Studio Tour Part 5: Does Love for Torches make me a Pyromaniac?

This is my trusty little workhorse. We have a relationship. I mean, you have to really. At first he was a little wishy-washy...afraid of the commitment, you know. But now, we are so steady and happy together.

Ok, so all kidding aside, I had to wrangle this one. I know it sounds funny, but setting up a torch is a big deal, especially when your roomate is watching you hook up a propane tank in the corner of your bedroom in a tiny second floor Philadelphia apartment. "Is that safe?" She'll ask. Probably not, you think while wrenching away at the thing.

The thing is, I knew that I was taking this jewelry thing seriously from early on, so I didn't waste any time or money on the smaller, hobby version of a torch, and I can't tell you much about them. I went straight for the trusty standby that was the do-it-all tool in the busy shop of my first apprenticeship: Hoke, oxy-propane.

Hoke is the brand name of this torch, quickly recognizable by the front facing dual knobs and the quick change tips: The brass ones come standard, but require a wrench to change out. A set of quick change adapters giving the flame a quick and versatile range of size.

It was a clear choice, but not an easy one. I had to buy hoses, fuel valve regulators and an oxygen tank at a welding shop. I then had to go to a hardware store for a propane grill tank and an over-sized wrench.

As you picture me taking a wrench to a propane tank in my apartment bedroom, you may be asking the same question as my roommate. Is that safe? My answer is that no, it probably isn't safe to put a propane tank in your bedroom. It is not advised to keep a flammable fuel tank indoors. Why, then? because I was bound and determined to gain the skills of a serious jeweler. How did I avoid getting kicked out of my apartment? I may have put the laundry pile over the tanks when the landlord was around. Is that safe? definitely not.

After successfully tightening the hose to the regulators and the regulators to the tanks with a temendous wrench, I was feeling like Rosie the Riviter. After checking for leaks by applying soapy water and looking for air bubbles, it was the moment of truth. Time to light this thing.

It worked....kind of. the flame would light, but the knobs seemed almost squishy. They didn't stay in place. It wasn't that they were uber-sensitive. They would slowly fall back after being carefully placed. The trouble here is pretty serious. When too much oxygen is present, the flame becomes intense, hissing, and eventually blows out the flame with a startling pop of pressure in the torch tip.

Oh, What to do! the manufacturer says it's fine, just loosen the knob really far and put it back. A few metal-head friends took a look and had no bright ideas. I was resigned to the thought that it needed to be "broken in" All torches that I have used have seemed finicky at first. They are difficult to light and control. Fire is difficult to light and control.

And so it was. I may have had nightmares about leaving a tank on or a line unbled, but I learned by living with my torch about respecting its danger, and standing up to it. I never spoke much about the trouble it gave me, just kept on trying, trusted myself to take care of it properly, and remember always to shut down all parts.

Now, 6 years later, it works like a charm. I don't know if I broke it in, or if it broke me in, but we live in harmony, my torch and I. You'll be happy to know that we have a studio together now.

It has accomplished the promised versatility. It holds a flame that can melt a hunk of metal in a crucible to pour into an ingot. >>>>>>

Or a flame of less than an inch in length for joining tiny, delicate, gold parts.

Now, I am in torch-love and I would never trade it in for another, but that's not to say I wouldn't buy a bigger one just to have fun with.

Please research thoroughly any decisions to setup for a torch in your workspace. Follow manufacturer's instructions. This is not intended as an instructional guide for torches.

Studio Tour Part 4: Metal Forming

These are some of my favorite things: dapping blocks, anvils, mandrels and chasing tools....and my pink countertop....It makes me feel like a lady, even if I am wearing saftey gear while pounding out some metal.

The anvil on the left is a very classically Looney Toons looking one, but I probably use it less than the much smaller one to the right of it. The large wooden cutting board helps absorb some of the reverberation from hammering, but it needs bolted down because it jumps all over the place when I'm hammering heavy metal. It is a temporary solution until I can convince enough of my friends to help me move my 4x4 foot solid maple butchers block....it makes a great surface for hammering, but it weighs a TON!

Below the counter-top pictured above, I have a shelf which doubles as a hammer rack. It was really simple to drill large holes in a row to keep the hammers organized. It is good to store your hammers in a rack....keeping then piled up in a box can damage the hammer heads if they clang into each other when you put them away.

Tool storage is one of the things that you really need to customize on your own to keep everything handy. There are some racks and fixtures available for craftsmen, but they are sometimes overpriced, and frequently do not reach your very specific needs.

The rolling mill pictured is not a fancy brand name, I bought it on Ebay, and it was the best deal I could find after price comparing for weeks. It does a great job. The flat steel rollers were in perfect condition, and the progression of the wire slots is comfortably gradual. It even has some 1/2 round wire slots on the right end.

The other tool pictured is a jump ring winder that I upcycled out of an old hand cranked grinding wheel....I just took off the wheel and welded a jacob's chuck to the axis.

A graduated set of round steel mandrels is used to wind the jump rings on. They are a little expensive, but after trying to cut jump rings off of a wooden dowel, the price of the steel mandrels didn't seem so bad anymore.

Studio Tour Part 3: Polishing

Polishing is integral to how I create jewelry. I like the look of a polished piece, and it is sometimes difficult to achieve. Often, items that are finished with a high polish are polished many times during the building process. Each of the parts are often polished before they are attached together. In this way, tiny spaces that are made from the attachment are pre-polished underneath, yet every time something is soldered to the piece, some of the shine is lost, and the whole piece may need polished again! This is especially true when working in silver as opposed to gold, which keeps it's shine better (not perfectly) through the soldering process.

This is the polishing area of my shop. Keeping it clean from the dust that flies when polishing is important to continuously achieving a serious shine. A powerful dust collector is very helpful in this matter, but even with one of these, there are particles that collect on the countertop. I keep a dustpan and brush close by to clean up before and after working here. That dust has metal in it, so I keep a bucket underneath to collect the dust for refining.

The wheels for each grit abrasive are kept in baskets with their respective compounds. Keep lots of fresh wheels handy. If items are not cleaned thoroughly between tripoli and rouge, they will contaminate a rouge wheel quickly. It is also a good idea to keep separate wheels for different metals.

Because I do a lot of polishing, I have started to wear gloves. They are similar to nitrile gloves, and simply tear away if caught in a wheel. I have heard a few conflicting philosophies on this matter. I have seen folks wearing nitrile or even heavier gloves while polishing. I have heard others say that it is dangerous to wear gloves while polishing because they may get caught in the wheel and cause injury to your hands. I am interested in any thoughts on this matter. As a teacher, I am uncertain what to tell my students about this as well.

My aloe plant happens to be in this picture, so I have to make note of it. I have had this big guy since he was just a cutting from another plant, and he loves it in my shop. I think my steam cleaner gives him the perfect level of humidity...lol. No jewelry studio is complete without an aloe plant. It is good Feng Shui to share your workspace with healthy plants :)

Studio Tour Part 2: Organize Small Parts

Do you ever have something in your hand, and 5 seconds after putting it down, forget completely where it is? This happens to me all the time. It can be really frustrating. If it was something valuable like a gemstone, you get all upset about it, but if it is a tool, it is frustrating that you are spending so much of your time looking for it. Your jewelry making workbench, table, or tackle box is most likely full to the brim of small parts and hand tools. It is easy for things to get lost in the shuffle.

To remedy this problem, I have a few solutions.

1) Have designated container for all small parts pertaining to the current project. A small plate will do, or some people use their steel bench block. Also, try to keep small parts from different projects separate, in labeled envelopes or plastic bags.

2)Have a small table adjacent to your workbench or within an arm's reach of your workplace where you can keep all of the tools that tend to get lost. I keep all measuring devices on my separate table so that I never (or rarely) spend 20 minutes looking for a ruler. I keep my coffee here too....it is farther away from all the dust and metal that flies around the workbench. The drawers below hold respirator and safety glasses, it is too tempting to get to work anyway even if you can't find your safety glasses. I keep several pair at an arm's reach, so there is no excuse...if you love your vision, keep it safe!

3) Also pictured, I keep wire solder in coils tacked to the wall. Everyone has their own system for labeling solder by putting a different type of bend in the end of the wire, be sure to write down your system somewhere that you wont loose it. I wrote it on the wall...There is nothing worse than being unable to use the solder you bought because you can't tell what grade it is.

4) I couldn't keep track of my scale for the longest time. It was a little pocket scale that had a black cover, and it would just disappear whenever I needed it. So a friend of mine gave me a tip: spray paint the cover of the scale hot pink or some really bright color. I did this, and now I never loose track of the scale. I'm sure it would work for any number of tools that just seem to get lost.

Studio Tour Part 1: The Workbench

Welcome to the Layne Designs virtual studio tour. Each week for the next several weeks, I will be photographing different areas of my studio and sharing what is done there, and how. I am also including tips for setting up your own workspace for jewelry students and hobbyists. There may be a golden idea for craftspeople of all kinds about how to set up a space efficiently. I am sharing this because I have found it extremely enriching to visit studio spaces of other artists, and hopefully this will be helpful for some of my readers. Please leave comments and questions that I can respond to during the tour!


It seems appropriate to start the studio tour in the place where I spend most of my time. Right here looking at this workbench. It is a double wide workbench, made for two people to sit side by side, but I have arranged to use the whole space for my efficiency. On the left I keep a crockpot of acid called "pickle" for cleaning the metal after soldering operations. The acid is then neutralized by a bath of baking soda water before work continues.
In the center is a Hoke brand oxy/propane fueled torch on a home-made hanger-- it is a good idea to have a place to hang your torch so that it does not have to be turned off every time you need to use both of your hands. Be certain that the hanger is tall enough and far enough away from any objects that could catch fire

The following image is of the main part of my workbench. It is arranged so that while working, as many tools as possible are within an arm's reach.

A: a measuring tape for sewing can be stapled across the front edge of your catch tray for quick measurements, and you always know where it is! (unlike some of my other rulers)
B: sharpstone- I keep a sharpstone on hand for shaping rubber wheels to fit in tight places and to keep gravers sharp
C: plate for spare parts- a small container (or tea saucer) It is helpful to keep track of your scraps so that nothing goes to waste. I to sweep most scraps to the upper right hand corner of the catch- tray, but the small parts like an extra jump ring or spare ear-wire are kept in the plate waiting to be used
D: bur collection-it takes a while to build a good variety-- I started with a small assorted shapes set, but found that most often, I needed a very particular size of each shape, so I have bought a set of graduated sizes in each of the following shapes: cylinder, setting, hart, bud, round, cup.
E: super glue aka cyanoacrylate I keep some of this handy for sealing bad cuts-- not necessarily medically advised, but on a clean cut, it stops the bleeding immediately and allows me to keep working after taping up the injury.
F: white out- works like yellow ochre to protect a solder seam from re-flowing while heating another part of the piece. The fumes are not good to breathe in...use only with proper ventilation and/or a respirator.
G: gluestick: use a gluestick or rubber cement to adhere a drawing to a sheet of metal for accuracy while sawing.
H: flux-to keep your large container of flux from getting dirty, transfer a small amount into a smaller container for on the workbench. It takes up less space too.
I: water jar for quenching hot metal
J: rubber wheels/sanding discs/brushes for flex shaft machine
K: pencils, sharpies and tinsnips
L:needle files and scribe
M: this is an assortment of fingertip protectors. They are made from leather and masking tape, and protect the finger most likely to be injured during a specific task.
N: steel bench block.
O:tweezers and solder picks,
P: Firebrick: a few different sizes and types of solder bricks help for proper set-up of the item to be soldered.
Q: put down a spare linoleum tile to avoid burning your bench if the heat makes it the whole way through the fire brick
R: Benchpin- you can use coarse files to alter your benchpin.. It may be helpful to file a notch in one end for working with tiny parts, or drill a hole the whole way through to work on the front of earrings with posts (good luck remembering which hole goes the whole way through!)

Another method for keeping more of your tools right by your side while working is to make home-made attachments and hangers. A nail driven halfway into the side of your bench is perfect for hanging your sawframe, and a home-made or even store bought drawer pull placed low on the bench drawer will hang all of your pliers nicely in a row. Part of the convenience of these specialty hangers is that it helps you keep track of your tools. You'll spend less time looking for that one pair of pliers if you know that they are always in the same place.

Mini-Lathe

One of the biggest problems facing bench jewelers and many folks who work with their hands is hand fatigue. RSS or repetitive stress syndrome is a more serious problem that happens as a result of regular constant work that puts stresses one particular part of the body. At my workbench I am constantly inventing tools or ways to use my tools that reduce stress on my hands.


The flexible shaft machine is a common tool among different types of craftspeople, and an outright necessity to a jeweler. For the unfamiliar: it is a handheld rotary tool like a drill with a long flexible cord that attaches to a hanging motor. It is similar to a Dremmel tool, (what they use in nail salons to buff acrylic nails) but more powerful.

The reason that a felx shaft machine is preferred to a handheld drill is because of its compact, lightweight hand-piece. It can be used comfortably for hours. Yet hours each day for weeks on end, that hand-piece can start to feel like a lead weight. So I have devised a clever solution. It is not appropriate for all jobs, but it works great for some.

I present: the mini-lathe. I found a miniature vice at an antique shop years ago, and had to have it because it was so very cute. It had no purpose at the time, but followed me for years, and finally a few weeks ago it found it's golden purpose in life: to hold the handpiece of my flex shaft machine sideways so that it can be used as a miniature lathe! Oh for joy! It is seen below used with a abrasive-impregnated rubber cylander for sanding and polishing small parts-- especially the ends of earring posts.




It is a huge relief on my hands to be able to let this perfect tiny vice hold the machine for me while I do tedious time consuming jobs. If you plan on trying something like this there are a few things to note:

-Be sure not to crush the hand-piece of the machine with the vice...and it's probably a good idea to try this only on your own equipment> if you are going to be an inventor, you have to invest in your own tools because you can't take a risk on public or community studio equipment.

-Always take the proper safety precautions especially when working with rotary equipment: wear safety glasses and be sure not to have loose hair or accessories that could get caught in the machine

-You have less control over the machine when it is held this way-- pay special attention to the angle that you are holding the metal

-Rubber wheels can cut through the metal very quickly, it is not advised to use them on flat surface, as this could create divets or ripples-- use sandpaper the old fashioned way for flat surfaces

--Be sure that the vice is secured well-- if securing it to your benchpin as I have done, be sure also that the benchpin is secure!

--Be careful if using pliers to tighten wingnuts especially on old equipment, it is possible to over-tighten and break the wing off the threaded portion (this is extremely difficult to fix)

Healing Gem Stones and Chakras

There are many mystical and diverse beliefs in cultures all over the world about gemstones. While some of these beliefs may be simple myths, it sure does awaken the fantastic whimsy in all of us to think that a stone holds special power. While some of the folklore is complex and difficult to remember, the Chakra system and related healing stones are simple and easy to remember.

Each of seven chakras in the body are considered to be like a vortex of energy or an aura of color. Auras are a common idea throughout many cultures including Christianity where images of Christ are always represented in medieval times with a halo. The Chakras are from Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. In the Chakra system, each aura center is associated with a different area of the body, certain organs, and even certain emotions. The associations can be very specific, but looking at this chart, it is simple to draw some conclusions. The rainbow colors are easy to remember. They begin at the very base of the spine and groin area with the red root chakra. This chakra is associated with primal survival needs, it represents foundation, groundedness, and animal nature among other things.
A more extensive knowledge of the influence of each chakra requires a great deal of study. The simple part is that each chakra is thought to be healed, balanced or energized by gemstones of a corresponding color. Therefore, all red stones: ruby, garnet, red jasper, bloodstone, rose quartz, coral etc,... are used with the red chakra.

A quick list of Chakras, general associations, and gemstone associations:

Crown Chakra: color-violet, located above the head, represents a persons conectivity with the universe, Gemstones: Amethyst

Brow Chakra: color-indigo, ocated between the eyes, effects the eyes, nose and ears, Gemstones: azurite, lapis lazuli

Throat Chakra: color-blue, located at the throat, effects thyroid, voice, and breathing, Gemstones: sapphire, blue topaz, aquamarine, turquoise, chrysocolla and sodalite.

Heart Chakra: color-green, located at the center of the breastbone, effects heart and circulatory system, relationships, Gemstones: Emerald, aventurine, jade, chrysoprase, toumaline, malachite, peridot

Solar Plexus Chakra: color-yellow, located between the naval and bottom of the ribcage, effects the pancreas, liver, gall bladder, digestive system, and sense of identity, Gemstones: topaz, citrine, amber

Sacral Hara Chakra: color-orange, located in the reproductive organs, effects reproductive system and sexuality, Gemstone: carnelian, fire opal

Rooth Chakra: color-red, located at the base of the spine, effects kidneys and equilibrium, Gemstones: ruby, garnet, red jasper, bloodstone, rose quartz, coral

So how does one use these stones for their benefit? Just relax and hold a turquoise over your throat if you have lost your voice, or maybe wear a jade necklace if you have a relationship problem. This is by no means medical advice, but it is ancient belief, and you never know what might happen. Of course you should consult a doctor for any serious medical problems.