Unusual job on the bench today
Discussion
I've just finished reading this entire thread. You Sir appear to be a master of your craft. Were you arty/creative at school by any chance or do you think this is a skill you've learnt and surprised yourself in the process? I understand you were in the Military and your FiL offered you a job yet you had no previous experience of this, he just taught you? Amazing!
Prohibiting said:
I've just finished reading this entire thread. You Sir appear to be a master of your craft. Were you arty/creative at school by any chance or do you think this is a skill you've learnt and surprised yourself in the process? I understand you were in the Military and your FiL offered you a job yet you had no previous experience of this, he just taught you? Amazing!
Appearances can be deceiving. LolSeriously, thank you for the comment. I don't feel I have mastered anything to be truthful as every day is a school day in this game. I was pretty skilled with a pencil at school and was always successful in the art department, but as for working with my hands, I never had the patience as a kid. Maturity has probably aided my ability to sit on a job for days at a time, as anybody would i suppose with age and experience.
Yeah, my father in law taught me from scratch. Admittedly I did have an aptitude for it, but the pressure of doing well in his eyes and the responsibility of providing for his only daughter I think was what got to the standard I have to maintain today. Took me a good number of years to get my head around leaving the marines though.
Anyway, thank you again. Keep looking in to see any updates in the coming days.
Eddie
Off the back of the above: here are some jobs from the past few days. The first is a 9ct white gold and amethyst ring in need of a new setting because the original is falling apart.
The things in the background are solid 9ct yellow gold and pearl earrings I made from a mould taken of a customers belt buckle.
Here's another'different' one. Customer is getting married at Disney land. So, the missus wants a Cinderella carriage wedding ring. She had a silver charm on her bracelet already so we are using that to cast a ring in 18ct white gold. Cast will be done next week. The crown will house a diamond and later on in time the round openings will also house stones of the customers choosing.
Eddie
The things in the background are solid 9ct yellow gold and pearl earrings I made from a mould taken of a customers belt buckle.
Here's another'different' one. Customer is getting married at Disney land. So, the missus wants a Cinderella carriage wedding ring. She had a silver charm on her bracelet already so we are using that to cast a ring in 18ct white gold. Cast will be done next week. The crown will house a diamond and later on in time the round openings will also house stones of the customers choosing.
Eddie
Little video for you. Opal and diamond ring getting a new centre setting and having the opal polished. Camera angle isn't always 100% but I hope you find it interesting.
Battery ran out after an hour unfortunately.
https://youtu.be/EEaWKjTW1Lg
Finished article
Battery ran out after an hour unfortunately.
https://youtu.be/EEaWKjTW1Lg
Finished article
NeMiSiS said:
Edward, your work is so fiddly, intricate, precise - yet it looks like you work on an old severed Bulls hoof, what's all that about?
That peg is actually coming to the end of its life to be honest. It's designed to be replaced every couple of years, along with the copper top plate. Reason for the tattered / worn looking bench: tradition works best in this trade. Yes you can go all high tech, but it reduces the skills and that's not what I'm about. I stick to what I know works
ecain63 said:
Unfortunately the 18ct Cinderella job got cancelled at the last second due to pre marital breakdown. Luckily somebody fancied the silver blank so I finished it off this avo and it's already on its way to a new home:
I love this thread but can't like this one at all - great skills but who'd want that on their finger?! 
bayleaf said:
ecain63 said:
Unfortunately the 18ct Cinderella job got cancelled at the last second due to pre marital breakdown. Luckily somebody fancied the silver blank so I finished it off this avo and it's already on its way to a new home:
I love this thread but can't like this one at all - great skills but who'd want that on their finger?! 
t business if I only did the jobs I liked though. Customer seemed pleased with it and it got a me a bit of my outlay back in selling the blank. Needs must and all that. bayleaf said:
ecain63 said:
I love this thread but can't like this one at all - great skills but who'd want that on their finger?!
Ha, yeah. I am not a great fan myself. Be a bit of a st business if I only did the jobs I liked though. Customer seemed pleased with it and it got a me a bit of my outlay back in selling the blank. Needs must and all that. *It was a typo. I fixed it and on reflection, un-fixed it. I did resist the temptation to change the o to a u though.
Taste aside, it is a great thread. Keep 'em coming Eddie.
ecain63 said:
bayleaf said:
ecain63 said:
Unfortunately the 18ct Cinderella job got cancelled at the last second due to pre marital breakdown. Luckily somebody fancied the silver blank so I finished it off this avo and it's already on its way to a new home:
I love this thread but can't like this one at all - great skills but who'd want that on their finger?! t business if I only did the jobs I liked though. Customer seemed pleased with it and it got a me a bit of my outlay back in selling the blank. Needs must and all that. AyBee said:
The thing on instagram looks interesting Eddie - what is it? 
Out of interest, and without having done any googling, is the only way in to the industry to find someone willing to train you up, as you did, or are there courses that teach this kind of thing?
Was that the earrings? I must have made dozens of those for the same customer. Has diamond earring but wears 9ct white and CZ items because she loses the real ones too often. She loses these mock ups twice annually I reckon! Keeps me afloat lolOut of interest, and without having done any googling, is the only way in to the industry to find someone willing to train you up, as you did, or are there courses that teach this kind of thing?
As for getting into the trade: Yeah, most people start off by stumbling into a workshop and taking an interest. Before they know it they've begun a career. Some do the courses in London / Birmingham but in my experience the best training comes on the job. Uni courses are ideal for commission designers as they teach you how to make something on an individual level, but my job is to work on everything at once and be able to fix and make anything in a day. That takes the availability of many thousands of jobs over quite a long period of time. Can't get that in a classroom.
Eddie
Edited by ecain63 on Thursday 28th April 20:30
mikeveal said:
bayleaf said:
ecain63 said:
I love this thread but can't like this one at all - great skills but who'd want that on their finger?!
Ha, yeah. I am not a great fan myself. Be a bit of a st business if I only did the jobs I liked though. Customer seemed pleased with it and it got a me a bit of my outlay back in selling the blank. Needs must and all that. *It was a typo. I fixed it and on reflection, un-fixed it. I did resist the temptation to change the o to a u though.
Taste aside, it is a great thread. Keep 'em coming Eddie.
I got married there (wife is a fan, I couldn't care less about it).
They've a large number of venues with varying degrees of mouseness - I mandated 'none' for what I considered acceptable, and got a nice location in the Grand Californian.
Coincidentally, I happened to mention the Disney Carriage ring you were working on to the wife earlier. I was slightly relieved she wasn't interested
They've a large number of venues with varying degrees of mouseness - I mandated 'none' for what I considered acceptable, and got a nice location in the Grand Californian.
Coincidentally, I happened to mention the Disney Carriage ring you were working on to the wife earlier. I was slightly relieved she wasn't interested
ecain63 said:
He's the guy who had the yankee candle ring, bulldog necklace, Wutang ring and some others done. Pro cage fighter with a face like my bench! Nice guy once you get past the exterior and tastes. It's back on with his missus now so it looks like i'm making it all again! HA!! They are getting married at Disney Land of all places.
Certainly not my taste, but that doesn't make it a crime. I know a young couple who's house is decorated in early 90's style. Stripy wallpaper, dark wood stained skirting, bare brick fireplace, wall paper freezes decorated with sponge printed paint splodges. They didn't buy it like that, they built it and decorated it themselves. Bloody hideous house, but a thoroughly nice couple.ecain63 said:
Was that the earrings? I must have made dozens of those for the same customer. Has diamond earring but wears 9ct white and CZ items because she loses the real ones too often. She loses these mock ups twice annually I reckon! Keeps me afloat lol
It would appear so - I just saw the "mini bar stools" stage They look awesome as always! Thanks for the response about how people get into it too Some jobs are not so nice.
The odd customer comes in with what can only be described as an advert for their awful personal hygiene. Today I had this chain dropped in for a repair to the clasp. Before we did that we had to deal with the muck within! God only knows how many years of sweat, grease and skin were packed between each link.
Yuck!
So, I dealt with it using good old heat. Went up like a slow fuse!
http://vid251.photobucket.com/albums/gg306/niacuk/...
A bit of cleaning later and it came up lovely. I'll do the repair tomorrow:
Also put this together today: 3.5ct tanzanite and 1.0ct of diamonds:
Eddie
The odd customer comes in with what can only be described as an advert for their awful personal hygiene. Today I had this chain dropped in for a repair to the clasp. Before we did that we had to deal with the muck within! God only knows how many years of sweat, grease and skin were packed between each link.
Yuck!
So, I dealt with it using good old heat. Went up like a slow fuse!
http://vid251.photobucket.com/albums/gg306/niacuk/...
A bit of cleaning later and it came up lovely. I'll do the repair tomorrow:
Also put this together today: 3.5ct tanzanite and 1.0ct of diamonds:
Eddie
I shudder to think what was in that chain.Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff