Welcome! and what metalwork do you do?

I couldn't find a group like this already made, so I figured I'd make one.

I make jewelry, mainly silver and sometimes a little gold. I'm about to start learning chasing and repousse from a guy who seems like a pretty great teacher, which should be fun (although there goes my Saturdays :). I also do wirework and some chains and chain mail.

Welcome!

Huh. I never expected to find a group like this on a book site, although since most of my metalworking "skills" come from books, I guess it makes sort of sense.
I have a small (Taig) lathe and recently took a "Welded Metal Sculpture" class, which taught me that gas welding (oxy-acetylene) can be loads of fun.

I also got an enamelling kit on ebay recently (Trinkit), but haven't had time to play with it yet.

I'm in the process of building my daughter a backhoe to play with when the weather gets warmer.

Heh - and here I was surprised not to find a metalwork or jewelry group, considering what else there is (and how there are jewelry groups everywhere these days). And I'm starting quite a collection of jewelry-related books, so I thought it made sense.

And that's fun, that everything you do is, or plan to do, is stuff I haven't tried. All my experience is with small stuff, soldering etc, mostly jewelry (like I said).

I took a small course in enameling and loved it! It is so easy to be creative with this medium. It is on my long list of things to get serious about in my spare time.

I was an apprentice for a while to a witch of a goldsmith, but I did learn a lot. I work in silver (because it's affordable) when I have a space to work, which I don't right now. I love seeing what other people do.

The closest of come to working with precious metals is I took a afternoon course on how to make a silver band ring. It was fun and cheap.

My dad was a manufacturing jeweler but didn't want me to go into the business so, 40 years ago, I snuck in some courses in direct metal sculpture. Years later, after graduating law school, the bug bit me again. I have been designing and making jewelry for more than a decade. About 6 years ago, I began making glass beads to incorporate in my jewelry and have recently taken some metalsmithing classes, chain maille and PMC. My dad, finally convinced, gave me his tools before he passed away and I treasure them. Someday, I would like to do jewelry full time once I hang up the law hat. Since I also run a restaurant with my husband, I don't get online as much as I'd like, but will drop in here as often as I can. Thanks for the invite, bluesalamanders!

You're welcome :)

Why didn't he want you to go into the business? Especially since you were interested! My parents teach, and while that's not a 'business', they tried for years to get me interested in teaching as well.

Well... it took some time and some long heart-to-heart talks before I figured it out. At first, I thought it was pure chauvinism. It was, after all, the 1960s and my dad was very protective of his only daughter. But then, he encouraged me when I climbed trees, played baseball and football, rode horses, and developed a passion for tools, so that alone didn't explain it.

It seems that he just wanted something better for me. He thought that I would hate the part of the business that involved production work rather than the creative, and dealing with difficult customers. He thought I had overglamorized the notion of being a jeweler and never really understood that it was my passion. He did point out, perhaps correctly, that I enjoy it much more as an avocation. I think that, in later years, he understood that keeping me away from it back then was a mistake.

He was otherwise just about perfect as a father and I have dedicated every piece that I make to him.

I checked out your jewelry on flickr, BTW. Very nice work!

Barb