Jewelry and Metalcraft

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Our shop is dedicated to working with non-ferrous metals such as copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, etc., or precious metals and to the fabrication of relatively small items. Here is a short list of both decorative and functional skills you can learn and practice at our shop:

• Wire work: braiding, wrapping, chain-maille, jewelry findings, beading

• Forming and shaping metal: jewelry, vessels, small home decor items

• Joining metal: soldering, cold connections such as rivets, hinges, latches

• Decorating metal: piercing, texturing, stamping, enameling, imprinting, coloring, etching

• Casting and sculpting

• ... and more. If you have a request for a class or have a specific question, please send a note to the shop captain.

Open studio opportunity

Please come, learn, and create something cool at the Metalcraft and Jewelry Open Studio. This regularly held time on Sunday afternoons from 12:30-2:30 is perfect for exploring the shop, getting acquainted with others with similar interests, and asking questions. Do you have a craft or piece of jewelry you'd like to make using metal, but not sure how to begin? Someone with experience will be around to help you get familiar with the tools available and how to use them. This is very informal, just RSVP on the MeetUp page and come! Open studio dates are scheduled on the MeetUp calendar, as are more formal technique instruction and tool certification classes.

References and Resources

  • Media:Bookmarks - Resources.pdf - Contains a few hundred bookmarked resources accumulated over several years by the shop captain, Lynne Davis. (As is. Links may not be current.)

Processes supported

Here are some examples of jewelry making and non-ferrous metal craft processes for which our shop has tools, equipment and expertise:

Equipment List

Hand Tools

  • Hammers-assorted
  • Pliers-assorted
  • Files-assorted
  • Files-assorted needle
  • Sanding sticks
  • Jeweler's saw (x2)
  • Calipers
  • Hand shears, tin snips - assorted
  • Hole punch (Prat and Whitney)
  • Bench blocks

Bench Tools

  • Flex Shaft w/assorted bits
  • Dremel w/drill press stand
  • Scroll Saw - Proxxon DS-115E variable speed - Operator's Manual
  • Bench pins (a.k.a. "V" blocks)
  • Small vice (x2)
  • Large vice
  • Large anvil (x2)
  • Belt sander
  • Bench grinder/wire wheel
  • Dapping block and punches

Soldering station

  • Butane torch
  • Oxygen/Acetylene torch
  • MAPP gas torch
  • Pickle pot, chemical
  • Tongs, tweezers
  • Rinse pot
  • Cleaning supplies

Patina setup

  • Glass mixing jars and dishes
  • Brushes/applicators
  • Chemicals
  • Steel wool

Electro-etch setup

  • DC Power supply
  • "D" battery holders
  • Battery clips
  • Etching vessels
  • Resist materials
  • Chemicals

Firing Kilns

  • Kilns x 2 with programmable controllers (one owned by Sarajane Helm)

Enameling Setup

  • Sifting screens
  • Enamel powders
  • Enamel holding agent (e.g. Kleerfire)
  • Kiln trivets, wire screen

Casting

  • Centrifugal Spin Caster
  • Sand casting kit with casting frame, crucible, release agent, pre-mixed casting sand, tongs

Lapidary

  • Trim saw, cab forming wheels (Lortone LU6X Combination Unit) refurbished

Lathe (On Loan to TinkerMill) Hydraulic Press

  • (to be converted from battery casing press to custom forming tool)

Rolling Mill

  • Small Pepe

3-in-1

  • Slip-roller - 9"
  • Bending brake 12" 5 finger sections, bends to 90 degrees
  • Shear: 12" guillotine style

Stand-alone brake (18")

Polishers

  • Magnetic vibratory tumbler
  • Buffing wheel

Classes

Jewelry and Metal Craft Projects

Project classes are defined as a use of the shop under instructor supervision for the purpose of making an identified project or learning an identified process or technique. It is not a certifying class and does not qualify the student to use the equipment and tools unsupervised. It may, at the instructor's discretion, be combined with a certification class.

Browse the catalog

Jewelry and Metal Craft Certification Classes

Certification classes provide an understanding of the shop's place within Tinkermill, teach safe practices and provide practical instruction with tools and techniques sufficient to qualify the student for independent use of the tools covered in the class.

Briefly, the certifications include:

Metals 100 Series: Orientation to the Jewelry and Metal Craft shop and the safe use of basic hand tools and powered bench tools in jewelry and metal craft fabrication.
Metals 200 Series:Safe use of Single-fuel Gas Torches. Covers basic torch operation as well as theory and practice. Includes understanding of what happens when metal is heated (annealed), and the process and concepts behind the hard soldering process. The student can progress to more advanced topics such as the use of dual fuels (oxygen with gas) to provide greater control over the temperature and type of flame needed for more advanced soldering and casting techniques.
Metals 300 Series: Chemical and electrolytic processes to safely apply surface treatments such as etching, patination, inks as well as plating, electro-forming, and anodizing.
Metals 400 Series: Safe use of the Kiln including how to use the pre-programmed heat profiles for e.g.; annealing, enameling, PMC (precious metal clay), investment burnout (for lost wax casting), and advanced classes on programming the controller for custom use
Metals 500 Series: Safe practices with Lapidary Equipment for stone slabbing, trimming, shaping and polishing.

More links:

Teaching

Teaching is sharing and inspiring others to learn and share. Here are a few ways this can be accomplished:

  • Think, Pair, Share
  • Mentorships
  • Projects
  • Techniques
  • Open studio
  • Certification instructor

Contact the shop captain to learn more, or visit Teaching Classes

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