Customer Reviews

101 Bench Tips for Jewelers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alan's latest book is a nicely illustrated collection of useful tidbits. Each page contains an illustrated tip that will be a help to the jeweler or metalsmith. One of the best things about the book is the way it shows "thinking outside of the box" solutions to problems encountered day to day in the studio. It is a good companion to his other technical books Professional Goldsmithing and Ring Repair. No bench jeweler should be without all three.

This is an expensive book for a soft cover but the information inside is priceless. I have been making jewellery for over 20 years and have already found things in it that will make my life in the workshop much easier and more efficient.

Rather overpriced for the amount of information in the book. The last twelve pages are simply advertisements. I have another book of Revere's, a very good one, and expected much more from him when I saw that he had written this one. I was quite disappointed in this book at this price.

It's a fabulous book with helpful and inventive tips and tricks. A little pricey, but some of the tips will justify the cost in the time you save at the bench. I have only a few years experience in the business, so it's great to learn these time tested techniques early

this book has alot of good tips (101 of them, actually) but the cost is a major setback. the illustrations are good and helpful, but the pictures seem to be the focus of the book rather than the tips themselves. for the money you spend, they could've put in more photos and elaborated on the tips.

Super book. The information has been very helpful. I shared the book with my friends who are pro's at making jewelry and they have found it helpful.
Keep it close by your bench. You will find yourself reaching for it too.
I do feel the book was expensive.

I felt the best way to approach this review is as follows:
PROS:
*Extremely helpful tips in areas I never thought up when working at my jeweler's bench (e.g. grooves in bench pin - has worked great for my work)many that were never mentioned in other books on jewelry work at a formal metalsmith bench.
*Images - simple yet informative...and unique - an illustration style not seen in other books.
*Common sense - often needed by artists to effectively pursue their work.
CONS:
*Price - yikes...did I really pay that much???
*Ads at the end of the book...did these supplement the book's production and if so, why so expensive a book.
*Not a common book found in libraries - so difficult to make a decision as to whether this book is useful for your reference library.

Therefore - I will leave it up to you. I found about 1/3 of the tips directly useful to my work, but others may find more of the book useful or less useful. I think one would garner this information if you learn as an apprentice with a professional jewelry maker. But if you are teaching yourself, this may be the book for you. Wish I could give it 4 stars, but the price is holding me back from doing so.

I have done jewelry works for 25 years and been a teacher for 17 years. I waited this book could give me some helpful tips but I knew them all and have used them for years. But this might be useful for the beginners. The pictures and the text is good. (my English is not very good)

A very informative jewelery workshop book, full of great time saving hints and ideas. Some times you battle trying to do the impossible until a great publication like this one comes available, highly recommended to anyone work within the jewelery craft.

This is a fantastic book! Full of all sorts of ideas for organizing your bench, soldering, cutting, mounting, etc. Using nickles as soldering supports is now my standard method! Thank you Alan Revere! E. Macnish