009 Casting Talk, Polishing Tip, Jewelry Posture, Health

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009 Casting Talk, Polishing Tip, Jewelry Posture, Health

It has been a couple weeks since I posted here, and a few weeks since I recorded a podcast, so I had better get into gear. In the podcast I layout my plans for next year which includes my plans of podcasting once a week and writing content 4-5 times a week. I am counting on this community to hold me to this schedule.

Here is what I covered in the podcast this week:

Health Tips:

A reminder from Ginger (www.gingermeekallen.com) this time of year, when we are all super busy, to be careful, mindful, and to take care of the “jeweler”.

Also Proper Sitting and Standing Position:  Dr.Will Harden with Corbett Hill Wellness Center. www.corbetthill.com

If I looked at you from the side, and I visualized a plumb line dropped from your ears, that line should hit your shoulders. But for nearly everyone, if you watch them sitting at their jewelry bench, or their computer, in the car, watching TV, reading, certainly while texting, you would see that that plumb line drops from the ear and hits the LAP.

So if all you do is shift your head on a horizontal plane to move your ears back over your shoulders, everything else underneath finds its own proper “neutral”. In other wards, you can’t move your ears over your shoulders without properly straightening the lower portions of your back from that point down.

So if I were to get real particular, I would say the ideal sitting position would be ears over shoulders, slide your seat or lower back all the way back to the back of the seat, then come about 1 inch forward, and ideally your feet would be flat on the floor. And it would also be slightly helpful if your thighs are horizontal or greater, meaning your knees are at the same height as your hips, or higher.

Question of the Week:

Hand polishing tips with description of tools I use:

Sandpaper 400 – 600 – 800 on a small Split Mandrels (I make my own)

3M Brushes for pre-polish

Brushes  –  stiff, medium, soft  Gray tripoli,  red or black rouge.

Hard Felt Wheels  –  Square edge, knife edge, bullet points, cylinder (inside rings and larger settings – bezels)

Rubber Wheels (Blue, Gray, Pink) both in Square edged, knife edged, Bullet point, and Cylinder.

Tiny Weave Muslin Buffing Wheels (1”) loaded with red or gray

Brass Brush Wheels  straight and crimped (not a fan of crimped)

Jewelry Tip of the Week:

Casting – Porosity – Defects –

And from the files of “Do what I say, not what I do” A huge Problem averted (Lesson Learned)

Cool Tool of the Week

Brass Wire Bristle Brush

Use this brush to produce satin or brushed finishes and to clean surfaces. Brass brushes are recommended for yellow metals such as yellow gold, brass and bronze, but you can get a nice finish on silver as well.. Made of fine brass wire, tightly packed and securely mounted on an 8″-long wood handle.

Leave you with a Quote                   “Generosity is a mark of bravery.” —Sitting Bull

So that is the 9th episode of The Jewelry Monk Podcast

If you find value in this content, or if you like to keep up to date on the goings-on here, make sure to  Subscribe to the JewelryMonk Blog Via Email (link in the upper right corner)  also if you know someone who makes jewelry, tell them to have a listen…. or check out website. (we are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Periscope, Instagram, etc. Look for JewelryMonk)

You can also send Questions to Doug@JewelryMonk.com and I will try and answer them on the next show.

Now go make something shiny!

Doug