The current class season is bustling with the first Combo Course of the year and our second intermediate-level class!
Todd Daniels taught an enthusiastic group in his Combination Course for Jewelers, covering essential engraving and setting techniques for aspiring bench jewelers.
In the Knife Engraving & Inlay course, students gained hands-on experience with a complex design from instructor Mitchell Lurth. They practiced American-style scrolls and created channels for inlaying various metals, making for an exciting and challenging project.
Thank you to @todddanielsdesigns and @theshadedleaf for sharing your knowledge with future engravers and jewelers!
Mistakes and slips are bound to happen when working at the bench. Todd Daniels shares a simple trick to help us fix those little accidents! Work with confidence or even lightly scribe a design directly onto your piece—this tip will help you clean everything up. Thank you, @todddanielsdesigns , for sharing your expertise!
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Tools used:
Burnisher - C-Max® 1/8" Round (#022-611), ground to a fine point.
Polishing Rods and Mandrels (made for polishing the insides of ring; each has been ground to a 45° angle)
Finally made it to @grstools in Emporia, KS! Last week I took a 5-day engraving course that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. A huge thank you to Jake @customhandengraving for sharing so much expertise with our class and being such an open book!
Already back at the bench practicing and looking forward to what comes with this new skill :)
#handengraving #engraving #customjewelry #handmadejewelry #smallbusiness
Molly had a great conversation with Brian Powley about the exact moment he fell in love with engraving, developing an artistic eye, and he even shares his secret ingredient for the perfect pulled pork! Thank you to @brianpowley for sharing your insight! Check out our YouTube channel to see the full conversation.
@customhandengraving is back with another great tip! This time he shares a simple way to reduce heel drag when engraving bright cut lettering. Thanks Jake!
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A few additional pointers while performing this technique:
👉Always lift and reset your fixture to 20°, then lower it to the wheel and rock to 0°. If you try to rock back and forth between 20° and 0°, it’s easy to overshoot and go past the 20°.
👉Be aware of your post placement—if you are too close to the wheel, the QC Tool holder or fixture could hit the edge of the wheel as you rock down to 0°.
This week was all about jewelry in the Training Center, as two groups of students started their engraving journey or learned to fabricate a custom ring!
Matthew Tuggle led students through the process of fabricating a custom set ring from stock and sheet metal.
Jake Newell was back with the basics, but this time, his class was focused on jewelry engraving, practicing popular styles and lettering, but also getting creative and trying out some ideas.
What an experience! 🙌
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth for our GRS/Busch Roadshow.
It was incredible watching Andrew Biggs at the bench. 15 years of hand engraving experience on full display, and a genuine masterclass in what's possible with the right tools and the right technique.
Thank you to Andrew, to the senior reps from@grstools and @buschjewellery who flew in to join us, and to every one of you who came through the doors. The conversations, the questions, and the hands-on time with the equipment. That's what makes these events worth running.
Until next year. ✨
#AJS #GRS #Busch #HandEngraving #StoneSetting #JewelleryMaking
This customizable workholding solution from Matthew Tuggle is an affordable way to hold various sizes and shapes of pieces. Use acetone in a beaker with an ultrasonic cleaner to quickly remove all the glue!
What a great tip—thanks for sharing, Matt!
Matthew is an expert jeweler and stone setter with many additional tips and tricks. If you want to learn more from him, follow @tuggledesigns or check out the TC Schedule link in the bio!
Creating, preparing, and sharpening tools is one of the most important skills a stone setter must master.
In this video, you can see the development of a tool designed for flush setting.
What makes this tool different from a traditional burnisher?
It was specifically developed for precision work using the GRS pneumatic system. With this combination, you gain complete control over where the tool pushes the metal onto the stone while achieving a mirror-like finish on the setting.
#stonesetting #goldsmith #jewellery
What essential tools can you not live without? Molly talks to @kmbcustoms about his favorite tools, the Tucson Gem Show, and the transformative power of continuous learning. Kevin will soon join GRS as a full-time staff member, taking over the Stone Setting Focus Program and offering private training alongside his scheduled classes. We are excited and grateful to welcome Kevin to our team!
See the full interview on our YouTube channel.
Flush setting is a relatively simple yet highly versatile technique.
You can go beyond the basics and combine this technique with prongs, beads, and even bright cut.
The result is always satisfying.
Want to learn techniques like this? Visit our website (link in bio), explore our courses, and enroll today.
#goldsmith #stonesetting #diamond
A highly polished graver is essential for creating, big, beautiful, bright cuts. In this quick video, @jeremiah_watt shares one of his favorite methods for achieving that fine polish using a blank aluminum wheel (GRS #002-129) and microfinishing film.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Jeremiah!
Jeremiah has decades of experience as a silversmith and saddle maker, and shares that knowledge in his classes at the GRSTC. If you'd like to join one of his classes, check out the TC Schedule link in the bio!
