Hello I expect you might know me!

[The Guru]

Hi

Just a quick introduction, I am a precious metal polisher, have been in the trade for over 40 years.

I make my living as a freelance, tutor & bespoke polisher, I teach the Short courses at The Birmingham School of Jewellery, Jasso, Irish Craft Council & VanTol & Breet Academy in Den Bosch .

I am also the bespoke polisher for Theo Fennell, plus a few other designers.

Already a moderator on the polishing Forum for Guild of Jewellery Designers & I am call The Gold polishing Guru!

This is what they say about The Guru " He is not just known for his polishing but the finishes he can create to bring out the very best details.

Has a very unique style & is a very natural with his presentations & Master Classes."


Any questions, please feel free to ask away.

Thank you for adding me.

Stephen

[Wallace]

Hi Stephen,

I am Palmate on the other forum. Tend to spend more time here or on my Facebook page when not at my bench or doing the mum's taxi stuff, mum's kitchen stuff and life of the domestic house goddess (goddess bit is normally in my dreams)

welcome to the forum

Wallace

[Dennis]

Hi Stephen,
Welcome to the forum. I hope you will hang around and put us right. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

Hi Stephen - one of these days I'll manage to get to one of your courses; I didn't know you did them for JASSO too.

[Tabby66]

Hi Stephen,
I have seen some of your work and read some of your tips etc,... looking forwards to having you around this forum too!! All help, especially in the area of polishing will be very much appreciated!!
Tabby x

[Goldsmith]

Hi Stephen,
It's nice to see another IPG fellow on this forum, I am sure you will get lots of questions.

James
James Miller FIPG.

[Rayne]

Hi Stephen. Welcome to the forum :-)

[caroleallen]

Hi Stephen, good to have you on here. So many questions, I'm sure you'll be inundated!

[Petal]

Hi Stephen and a warm welcome to the forum from me too.

[TeeDee]

Hello Stephen and welcome.
Looking forward to hearing more from you.

When I started jewellery making not so long ago I naively thought polishing was one of the skills I'd learn and then move on.
Have since learned there's much much more to it.
All the best
Tim

[lorraineflee]

Hi Stephen and welcome from me too!!

[ShinyLauren]

Hi Stephen,

Polishing is often the bane of my jewellery life, so expect a million questions!

Welcome to the forum :)

[art925]

Hi Stephen,
maybe we will meet in May during your 2 day workshop...I am currently on the waiting list.

Les

[sonia]

Hi Stephen

Welcome to the forum. Good to see you on here too. Polishing is always the bit that lets me down so any tips would be appreciated. One day I will get on your course.....

Sonia
x
xx

[Littlewhitefeathers]

Hi Stephen, welcome!
I am new to silver clay and silver smithing.
I had a question about tumbling my silver clay pieces to polish them. I tried a piece in the tumbler for half an hour the other day but when I took it out to check on it, the finish wasn't as good as I had already achieved. There seemed to be lots of tiny marks in the surface from the steel shot, that weren't there before.
Any tips?
I had already sanded it with fine wet and dry then used a polishing pad before it went in and it was nice and shiny.
Is this method best for silver clay pieces?

[Dennis]

Hi LWF, I'm not Stephen, but then an endless procession of new members introduce themselves, with not a peep out of them thereafter.

Anyhow, you've partly answered your question: in order to reach intricate recesses, mixed shot contains sharp needles and these make pinpricks, which are particularly visible on flat surfaces. You can leave out the needles, or painstakingly pick them out again, but then the depths of fine detail will remain unpolished.

As you have a polishing motor, you might have more success with radial disks taken through the grades. Cooksons have a good offer on these here http://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?query=radial+disks.

Regards, Dennis.

[Littlewhitefeathers]

Hi Dennis, Ah, thanks very much for the advice!
I think the hand polished finish I'm getting on my silver clay pieces is good at the moment so I'll maybe just do it without the tumbler.
I am a bit confused what I have bought the tumbler for now though ha ha
Thanks for the link, will take a look!

[Littlewhitefeathers]

Am I right in thinking you meant I can attach the radial disks to my tumbler motor? If so, how?
Thanks
Amy

[Dennis]

I am a bit confused what I have bought the tumbler for

Well Amy, tumblers are very good for links and chains, and any pieces with very deep recesses which can't be polished in any other way. They are also great for textured surfaces, because they don't remove any metal. If a few flat surfaces then have to be re-finished with abrasive papers, or MicroMesh cloths, that is still worthwhile.

As for the radial disks, you can see from the link that they are mounted for use on standard screw up mandrels. I have used the term motor to mean a Dreml, a flex shaft, or a micro motor. You will certainly need one of these if you intend to go on making jewellery. regards, Dennis.

[medusa]

did we scare the guru off, then?

[medusa]

Hi Dennis, Ah, thanks very much for the advice!
I think the hand polished finish I'm getting on my silver clay pieces is good at the moment so I'll maybe just do it without the tumbler.
I am a bit confused what I have bought the tumbler for now though ha ha
Thanks for the link, will take a look!

use a tumbler, seriously. PMC really benefits from it. remove the pins as Dennis advised and you will get a better finish.

[ps_bond]

did we scare the guru off, then?

Looks that way unfortunately. On for almost a week.

[Littlewhitefeathers]

Hi Dennis,
Ah I see, thanks! Dremel is next on my list of things to buy actually, just saving up :)