We are revamping the carport into a garage and I will end up with studio space!!!  I'm really excited.  It will be insulated and drywalled, windows, exhaust fan etc. Now I have to select a torch setup and design the workarea. I work exclusively in sterling silver and am moving to add Argentium to the mix, do lapidary with Ameritch universal grinder, 4" trim saw, and have a double spindle buffer.  I also won a rolling mill from the Ganoksin Raffle and it's due to arrive any minute.   I'm not planning on adding any big machines.  I think.  Maybe. Well, I might need a hydraulic press and a bench grinder and . . . .

the size of the space is about 7' x 9' with a ceiling that will slope down to 6'8".  I have to have my back to a wall to work comfortably.

Any thoughts about building benches to a good working height?  arrangement of equipment?  things that you added to your studio eventually that you wish you had added right away? I'm thinking about propane torch, using a bbq-style tank.  Do I need oxygen since I am not working in gold and have no plans to?

any thoughts are really appreciated.

Stacy

So.....you're the one who won my mill!!!! 

 

I use an oxy/propane torch - I didn't think you could use propane without oxygen - are you thinking about acetylene?  I know people have a 'B' tank and no oxygen tank.  I have my mill mounted on a bench, I have a stand, but the floor in my workshop is a slab with reinforcements and I can't drill into the floor to set the stand - I wish I could have the mill freestanding.  Be sure to have a hook installed to hold your flexshaft above and to the side of your bench.  I don't have window in my work area, but I would like to have the pickle pot near a window to vent.  Studio wish list -  sink,  large tree stump to work on, hook for a lit torch.

 
 

Is the exhaust fan set up right over your soldering area?  Or where you might be creating a lot of dust you don't want to breathe, i.e. casting investment, debris from polishing, etc.?  I'm still in the process of setting up my metals studio, I have equipment that has been languishing in storage for over ten years, and I'm going to make sure I have proper ventilation this time.  My dad has a squirrel cage fan he can give me, and I plan to mount in a stove vent hood for over my soldering bench.  I read in someone's Ganoksin post that he had a similar set-up with a squirrel cage fan mounted right on his bench, I imagine he did all his soldering and anything creating dust right in the same space, and it could be moved around and positioned at different spots on the bench.  My teacher at Wayne State in Detroit was Phillip Fike, and he develpoed and died from a really awful lung disease that was apparently directly occupationally related.  I don't think he was careful over the years about ventilation, the studio there has been upgraded a lot since I was a student. 

How big does the fan need to be? etc, etc.  Any info or direction would be helpful.

Stac

The book Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight has a little section on how to make a work bench out of one sheet of  Masonite and one sheet of Plywood/MDF. It's a good book to have and I use it frequently. it usually sells for only $15 to. I got mine from Armstrong, wich is right down the road from me, but you could probablly pick it up online.

ISBN 1-929565-06-2

Stacy, Congratulations! Check out the July and September issues of Art Jewelry Mag. July we ran a buyers guide to jeweler's benches and you can download Tim McCrieght's plans for building one yourself right here on our website. In September we have a buyers guide to torches and even if you don't work in gold you will still want to have an Oxygen tank with that propane to get a hot enough flame for all-around silver work. Personally, I would get the mini belt sander by Kate Wolf, it really speeds up shaping and trimming of all sorts of jewelry projects. Enjoy, Nanz

Thanks, all, for the great suggestions.  I forgot that the MCCreight book has all that info.  I actually have both the student's and professional editons! 

I have read my copies of Art Jewelry Mag eagerly on both these topics, Nanz.  I am rethinking my propane idea. I use acetyline at the classroom.  I just didn't want to lug around those large tanks.  I think i need to visit the welding/gas supply stores and get some technical info about tanks.

Kate Wolf's belt sander is soooo cute!  She probably wouldn't be impressed to hear it described that way, but I have never seen a belt sander that seems to really work for small pieces and require a huge $ outlay.  I'll put it on my wish list.

I want the height of most of my benches-lapidary, polishing, pounding on metal stuff--to be at a height where i can be seated.  Even with appropriate padding, my bad knees and hips do not like standing on concrete for any length of time.  What operations do I really need to do standing?

Hi,  Do you have a Harbor Freight Tools Store near you?  If not go to their online site - use Google to find their website.  Anyway, I noticed they have a very cool workbench - it might even be oak - for around $170.  You can't beat Harbor Freight for finding cheap alternatives to expensive jewelry tools.  My first jewelry professor years ago recommended them and I've been a devotee ever since.  I've bought dapping blocks, files, pliers, tumblers - you name it they will have it.  I just wish they had rolling mills because that's at the top of my wish list.  Currently I'm looking for anyone in the Portland, Oregon area who will let me roll out a few pieces of patterned sheet.  I'm almost out of the all the sheet I rolled before I moved here last year.

For ventilating my studio I went to Home Depot where they stock exhaust fans for bathrooms.  The staff there helped me figure out the best - I think it was Roan - fan for the amount of square feet in my studio.  I placed it about 4 feet away from my bench and up 6 feet from the floor so as not to create a draft over my torch flame. 

 I use oxygen with a bbq propane tank with a Hoke torch.  The Little Torch is excellent too and easier to find.
 

Check out harbor Freight!

Cheers, Diane 

I love this topic, always looking for ways to improve my workspace. Ditto to Karen's wish for a sink. I am always running upstairs to drain my tumbler, wash my hands etc. or I have to go outside to the garden hose to refresh my quench bowl. A friend just modified a walk-in closet into a dark room and she had this huge, stainless steel deep sink built into the cabinets. I am so envious.

Speaking of standing though, I always stand to hammer for some reason, just a bad habit maybe. I also need to stand to use a rolling mill (not that I have one!!) maybe I don't have any upper body strength. LOL

Does anyone have pictures of their studio/workspace? 

Tink 

Hey guys, how do your ventilation systems work?  Does anyone know how to set up one in an apartment where you can't modify the building?  I would really appreciate any help!  The room does have a window in it. 

nanz:

can download Tim McCrieght's plans for building one yourself right here on our website

I was curious how do you do a search on this.  I tried but it didn't work.

(I figured doing a search online would be easier than trying to find that magazine in the pile)

I found it here once before, but I can't find it now.  You'd think putting 'bench plan" in the search box on the main page would work, or looking under projects would work, or searching under projects for 'bench' would work, or looking under resources... but if its in any of those places, I couldn't find it.

That said, I do know where to find them on another website:

Here is the basic one.
Here is the advanced one.

--
Jim
 

Thanks, Jim!  That saves me looking through the pile.  I'm too easily distracted as I look through them; I keep finding things I forgot about and eventually forget why I started looking!

I used to make porcelain beads with a propane torch setup and needed ventilation.  Found a dual fan setup at Walmart that fit in a standard window opening. Turning on both the fans was actually too much for a 12' square room. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

Loopy, you can use propane w/o oxygen for silver smithing. It's not good for casting, but hot enough for soldering. I did it for a year and know a southwestern-trained silversmith who's used only propane his whole career. (Personally, propane/oxygen is waaaaaay better, though!)

Loopy,

I agree with SoulStoneDesigns... it is possible to make jewelry with a propane/atmosphere torch (such as a plumber's torch). I did just that for five years. Lots of small pieces, enough to make a living from, but it has its limitations and I am not sure I could go back to it now. Still, it is legal (at least it was when I did it) to have the small disposable sized propane tanks indoors (in an apartment for instance, but also in a business or private home) where much else might not be legal.

As for ventilation in your apartment situation, there are options that will work and lots has been written on this topic on the various glass beadmaking forums. Beadmakers need more and better ventilation than silversmiths (unless they are casting), but you can't really have "too much" ventilation regardless of your techniques if you care anything about your health and the long term consequences of your working environment. You have to take care of yourself ... and obviously you are already aware of this as you are asking the right questions now.

Hope you find the help you need and are able to set up a safe working environment for yourself.

Carol

 ahhhh, ok....I wasn't arguing.  The OP typed about using a BBQ style propane tank so using a plumber's torch didn't come to my mind.