Studio Spring 2004 · Volume 7, Number 1 Member Magazine of the PMC Guild PMC
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Studio Spring 2004 · Volume 7, Number 1 Member Magazine of the PMC Guild PMC Production PMC page 4 Working with a Caster page 6 Making Multiples in PMC page 7 Ring Sizing with Hattie’s Patties page 8 Summer 2003 • 1 Studio Spring 2004 · Volume 7, Number 1 Member Magazine of the PMC Guild PMC features 4Production PMC by Jennifer “Jeff” Bowie Cover: Ridge Earrings by Jeff Bowie. Sterling silver cast from PMC original. Photo by Robert Diamante. PMC is ideally suited to making multiples, which allows you to expand your line and offer lower-priced pieces. Studio PMC Mitsubishi Materials Corp. P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048 6Working with a Caster By Suzanne Wade www.PMCguild.com Hints on developing a good caster-artist relationship. Volume 7, Number 1 • Spring 2004 Editor—Suzanne Wade Technical Editor—Tim McCreight 7 Molding Multiples in PMC By Suzanne Wade Art Director—Jonah Spivak Advertising Manager—Bill Spilman Carl Stanley offers some tips for short-run production Studio PMC is published by the PMC Guild Inc. by molding PMC. • How to SUBMIT WORK to Studio PMC… We welcome your PMC photos, articles and ideas. You may submit 8 Ring Sizing By Hattie Sanderson by mail or electronically. Please include your name, address, e-mail, phone, plus a full description of your PMC piece and a brief bio. Making ring sizing patties from casting investment. Slides are preferred, but color prints and digital images are OK. By Mail: Mail articles and photos to: Studio PMC, P.O. Box 265, Mansfield, MA 02048. 9 Ring Chart By Ginger Seiple Electronically: E-mail articles in the body of the e-mail, or as attachments. E-mail photos as attachments. We require an image Update of popular sizing chart for narrow rings. resolution of 300 dpi. • E-mail files (under 4 MB) to [email protected] 12 A Budding Artist By Melanie Bentley Shockley Deadlines: Nov. 1 for Spring issue; Feb. 1 for Summer issue; Step-by-step instructions for creating fine silver flowers with PMC slip. May 1 for Fall issue; Aug. 1 for Winter issue. • How to Place Advertising in Studio PMC… By Dianne Mahafee Contact our Advertising Manager, Bill Spilman, for specifications, 13 Organic Chemistry deadlines, and prices. Phone Toll-free: 877-878-3260. Another technique for creating silver leaves with PMC slip. E-mail: [email protected] • How to get answers to tech questions… 14 PMC Plique-A-Jour Pendant By Louis Kappel E-mail Tim at: [email protected] Making a pendant using plique-a-jour enameling techniques. Contact the PMC Guild to… • Join the PMC Guild • Get information about PMC Certification Classes • Renew your subscription to Studio PMC • Change your mailing address or e-mail departments • Request back issues or additional copies PMC Guild 3 As I PMC It CeCe Wire, Executive Director 417 West Mountain Ave. 9 Readers’ Writes Fort Collins, CO 80521 USA Phone: 970-419-5503 Fax: 970-419-5504 Website: www.PMCguild.com 10 Gallery E-mail: [email protected] 14 Happenings Copyright ©2004 PMC Guild. Printed four or more times a year. Reprints by permission only. 15 Tips & Tricks All rights reserved. Studio PMC, its staff and contributors, specifically disclaim any 17 Portfolio responsibility or liability for damages or injury as a result of any construction, design, use, manufacture, or any other activity under- 18 Questions & Answers taken as a result of the use or application of information contained in any Studio PMC issue or article. 19 PMC Marketplace 2 · Studio PMC As I PMC It: Safety First by Suzanne Wade monitor a number of online forums for technique or decide to try a new product. Ijewelry artists, and at one point last year, If you are taking a class, you can ask I came across a discussion about techniques your instructor what safety precautions are for removing failed enamel experiments recommended, and why. (Understanding from the metal substrate. Several interest- why will help you make better safety deci- ing suggestions were made, and then I sions.) If you are trying something on your came across a post that made me gasp. The own, you can ask the supplier of the prod- author was blithely suggesting the use of uct what the recommended precautions titanium pickle to etch out the enamel. are. If you are an instructor, you should I gasped because I know that titanium familiarize yourself with the suppliers' rec- pickle is usually hydrofluoric acid. And ommended safety precautions, and while hydrofluoric acid will certainly etch encourage your students to take them. Suzanne Wade out glass, this acid is particularly danger- Don't assume something is 100 percent ous if not handled correctly. While it is risk-free just because it was printed in a used safely in laboratory and industrial set- book, magazine, or Internet chat room. If you're not certain whether a material tings, it's not something you want to treat The author may have assumed that you is toxic, or whether you're taking appropri- casually. would recognize the potential dangers, ate safety precautions, you can always I assume that the person making the and as a result, may not have included spe- request a Material Safety Data Sheet from suggestion knew what titanium pickle was, cific safety warnings. the supplier or look for one online. I'm and how hazardous it could be, since she Remember that potential hazards always a bit hesitant to recommend these was still around to make the suggestion. aren't always intuitive. For example, most to casual users of products because the But there was a good chance that some of users of casting investment would guess MSDS contains every possible risk ever the readers of the forum — which Potential it's important to use a respirator documented, even those that are remote at includes many hobbyists — wouldn't hazards when handling dry investment, best. If they issued them for food, you'd have realized just how dangerous aren’t because the dust is visible. But it is stop eating entirely, because the MSDS this approach could be. I can only equally important to use one would convince you that eating was always imagine what would have happened when quenching (dipping hot extremely hazardous to your health! intuitive. if an inexperienced jeweler had investment in water). The result- But if you read the MSDS with a cynical managed to order "titanium pickle," and ing steam, while less irritating to the eye — and remember that virtually every- treated it just like Sparex. throat and nose, carries tiny silica particles thing we encounter in the world carries The incident was a reminder to me that that can cause lung disease. some risk — the MSDS can offer guidance we can never take our safety for granted. Another potential pitfall is assuming to what safety precautions are appropriate. While most of us don't keep hydrofluoric that just because a product produces a sim- They can also be an invaluable source of acid in our studios, there are many sub- ilar result to one you use frequently, it calls information in an emergency, since they stances and processes used in jewelry mak- for the same safety precautions. For exam- include instructions for what to do if an ing that can be dangerous if handled care- ple, Black Max and Liver of Sulfur both accident occurs. lessly. Some may cause immediate injury, produce a black patina on silver, but Black Ignorance may be bliss, but there can be while other dangers may only become Max is a stronger chemical, and requires a high price to pay for such a carefree exis- apparent after years of exposure. greater safety precautions. Treating Black tence. All you have to do is listen to a group In most cases, these risks can be dramati- Max just like you treat the less toxic LOS of jewelers trade gruesome stories about cally reduced by taking appropriate safety could lead to trouble. workshop injuries to realize that ignoring precautions. You automatically protect your Be alert, too, when using a product in a hazards can lead to bigger worries than hands from heat when you remove some- way other than the one intended by the how silly you look wearing safety glasses thing hot from your kiln. Equally automat- manufacturer. Sometimes an otherwise and a respirator. ic should be the use of eye protection and harmless product becomes toxic when So take responsibility for your own safe- respirators. Good ventilation should be part mixed with another chemical or heated. ty. Educate yourself about the things you of every jewelry studio, whether it's in your Ammonia and bleach produce chlorine gas use every day in the studio, and determine home or in a commercial building. when mixed, for example, and otherwise what precautions make sense for you. And But while such standard safety precau- safe Krazy Glue can produce toxic fumes have a healthy, happy PMC spring! ❖ tions should be part of your daily routine, when heated. it's also important to take responsibility for your own safety whenever you learn a new Spring 2004 · 3 Production PMC by Jennifer “Jeff” Bowie y definition, production is the ability I've found PMC to be a great medium Bto make many of the same thing or for creating original models that can be similar things with a minimum A good used for casting. I can work on of time and money. Being able to an original, work through varia- beginning make pieces with a minimum of tions on a design, and if it isn't time and money means you can point for turning out right, I roll up the expand your offerings to include designing PMC and start over.