makes for easier cleaning.

Have a small garbage you can easily reach, but maybe with a lid so you don’t lose precious itemsin into it.

Remember that if you don’t generate a hazard then you are not exposed to it (a hint thatseparating functions to a separate work area can help you control your exposure to polishingdust, borax spills etc).

Some sort of containment is a good idea for activities that generate significant dust or chemicalresidue. If you do solder at the bench then a low-rimmed metal tray to contain the solderingsurfaces, flux etc. is a good idea. For polishing you can get, or make a contained plastic box withholes in each side of it for the hands to keep most of the polishing dust inside it – a bit like aglove box. I’ve used a large plastic spring water bottle this way, cutting a hole in each side anddoing my flexible shaft polishing inside it.

Desks out in the public eye are especially important to keep clean and tidy as it looks better forthe clients. Orderly tool storage is essential.

Depending what you do to your bench you may need to think about making it easy to take thethrees side rails or walls off for easier sanding and refinishing.

Tools near your hand spaceWe’ve spoken about the tool blocks, file and plier racks. I also like to embed long tools likepencils, burnishers, scribes lengthwise directly into the bench itself, to the right of my bench pin.Only the very tips of their handles peek out of the edge of the bench. This keeps them at hand,close together, yet apart so they don’t rub on each other. And very easy to reach

benchedpliers.JPGCaption: You can see the handles of a burnisher, pencil, scribes and screw driver to the left of thepliers, and above the file handles in their tubes.

Some like to use magnetic strip around the inside of their bench curve and I’ve seen many smallround earth magnets cleverly embedded flush into a bench side wall for holding tools, burrs andso on. I have some magnets on my bench for sawblades and the occasional try square but I don’tlike the way that a tool, or burr or pliers that has been held on a magnet becomes magnetizeditself and so picks up bits of steel and filings. You can buy a demagnetizing tool (used forscrewdrivers) that might be helpful to remove magnetism from a tool that would fit in its hole.

Measuring tools like vernier calipers, dividers, shears, scissors, hand clamps, pin vises, benchand chasing hammer are most easily accessible when hung flat onto vertical surfaces at thebench. I have flat surfaces built around my bench for this and hang them on hooks or short nailswithout heads. Everything has to be easy to get at and put away.

My bench is a big U shape with a deep cutout to increase the working surfaces and flat surfacesavailable to me to hang tools on. As well I don’t have drawers but open shelving instead as it hasbeen shown that drawers cause more strain on the body and are slower to use. There are otherways of getting more surfaces and spaces to put tools onto and in.

David Baird of Massachusets has a lovely way of increasing the vertical surfaces to hang toolsfrom next to him. The idea is one he took from a conversation we had about how to improvebench storage, and the result was a sort of tall, narrow, vertical drawer, much like fancy kitchenshave for kitchen implement storage. You pull it out to get at the tools, providing the same kindsof surfaces to the side that I have on my large U-shaped bench, but without the size and footprintof my bench. Notice the big aluminum baking tray as a sliding catch pan, shallow edged,rounded inside edges for easy clean up. John De Rosier has the same idea. This type of verticalsliding drawer can be easily added to the standard North American bench using drawer slidesfrom a hardware store.

dbaird2.jpgCaption: David Baird’s has vertical drawers on both sides of the bench, one is shown open.

jdr verticalstorage1.jpg

jdr verticalstorage.jpgCaption: Here De Rosier’s vertical tool surface is shown both recessed and pulled out.

Conserving metalsConserving metal debris and filings (called lemel in England and Australia, sweeps or fineselsewhere) is an essential skill for the goldsmith. Big pieces of metal are stored in boxes by typeand quality of material. There are containers as well for mixed debris and dusts, which containprecious metals.

In Germany there is a special set of metal boxes with built in sieves sold just for this purpose.The boxes themselves go into a larger metal box, and in a factory situation this is weighed in andout of a cage daily, with each goldsmith responsible for maximizing metal conservation, and forthe assayed purity of their scrap. Many North Americans will adapt jars or metal candy tins forthis purpose.

I understand that in Vietnam and other parts of Asia there are very low jewelers desks, with anumber of very shallow drawers stacked under the bench pin, Each drawer is for a different kindof scrap or metal and the drawers are pulled out and returned according the kind of materialbeing worked on. A side effect of this is that Vietnamese goldsmiths will use the jewelers sawwith the handle up (“upside down”) as there is little room under the bench pin. You will seeNorth American jewelers today sawing this way on a standard bench, having been taught by aVietnamese jeweler. Traditions die hard in our field, and what you are shown is what you willoften do – even though, as in this case the reason for holding the sawframe that way is no longerthere. One respondent said their commercial filing drawer was too close to the bench pin forsawing – they could have used the Vietnamese approach.

Several shallow stacked filings drawers can be put into a North American style bench.

North American style benches will have a filings drawer. A friend of mine, Maciek Walentoviczfrom Vancouver had a bit of a belly in the past, and he built a bench drawer that had a curvingcutout in it which fitted him exactly. He would sit at the bench, pull it towards him and it would”thunk” perfectly onto his body so that nothing could escape falling into the drawer. Thestandard filing drawer is flat fronted, but I do think a curving cutout shape increases theeffectiveness of the drawer. The edge of the drawer at the front should be low to let the hands inand go easy on the wrist. I have seen a jeweler put a foam wrist rest strip, much like in front of acomputer keyboard, onto the front of their desk drawer. Some commercial drawers has suchhigh sides that it can be very difficult to sweep clean, and need vacuuming.

Mark Nelson from Albuquerque uses a computer keyboard shelf that slides out as his catch tray.As with any filing drawer it also needs to be able to slide far enough back to get it out of the waywhen you want to.

Some jewelers like to have dividers in their filing drawer, most make do with shallow trays andboxes.

Metal filing drawers are easy to clean and if made from large baking pans can have curving,rounded corners which make cleaning up very quick and easy.

23% of respondents said it was easy and fast to “conserve, collect materials and speedily changeto working a different material at their bench, 41% said it was easy and 34% said it was not soeasy or difficult.

jdr bench front.JPGCaption: John De Rosier’s bench front: example of a metal catch pan. Note the close at handplastic drawers for easy clean up and filing of parts.

The filing drawer is usually set just above the lap height, and so serves as a working area for waxand, if sturdy enough, for a pitch bowl or engravers ball. Many commercial benches are notdesigned for that degree of weight and hammering. The Bench-Mate® drop down table workswell as an engraving ball support, but is a little small for a pitch bowl. Different heights of solidbench surface near to your chair can make up for this.

Using trays in the filings drawer can help with cleanout as they can be lifted out and emptied.Several Orchid survey participants suggested using a low frame with mesh on top, sort of like apicture frame with wire mesh on it in the the drawer. This lets you put your tools down withoutputting them into dust and filings, which fall through the mesh to the floor of the drawer. It islike having a giant sieve at the bottom of the drawer and works well if you are not changingmetal type much, such as someone who works only in 18k or sterling.

jlivings bench.jpgCaption: Here Jerry Livings uses a refrigerator rack to keep his tools above the filings.

In the same way I like to use drywall sanding screen in a tray for sanding metal, the filings fallthrough the screen and it lasts forever – the aluminum oxide grit on the mesh is really durableand does not clog with metal.

I find the it takes too much time to properly clean out a filings drawer between metal types, andso I prefer the speed of a bag. Cleaning a drawer can be speeded up though by curring a roundhole of the right size through the floor of the drawer and then screwing the metal lid from a babyfood jar to the drawer underneath. This lets you change out labeled baby food jars for differentmetal types, and material can be rapidly swept towards the jar hole. If you put a metal mesh sinkhair trap into the hole it acts as a built in sieve for separating metal pieces from filings beingswept into the jar.

baby food jars

lid screwedto bottom ofdrawer

hole in floor of drawer

holes

baby foodjar

filings drawer

Jewelers like at least another shelf set back under the bench surface about half way from thefloor of the drawer to the bottom of the bench pin. Some have more than one shelf in this space,and some use it for a bank of small drawers, or like me, have tubes there to store files, emerysticks and mandrels.

CommunicatingWe communicate at the bench, with fellow goldsmiths, shop staff, colleaques, clients and thepublic. This can be oral, or by telephone or cell phone. Take your communications needs intoaccount as you plan your bench and workshop.

Besides speaking to people in person we use the phone a lot. Have a good, comfortable wirelessheadset system – it really helps in the studio. . Ear phones are liked by many as a lightweightnon-intrusive system, and with Bluetooth and similar protocols phone and computer systems aregetting closer and closer. Some people still have a fax, as I do. I like a physical documentlanding on my desk.

Many people use a computer now in the workshop, for communicating, working, designing, andmore often, making digital jewelry for rapid prototyping. The issue is dust, and metal dust. I’veheard of computers shorting out, fried motherboards and more from workshop dust, especiallyiron and steel dust from grinding. If you can figure out how to keep your computer protected(like maybe don’t have dusts in your workshop).

Jewelers also have TV sets (and ever more flatscreens) on their benches, or visible from thebench. This is sometimes for closed circuit security camera reasons, and sometimes forentertainment. Sometimes it is in concert with a tv camera aimed at the bench pin or workingarea, and the scene is magnified immensely onto the large screen enabling an increase instonesetting or engraving quality.

Music is a given in most workshops, from the radio to cassettes to ipods. I knew a workshop inSan Antonio where the perk for the goldsmiths was any book on tape they wanted, and all fivewould listen to books on tape every day while they worked, and discuss them. They had an entirewall of them. It is worth noting that walkmans and ear buds like on a ipod are frowned upon inindustrial shops because of the danger of getting caught and entangled in machinery or being

unable to hear a spoken warning or a noise (like a leaking hose). Such filters from the generalnoise of the shop are considered dangerous and use should be with great care. Not to mention therisk of hearing damage from listening too loudly too close to your delicate little lilia in youreardrum.