Saving Money on Shop Equipment

If you have been taking jewelry classes for a while, you have started thinking about setting up a corner of the garage to work in. Having a dedicated work area is a wonderful luxury. You no longer will have to clear off the dining room table half way through your latest project in order to enjoy dinner with the fam'. But as lovely as this dedicated space is to have, it can easily become very expensive! Any budding jeweler can tell you, this is an expensive hobby- you only have to glance at the Silver Market to see that. Add to your stash of sterling a few stones, a few hand tools and a book or two and you've already spent a couple hundred bucks!

Now nothing I am going to tell you here is novel, and it won't bring the price of silver down, but there are some ways to economize. Remember, every nickle you save on equipment is a nickle you have left for materials... or food- if your family insists on having that dinner.

Let's start with the torch- which is foremost in the mind of most silver students. Should you get a torch? Only if you are comfortable with using it. What size? that depends on your projects. If all you need is to solder-closed jump rings, a micro torch is fine. On the other hand; if you plan to work with heavy pieces, do a lot of forming (which requires annealing), or want flexibility in your torch- a larger fuel reservoir and interchangeable tips is desirable. The best option I have found is a basic Bernz-o-Matic plumbers torch with a pencil torch tip in conjuction with with the Bernz-o-Matic ST900D hose torch. The ST900D provides a finer point than the pencil torch. The pencil torch tip provides the heat necessary for annealing and larger work. It is also good for torch enameling. This torch solution will probably cost less than $75.00.

Of course, you may prefer to spend more on your torch to have larger fuel reserves and a wider range of tip options. If that is the case, a fuel/air torch rig can often be purchased on Craigslist much cheaper than ordering new from the local welding or plumbing supply house. Do NOT make the mistake of purchasing an oxy/acetylene welding torch- which are everywhere on Craigslist. That torch will melt your projects instantly. You will want a "plumbers" or "brazing" torch.
To create a soldering surface, find a piece of concrete backer board, like tile setters use for wet area tile work. A scrap of gypsum dry-wall will also do. Scavenge this from a local construction site.

Soldering picks can be made from bicycle tire spokes. Next time you see a bike tire in the trash- snag it! Cut off a few spokes and insert them into wooden dowel handles. Make a few, you will want to switch them out when they become too hot. You have just saved between Six and eight bucks on each pick. Save the little bent ends to use as a hook for wire twisting.

A pickle pot, the acid bath that your soldered metals soak in to clean off the flux and oxidation, can be made from a thrift store purchased crock pot. Find one that is large enough to accommodate longish pieces. The acid used to make pickle can be white vinegar, or you can purchase pH Down from your local spa and pool supplier. pH Down is Sodium Bisulphate. Use about a tablespoon per cup of water to start. REMEMBER Always Add Acid Adding water to acid crystals is a no-no! Add the acid crystals to the water.
Look for some nylon tongs to fish your pieces out of the pickle while you are at the thrift shop.
If you have a tiny work space, you may not want to devote the real estate to a crock pot. In that case, a coffee cup warmer and a glass jar works great for an itty-bitty pickle pot.

Maybe your workshop consists of a card table and a folding chair, but you want to be able to really whang on some metal. Don't despair! All you need is a stout piece of wood placed on the floor to provide a solid hammering surface. Scope out that construction site again. This time keep your eyes peeled for a chunk of dimensional lumber. A cut off end of a 6"x8" beam is about perfect, but a 4"x4" chunk will do in a pinch. If you can, grab a couple pieces- there are a few ways to employ wood chunks.
While you're there, look around for scraps of Romex wire. There's copper in there and it is really great to work with. Just use a utility knife to carefully trim away the insulation and you have some lovely copper wire to twist and bend and hammer away on.

You will probably end up with a lot of sand paper, and it all looks alike when it sits in a big pile or shoebox. Dig around in the back of the closet for an accordion file and sort the grits out. You'll be glad you did. You can use that accordion file for sorting sheet and wire too if you prefer.

When I'm sawing I don't like to put used blades back in with the new ones. Instead, I have a piece of packing foam that I have marked s,m,l,xl. I stick the used blades in the foam and use them up first. You could also take a scrap of 2x4 wood and a 1/4 inch drill and make a little keeper for your blades. Drill the narrow side of the 2x4 to about 3" deep. You could really get fancy and mark it with the saw blade sizes just to show me up.

Tools are a bit trickier to scrounge, but there are a few tools that you may want to try with. I like to head to the flea market once in a while for a day of sorting through other people's junk. While I'm there I love to find old dudes with tool boxes. The first thing I do is look for files. Files are a big part of metal working, and good, non-Chinese-made files are pricey. So an old toolbox with files in it is like Blackbeard's chest. Little needle files, triangle files, rat tails, spark plug files, chainsaw sharpening files, you name it they are all useful. I like the price of a buck apiece, but sometimes you can do even better! Just make sure that those files you find don't have rust on them. A light orangey dusting is not a problem, but wads of crusty rust means the file has dead-spots don't waste your money.

Hammers are also really nice to have. Forging hammers are super expensive, but if you have a bench grinder you can shape your own from ball peen and chipping hammers. Ball peen hammers are easy to find. If the hammer has a straight peen grab it too. Smooth and shape the pounding faces with a grinder, files and sand paper to customize them. Duplicate hammers can be filed to create texture hammers. Nail setters are also great tool finds as are center punches. Either can be used for textures, riveting and of course drill starting.

I made a pretty nice little anvil from an old sad iron like great granny used to iron her petticoats with. It didn't have a handle so it saved me the trouble of removing it. I would say six or eight bucks is a great price for that sort of thing. That was another flea market find, but you might also find one in an antique shop.

Well, this ought to get you started on setting up a nice little shop. I hope it helps you to start thinking about ways to economize and if you come up with a great idea, maybe you will be kind enough to share it with us?