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Apr. 30th, 2008
My birthday gift from Chris
Apr. 30th, 2008 12:31 pmSo, on Saturday in the throes of inebriation, Chris gave me a specific enough hint on what my birthday gift was that I guessed it right off. He told me it wasn't something physical and that he was taking Tuesday (yesterday) off. He had paid for a slot for me in the silversmithing class with Don Norris I thought I was going to miss.
So, the class was yesterday from 9-6. I learned so much in such a short time! I feel comfortable with a torch now and know basic soldering and filing skills. We didn't get to polish, since a) we ran out of time and b) he uses a flex shaft (basically a Dremel on steroids) for it. He's back through on the 17th for the advanced class and was going to polish them and drop them off then.
I was doing really well with everything until right near the end of class. Having made things difficult for myself by creating a somewhat intricate design, I had to spend more time filing. Most everyone else had him solder the bands on their rings. By the time I was ready for that, he was working on polishing. So, feeling confidant, I fluxed my piece, set the solder on the joints carefully and took to it with a torch. All was going well, the piece heated as it should, the flux liquefied, the solder was starting to flow and I used my pick to guide it to where it needed to go. Unfortunately, I was paying so much attention to the solder joints that I wasn't watching the band of the ring and I melted right through it. *sigh* Oh well. He said he'd fix it since he was out of the wire for the bands and would bring it back through during the advanced class. I still don't feel too bad about it though. He said at the beginning of class that we'll have to go home and melt a few projects to really get the hang of things and kind of learn what not to do.
I appreciated his physics approach to the class. Though he does have a very "quick and dirty" approach to jewelry making. His philosophy is make a bunch of really simple, cheap items you can sell for $20 a piece. Don't waste your time on larger items and "artsy fartsy" pieces. While I don't know that I'll adhere to that entirely, I like his style of teaching, very quick and to the point but with the whys and hows I crave.
Thanks Chris! It was perhaps the best birthday gift I've ever gotten. :)
So, the class was yesterday from 9-6. I learned so much in such a short time! I feel comfortable with a torch now and know basic soldering and filing skills. We didn't get to polish, since a) we ran out of time and b) he uses a flex shaft (basically a Dremel on steroids) for it. He's back through on the 17th for the advanced class and was going to polish them and drop them off then.
I was doing really well with everything until right near the end of class. Having made things difficult for myself by creating a somewhat intricate design, I had to spend more time filing. Most everyone else had him solder the bands on their rings. By the time I was ready for that, he was working on polishing. So, feeling confidant, I fluxed my piece, set the solder on the joints carefully and took to it with a torch. All was going well, the piece heated as it should, the flux liquefied, the solder was starting to flow and I used my pick to guide it to where it needed to go. Unfortunately, I was paying so much attention to the solder joints that I wasn't watching the band of the ring and I melted right through it. *sigh* Oh well. He said he'd fix it since he was out of the wire for the bands and would bring it back through during the advanced class. I still don't feel too bad about it though. He said at the beginning of class that we'll have to go home and melt a few projects to really get the hang of things and kind of learn what not to do.
I appreciated his physics approach to the class. Though he does have a very "quick and dirty" approach to jewelry making. His philosophy is make a bunch of really simple, cheap items you can sell for $20 a piece. Don't waste your time on larger items and "artsy fartsy" pieces. While I don't know that I'll adhere to that entirely, I like his style of teaching, very quick and to the point but with the whys and hows I crave.
Thanks Chris! It was perhaps the best birthday gift I've ever gotten. :)
