Customer Reviews

Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've been taking metalsmithing classes for a couple of years and for most of that time I've been nagging my instructor for a primer on the flex shaft and all those wheels & burs, only to be told I'll let you know which accessories to use for your project. I was thrilled to see the teasers that this book was being written and ordered it as soon as it was available.

I was taken aback a bit when I saw the book for the first time, it's a physically small book, and I judged the book by it's...size. However, as the adage goes you really can't judge a book by its [size], it's a great book! Plus, {duh} it's the perfect size for the bench. All those mysterious wheels, burs, brushes, mandrels are thoroughly explained along with maintenance procedures and how to use the attachments that are available. I'm finally getting some real use out of my flex shaft.

This book is an excellent reference for jewellers or beginning jewellers to have in thier arsenal. It is not project based but it does have all you want to know about making the most of a flex shaft. It helps one to understand whats best for ones own needs. It gives advise on purchasing a flex shaft for those of us who might not know what HP and shafts are all about. It fills you in on all of this sort of terminology and gives excellent lessons of many diffrent kinds of attachments and handpieces.
If your a person who likes to have lots of pictures of jewellery and projects then you might be disapointed by this books textbook format - HOWEVER, I would still suggest you buy it because it will enable you to actually make the sort of jewellery we all moon over!! Or at least start us on our way. Its like being able to take a class on the use of flexshafts.
Whilst starting out I was always aware that this tool could really really help me in my excertions making jewellery - but I was uncertain as to how best to use it. I knew it was very useable but lacked the knowledge to actually let it be my "right hand" at the bench. This book helped me to understand and put to use my flex shaft so that it no longer gathered dust as I opted to just do it manually.
I'm very grateful that this book was put together, very very useful.
Seeing as flexshafts can be used for so much, its useful to know exactly what that "so much" is.... Drilling, sanding, buffing, polishing, enlarging holes, texturing, cutting, engraving and SOOO much more.
(Please forgive this review if it doesn't read very well!! I seem to be having a difficult day stringing a sentance together!! But at amazons request, here are my thoughts..)

For those of you who write that the information in this book is included with your Flex Shaft instructions I say you are crazy. 30 minutes ago I opened the box of my new Flex Shaft (SR) with 84 tools and found the information to use all those tools on 1 and 1/2 pages of a small pamphlet. This is an example of a description: "Unique V stones have extra hard and long lasting vitrified aluminum oxide and ceramic grain with a special glass bead binder that make them extremely long lasting, cool running and very aggressive - 40 to 60 grit. They work on the same materials as CeramicCut Blue Stones, but much more aggressively."

I have no idea how that is going to help me to know when and on what material I should use that tool. There are not even pictures for me to know which name matches what tool. Thank goodness Karen Christians has written a book long overdue.

Somewhere, buried in these pages is an actual book that might be useful, if only it had had a good editor or someone experienced in organizing information. For example, in the "Choosing the Proper Drill or Bit" chapter, various drills are pictured and then the text describes what they might be used for. Well, I don't pick up a bur and ask, what can I do with this? I first have a need, such as: I need to drill a hole in a pearl -- or, I need to smooth the top of a rivet -- and then I try and find the proper tool for this function. That's how this material should be organized: by need or function. The index won't help you out here either -- it is cursory and incomplete. I was dying to reorganize the charts, too, so the pertinent information wouldn't be buried-- the compounds and abrasives charts are especially bad.
To top it off, the "Jeweler's Resources" section is 13 pages of ads. You'd think an advertising section would have paid for the book, so I don't understand the very high price for this small, slim volume. (Also there is a sponsorship acknowledgment page in the front.)
This book has some information you'll find useful, if you read every page to ferret it out. But I'm sorry I bought this skimpy, unprofessional, yet expensive book.

This was a disappointing book purchase because the material is based on information that is readily available with the purchase of a flex-shaft. The price of the book is out of line with the value of information in the book. I do not recommend this book to anyone.

This book is excellent! It shows exactly which head is used for which purpose, and it explains everything in detail. A great book, and I am very grateful that I bought it.

It's useful, to be sure, but, to be honest, I was expecting to find more tips I did not already know about making the most of my flex shaft. However, information about flexshaft maintenance and other information about various abrasives is more than a little useful to have on hand and easy to find. Karen cannot be faulted for the clarity of her layout and writing; it is so easy to follow and certainly I recommend it to anyone who is not familiar with a flexshaft.

I consider this book rather expensive for the slim little volume that it is. However, it is one of VERY few books available that can help demystify the many different cutting, drilling, grinding, polishing, etc. bits available for the Foredom Flexshaft. The only alternative I've found for aquiring similar knowledge is a $100+ hands-on workshop offered at a jewelry supplies shop in our area. So by comparison this book (at about $35) has proved to be a good investment for me.

This softcover, 8.5 x 5.5, 78 page book is extravagantly overpriced for what it offers. Seriously, if you already own a flex-shaft, you already know what it has to say. It is one long (or short, depending on your view) advertisement for 3M, Rio Grande, and Foredom who underwrote its publication - as they should have! With this much advertisement for their products and so little of value in terms of tips and tricks, it should be free.

Would I keep it if it cost $7 - $8? Maybe, but as it is, I want my money back. It is simply inconceivable that MIJA Press would think this tiny book would fetch the price they put on it.

I was looking for a book that would give me some details about the flex-shaft and how to maintaine it in good working order-like changing the brushes etc.
Anyone who has used a dremel like product knows everything in this book already, waste of good money.