Customer Reviews

Step-by-Step Jewelry Workshop

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have several metal working books, including those by Tim McCreight. Although these books are excellent, this book by Nicola Hurst beats them all. I'm not a novice to metal working, but I wanted a good basic reference book. Nicola gets right to the meat of a subject and tells it in a very clear, understandable manner. I love it because it isn't wordy and there isn't a lot of time spent searching for the information you want. The photos are fantastic. All are in color and large enough to see details. My only regret is that I didn't find this book sooner. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in doing metal work. It's a GREAT book.

I thought this was an exceptional reference on simple techniques for beginning to intermediate metalsmiths. I didn't feel that I needed to invest in a fully fledged workshop to create some fine jewelry pieces. I particulary liked how each project built on the ones before and how the author included professionally created pieces that highlighted various techniques and provided inspiration. OK, so I haven't actually made anything yet, but of all the books I have purchased and not actually made anything from, this one has probably moved me closer to getting off my butt and picking up a tool than any other. Excellent descriptions and photography, attractive projects I'll be happy to make when I get around to making anything. In case you're interested, I have actually gone back to this book and re-read it three separate times, which says an awful lot about any book in my library.

Kate

I ordered this book with Jinks McGrath's "The Complete Jewelry Making Course" and was very disappointed to find that they were nearly identical.
They used the same photographs and right down to some of the same text.


For example, on page 11 of McGrath a section on Finding Inspiration is exactly the same text as Hurst's pg 21. And there are many more instances of being exactly the same book with different covers.

Neither books are bad, but don't buy them both. In fact, find another less sleazy publisher than Quarto Books to provide your needs.

This is a good book for someone looking to dabble in metal jewelry-making; that is, to attempt a project or two to try your hand at it to see if it's something you want to pursue as a career or as a hobby.

One deficiency is a lack of serious discussion about torches, but this is one area that seems to be overlooked in all the jewelry-making books I've read. Even Carles Codina in his wonderful (hint hint) book: "The Complete Book of Jewelry-making" only discusses one type of torch that is out of the price range of most beginning jewelers (a high tech water torch). In this book, Hurst gives no specific info about what kind of torch to use other than a "large kind that a plumber might use" (to paraphrase her own words). This is virtually no advice at all, and could be disastrous to one's jewelry-making and one's pocketbook.

Although I'd recommend the Codina book over any other, this book is filled with nice clear color photos taking you step by step through the basics. If you're a short attention span learner, this might be a good one for you. However, you'll need to fill in the gaps by researching things like the proper torches (and why they're the proper ones) on your own.

This is a very helpful book, starting with all the basic tools you will need, continuing with methods and styles used in silverwork, and many good basic projects to practise on. A must for everyone starting out to do silverwork, and even advanced students would find it helpful. Iam very pleased I purchased it.

I thought the book was real good. It would be good for beginners as well as experienced craftsman. It had 13 projects from beginner to experienced.

I love this book! It is indeed a great book for beginning metalworkers. This book goes into great detail about how to do each project but, it doesn't lose you along the way. This book is a full color book all the way. So if you get stumped, you can study the pictures and see where you are at or you can come back to it later and still be able to see where you left off. I think this book is really a great book if you wish to do more than just take wire and shape and twist it with your pliers or a jig.

wonderful resource for beginning jewelers. i've taken several silversmithing classes and found this a great review and resource for what i had learned.

I really like this book. The writer is not only talented, but very organized. The "how to " steps are clear and easy to follow. I will use ,and learn from this book.

I learned most of my techniques by books! Read and reread...classes are great too but let's face it...classes are expensive and sometimes not close to home. This book is great if you want to go beyond learning the average techniques of jewelry making.