Ventilation install!

I installed the ventilation today.  It went a lot smoother than I thought it would.  I guess when you have the right tools for the right job things can go quickly.  As I mentioned in a previous post I bought a restaurant grade range hood.  I thought it was 1200 CFMS but it is more like 900 which I think is still plenty.  The hood itself weighs about fifty pounds hence the chain.  It is bolted to studs so the chain is just a safety precaution. I wouldn't want that thing falling.  

In a nutshell:

• I had Liz sit and pretend to solder
• I measured where her nose was and made the bottom lip of the hood end there.
• I found the studs and bolted a mounting board the length of the hood.  
• I then used heavy eye-hooks on the king-studs at the top of the wall. 
• I hung the hood via the chains and then carefully lifted it up, adding a board at time till I had it to the height I needed.  
• I then adjusted the chain and anchored the hood to the mounting board. 
• I marked the hole on the drywall and cut it out with a trim router (setting the depth to the thickness of the drywall)
• I then drilled a hole in the middle of the hole so I could do the same on the exterior clapboard.  
• I then used insulated flex hose and strap clamps to connect the hood to a stainless soffit  vent I found on amazon. 

Shed, microscope, ventilation and more

Everyday I find myself bouncing between many hard topics each time hitting an immovable object. More often than not it is a person whose beliefs don't align with my own. Not to go into too much detail but I haven't seen this much blatant racism/violence since I was a kid living in the south. People who I had known to be "good people" have revealed themselves as horrible humans. We are polarized as a country and everyday shocks me to my core.  

This is my new normal. ME: "Hey buddy how is it going?"  ASSHOLE: "Did you see those antifa fucks tore down another statue last night!?" ME: "What the fuck is wrong with you and why the fuck do you care!? Did you live there? Are you a person of color that has to look at that shit everyday!? Stop watching Fox News!" Inevitably, I find myself hoping that it is some twisted form of a joke because I don't want to give up on them as a human. But no. It is not. Some people are hot garbage. 

I have found it difficult to make anything so this platform is allowing me to evidence the non-jewelry "work" that I will call my "craft therapy". It has now become the only thing, besides Liz that can walk me back from that edge. I feel privileged that I have this as an outlet and hope, in the future, to build a practice that supports positive change. 

Now that we have converted our garage to a studio we have to build a shed (more on that in a future post). We have downsized quite a bit from our old studio. We went from 400 square feet to a little under 200 square feet. I have been trying to find ways to save space. 

So here is what I have done so far:  First, I put my computer on an arm so it can float independently from the table it was on. Doing this has freed up that table, which is on wheels and is now a mobile workbench.  

I have also converted my microscope to a HD LCD screen/microscope/camera/light. I will probably sell my old setup because this has both saved me a boatload of money and space. I had to 3D print a quick bracket to make it fit the articulating arm. It took about an hour to design and print. The camera is wireless, battery powered and uses a micro SD to record video and take pictures. I have so much room on the bench now and I don't have to keep taking my glasses off and on to use a microscope to set stones! 

We are also working on installing ventilation. After weighing multiple options I have decided to go with kitchen style range hood. After measuring, I bought the best one that fits our space. Not too big, not too small, just the perfect size. I want it to be streamlined and clean. 

Pocket knives etc.

I am still on a quest to find/make the ultimate pocket knife/folder. I have tried to make a few in my time but I have failed miserably (see images below)

I need to take a class. If anyone knows a good one to take or wants to do an online hangout or something I am on board!!

In the mean time I lost my last pocket knife. I never break them I always loose them which sucks because they are getting expensive. So my last knife was a kershaw launch 4 which is a nice auto open knife. My only complaint was the blade shape. Not my favorite (Spear point/drop point wedge thing). That all being said I would often forget I had it on me....again not a great feature. Also the spring was so tight it would often fly out of my hand and I would often stab myself trying to recover it. 

So I recently discovered the James Brand knife company based out of Portland Oregon. Love them. I ended up buying a Folsom with a half serrated drop point (The serrated edge is a must for me). I will have to report back on the how the knife works "in the field" AKA my studio/rando house tasks. I am a big fan of the packaging and the small attention to detail with the green lanyard hole and the triangular thumb hole. The packaging was CNC'd and lasered and it came with a nice felt pouch which I probably will never use.


This is just a quick plug... probably. This product review stuff might not be a regular thing but.... I just thought I would plug a small company that is making a nice product. So if you are in the market for a nice knife.....

dust collection and things

A while back Liz and I were trying to solve our dust collection problem. Liz sands a lot with her flex-shaft and I often grind things at the bench. We both end up wearing dust-masks/respirators (often for hours). With the current shortage we have been trying to solve it with "at the bench" dust collection systems. A while back I bought an under bench system off of ebay to use with the Jooltool (more on that later).  It more or less looks like this:

It actually works like a dream when I remember to use it (the rheostat switch it a little awkward). I bought it for two reasons: one, it was cheap and two because it collects the dust in a bag and we can refine it (the bags are all paper with one little rubber part that you can rip off before you throw everything in your refining barrel). This one was $100 but they sell some with foot pedal switches (I should have bought one of those). The one serious design flaw is that the hose is way too short for it to be practical. The good news is that is it the same size as a small ShopVac hose ($33 with couplers from Lowes). The other problem is that I needed a mount for my bench to hold the hose down and add more "in-take cone-age" to direct the dust.

Off to Rhino and the Cetus MKIII extended FDM printer. I also need to make another bracket to hold down the hose on the back of the bench.  

Cetus MKIII extended

New studio setup with printer and mini split

Measurements laid out in the software. 

Version one

Random ramblings and more

So many many many things to talk about.  

First, I can't thank the students enough. I have have now taught six online Rhino workshops with over seventy students! I have only had one "unhappy"student but think it was more of a miscommunication/understanding. As in....they thought they were gonna get X and I was delivering Y and we ended up settling on me going the extra mile and giving them Z.  

For example (not the actual conversation):  

Student: "I signed up for your baking class....."  

Me: Well the workshop is not a baking class, I am teaching an overview on cooking."

Student: "I read somewhere it is on Baking! Why is it not on baking!? Could you change the class to baking so I can take the class!?" 

Me:  Well, no because the other nineteen students signed up for a cooking class not baking."  

Student: "Well that is total bull and I demand more focus on baking!! or I will tell everyone you suck AND another thing it is false advertising! You said it would be on baking!!! I read somewhere it was on baking! I am writing a lengthy email to your host school complaining that it is not on baking...." (there was more) 

Me: " Well actually if you read the course description it quite plainly says cooking! I am so sorry you were confused. I will do my best to talk more about baking for the remainder of the class and maybe I could use baking examples to help explain cooking in general. Will that help you!?"  

Student:.............(crickets) 

They spent the rest of the class with their camera off and their microphone off. 

Oh well. 

While we are talking about being generous! I have been donating some of the profits from the workshops to a number of organizations. The first is Crafting the Future a great organization that...."supports the careers of young, underrepresented artists by connecting them to opportunities that will help them thrive." I believe education should be available to all not just the people that can afford it (it is the whole reason I started this blog and why I became an educator and why I am so generous with my time). The other is of course the ACLU. I try to auction a piece off twice a year on my instagram page (sometimes for the ASPCA). If you have money and you want to help....help.


Soon I will be making more donations in part because of the students and in part because it is the only thing I can physically do in this moment (I am literally working 12 hour days and come home exhausted).


In other unrelated news I am in love with my new headphones. I almost never do product reviews but I LOVE these headphones/earbuds?. They fit nicely under my hearing protection (muffs) and they have built in touch technology so I can quickly pause when Liz is yelling at me AND I can wear them at work and you can hardly tell (that way I can catch up on some Perceived Value or Making It podcasts)


Here is a link to the headphones/earbuds/doodads (TOZO).  They do have a microphone for zooming and wireless phone calls but I haven't yet tested it.


Soon I will post some new images of the studio which is finished-ish. We still have to paint the outside and get build a shed to house the mower and other yard gear!

More on the studio/Life is nuts

Prologue: 

I just wrapped up the intermediate CAD course through the Bench.  I am thrilled with the positive response and have had a great time teaching the classes. We have two more classes open for registration and I am excited to finally have some empty seats (all of the workshops were sold out before we could offer open registration!)  If you want to learn Rhino come on board.  We are offering a little discount if you sign up for both sections!  https://courses.thebenchri.com/

Chapter one

Life is nuts.  I have to admit ever since I left academia the pendulum has started swinging back in my direction. One: I have been able to really appreciate what I have now and enjoy it, instead of constantly trying to prove my worth to my department head and dean. I often would come home exhausted and just pass out. I literally walked through life like a zombie never really getting to enjoy all that I was working for. Two: I get to spend real quality time with Liz which I haven't really been able to do in a very long time.  It was always the job first everything else second. This proved to be complicated..."no babe this is a real vacation...I mean I have to do this quick lecture and workshop but the rest of the time we will hang out I promise."  Three: I no longer have the pressure of exhibiting, publishing or pursing an active studio practice to earn tenure. The stress has melted away.  I smile more. I laugh more.  I am enjoying life!

While I still have a strong desire to make and create jewelry I no longer feel the pressure. The truth is I had not been happy with the work that I have made for last ten years or more.  I gave almost everything away to my job.  Because of this I felt like everything I made was always a half-job.  I thought it all was "I gotta get some work out there to check that box on my tenure application".  It wasn't  actual work or it wasn't something I was proud of.

While getting ready to move our studio, I realized I have spent a lot..... I mean a lot of time and money making things that never really made it into the world. Odds and ends, doo dads, false starts etc. It is amazing how much money I have spent on my studio practice and in reverse, how much money I am saving not making work.  

On a related topic, for the first time in my career, I feel appreciated (at least in the work I am making for my current job).  What I mean by that is: before, when I was making work, the work didn't really have an audience and was rushed and therefore felt a little unauthentic. It was art jewelry for art jewelers. Now, when I deliver on jewelry the "client" is overcome with joy and often showers their gratitude, exclaiming "This is exactly what I wanted!  How did you know! You have made my year!".  It is soooooooo nice to see it up close and be a part of their lives in a meaningful way.  I am not sure I ever felt that when I sold/made my other work.  Maybe it was because the gallerist was the in-betweener? Or it was more of a collector-based type acquisition?  

I guess what I am saying is that I have been reflecting on all the work I have made and honestly I can't think of a single instance of it being rewarding.  Making it was rewarding but seeing it all in boxes in my basement growing mold sucks.  So I guess I have some thinking to do on what my new practice will become because I cannot go back to wasting time and money on something that costs me so much and doesn't give back in a meaningful way.  Life is too short.  Also there is a lot of garbage jewelry in the world already. 

In other news we are officially done with the inside of the studio!!! Liz and I finished the trim last night and we are ready to move in! I am posting a little before and after.  If you notice in the before photos the concrete footer had a yucky sil-plate (which was non dimensional lumber) So I decided to box it all in with and add some quarter round to transition into the dry wall.  The concrete footer preventing anything from being pushed up against the wall so the trim will not help with that it will just look better. We just have a little painting to do and we are all set.