Chatty Metalsmiths January Thread

[#1]

Here's the list. Sadly, I took Barney off (made me cry). He's the only one I definitely know won't be coming.

Abellablue – Jessica
Aheron designs- Anna
AlexSharDesigns – Gaynor
Annasjewelry – Anna
Artdi - Diana
Atlcopperworks - Karina
AutumnLeavesJewelry - Care
Bagsnstuff - Dianna
BarronDesign – Deborah
BeadsintheBelfry- Nina
BeatrizFortes - Beatriz
Bellabijoujewellery – Jaime
Bellabijoutoo – Jaime
BDDesigns - Christen
Bijoutery - Jennifer
Blackmarkettrades- Angus
Bowersstudio. - Michele
Brightstar109 – Claire
Brandianndesigns – Brandi
Cabbingrough - LauraH
CGWhitfield. - CG
Corybethy. - Cory
chrissilynn2. – Chrissi
DiemDesignsJewelry - Sarah Jo
DonnaOdesigns. – Donna
Doxollodesigns - Janice
Duffydesigns. – Duffy
Elementaldesigns - Denise
Erga. - Erga
Evelynjewelry – Evelyn
Evittscreekarts - Lois
fix8ion – Tamara
ForrestConcepts - Sarah Jo
Foxcabochons.- Rod
Gemheaven. – Jo
Getyourbone - Steve
Ggestalt. – Karin
GiftedDesigns – Sha (Shannon)
Goldenwatercreations - Jeanne
Greenlivingsoap – Esme
Harnessedearth _ Tom
HartleyStudio - Ann
HightowerBotanicals – Julee
HRBeaDesign. – Heather
Ikaros – Carl
Indigoflameworks - Kelly
jamauerer- Julie
JaneaPauline- Janea
JaneDeaux. – Gabby
Janedeauxdeluxe - Gabby
JazJewels - Judy
JelliesJewelry - Jack
Jewelstreet. – Aimee
johnsendelbach - John
KHMetalwork. – Karen
Kimberlybelldesigns - Kim
KimVGlass.- Kim
kitandcaboodleshop - Gayle
kitkingdesigns. - Kit
KriksSilver. – Kristie
lahainalynnjones - Lynn
LauraRoberson- Laura
LeaderofMen - Alex
Litapsilverj - Lita
Lsueszabo - Sue
Luxedesignworkshop – Peg
Marcus Berkner Jewelry - Marcus
Maythenwolfbane - Nicole
MetalLuxe. – Peg
Metalsmitten – Jess
MieleMelograno – Liz
mmemagpie- Andrea
ModernMeetsWhimsy – Courtney
Monnda - Monnda
MordentDesign.- Mike
NovaofSweden – Tess
Nrjewelerydesign – Nikki
Phantasteria. – Karin
Plunderjewelry – Lindsay
Ppennee - pennee
purplepeony. - Brenda
Redturtle – “Dragon Kitty” or Mrs. Barney
Rockaholic – Peggy
SandyToesJewelry – Lisa
SarahinFlorida – Sarah
ScarletRobin - Jen
Scrapmetal - Addie
Scrollworkdesigns. - Clarity
SilverBlueberry. - Esmeralda
SilverShedStudio – Casey
SilverMadeStudio – Teresa
Sonyarasi. - Sonya
StoneTemple - Mark
StoneyCharms. – Chris
Stonz. - Susan
TammysTreasureChest – Tammy
TheFrogsPond - Brandy
TheSilverLakeStudio – Sherry
theuglydogranch - Karen
ThirteenGems – Melissa
Tinkertown– Sue
Topshelflapidary- Henrik
TreeFrogJewelry – Sheryl
TrystingTreeFarm -Laura
TSmithDesigns – Teresa
TwistedSisterArts - Jill
TwoSilverMoons.– Birgit
yenjewelry - Nicole
2BellesBeads – Crystal
2Trickpony - Rachel

[cgwhitfield]

Sheryl, it will be much better than nothing but for me the vacuum cleaner noise would make me reluctant to turn it on.

My work habits are probably different from most and I'm always going back and forth from bur work (no problem) to emery work (problem) so it would mean either turning the vacuum on and off a bunch of times or listening to the noise all the time.

And if you're worried about soldering fumes it would do nothing for that. But, emery dust concerns me the most and it will certainly help there with little investment.

[Former_Member]

CG - do you use ventilation for soldering fumes?

[cgwhitfield]

No, I don't. Everyone's sensitivities are different, and since cadmium isn't in my solder it's not a concern. To me personally.

Soldering fumes are in hot air which quickly rises, and even if it's not vented it will be diluted in the room air.

The actual time spent soldering is short, and I consider emery dust very much more a risk.

But if I did have a vent system for that I would use it. And some do notice a problem with soldering fumes.

[Former_Member]

when I had my studio last summer. I used 2 box fans. One behind me and one pointed towards the door. It seemed to help a lot. cost was 30 bucks for 2 fans.

[Former_Member]

Thanks guys!

[Former_Member]

By the way, now I'm on my PC and can still see the avi. Thanks Tess and Marcus!

[Former_Member]

I was getting headaches before we installed our vent system. But... for some reason I have a very low tolerance to fumes, medicines, etc...

[BodeesJewelry]

Mornin'! I see the avi, and it's perfect.

[hartleystudio]

lsueszabo says:
THE VOTE IS IN!!!!
the monthly chat thread will go PRIVATE until the link from our profile page is removed- then we will go back to public chatting.

*********************
I *really* don't want to be that guy...I really don't. BUT, I'm going to say that I think it should ALWAYS be private. If all of us remove the link from our shops (which I really don't want to do) then how do we grow as a team? Other metalsmiths stumble upon our group because they are trolling our shops and looking at our profiles. If we remove the link, we are loosing out on WAY more members than we ever would with a private thread.

[bellabijoujewellery]

Ann I think just like how others used to stumble upon our thread in Forums ( which we all know how quickly things dissapear in there) people will now look into teams and see ours.

[lsueszabo]

the cool thing is anne- you can remove the link and your customers won't find you on the thread if that's what you want. if you want customers to find you on the thread, you can leave the link up- so everyone can sort of decide for themselves.
sales dust! woo hoo- i just sold the queen of hearts necklace. she's going to make payment but that's ok. it's sold and i'm happy! off ot the studio now.

[StoneTemple]

Mornin' folks, at least it is here bit a bit longer.
I was bummed this morning, realized it would have been my first morning in Tucson had I decided to go this year. Oh well, lack of mineral specimen sales dictated it. And I really don't need the rough, even though that's my favorite part of going to Tucson. Sigh...
Next year!

[Former_Member]

Hey all!

Hmmm ventilation has been on my mind a while... I have a window 1 metre from my bench that I open and that is it. It was fine when I was only making jewellery occasionally, but now I seem to spend every spare minute making stuff. But, I don't really know what is neccessary. I don't want to go over the top, but I don't want to regret it in the future. I don't find I feel like I need more ventilation, but then that doesn't mean I don't need it does it?!

On a good note, I did my tax return for 09/10 and they are going to pay me BACK $380 - woo hoo! (shows how much of a loss I made though ha ha)

[hartleystudio]

I understand about the opt out but I'm proud of the work we are doing here, I just don't ever want a customer to listen in to the chat. Ever. And it has nothing to do whatsoever with what is discussed, It's just chit chat and I think it's unprofessional. I think removing the link from our pages is a much bigger deterrent to getting new members than making chat private. A metalsmith will join knowing there is chat in our other threads and be pleasantly surprised to find this when they join. I just don't see why this has to be available to non members ever. I think I'm out voted on that one though so I"ll have to do some thinking.

[hartleystudio]

New sellers to Etsy won't know a thing about teams and will have a hard time finding us. Maybe if "jewelry" was added to the tags...but there are hundreds of teams, have you ever tried looking through them? It's impossible. People will find us, especially new members, because of the link in our shops. AND, if so many of us remove that, then we are here alone with no advertising.

[ShireJewelry]

when I was looking last week for a new team, I looked under metal smiths and metal work. silver jewelry anything I could till I found this room. I enjoy the chatting with others that make things with metal, I don't feel so alone in my shop. heck my next door neighbor is a silversmith too but she keeps to her self. Oh well.

[Former_Member]

Morning Lisa, morning all.

In reference to last nights tech talk:

For those of you who are using Firefox browsers, there is a great add-on call 'No Script' that works to keep you safe while browsing. Normally, when browsing, allowing scripting code (javascript, etc) is 'on' by default. After installing 'No script' it is off by default. Therefore when you are visiting websites you have never visited, or that you do not trust, you are much safer. There is an 'options' button on the bottom right of your screen to turn scripting on for any trusted site when browsing. It will be turned on for that site from then on.

Here is a link (only for Firefox!):
http://noscript.net/

[bellabijoujewellery]

just for the record Ann - I agree it should be private and kept that way. We were out voted though!

[Former_Member]

I just plated some silver with copper in my pickle. I removed the iron - is my pickle safe again?

[2TrickPony]

my guess would be no, kriks.

[cgwhitfield]

Kristie, Rachel guesses well.

[Former_Member]

Damn.

[Former_Member]

The plating worked great, though!

[Former_Member]

CG, you know I HAVE to know why...do you know?

[StoneTemple]

HI!
I believe your pickle is fine, easy enough to test with a little scrap of wire.
The iron sets up a weak electrical current which turns the pickle pot into a plating tank, remove the iron and you remove the current (short answer).
The topic has been discussed on the Orchid list numerous times. The experts there always give the long answer, ie more chemistry.