Product Description

This is a bench reference book for all jewellers. In it the author discusses various ways of joining parts. These methods include: cold connections (staples, rivets etc.), hot connections (soldering, brazing and welding), and adhesives. In a no-nonsense manner, the author provides useful information through drawings and text, explaining the techniques in a simple fashion. He carefully discusses when to use the various methods, the pros and cons ofeach and the pitfalls to be wary of. there is also a clear discussion about materials and equipment. In short, it contains all one needs to know about practical joining.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8956 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 112 pages

Review
'This is a book which does exactly what it claims. Clear instructions and illustrations combine with the layout for ease of use and the author brings his three decades of experience to bear on techniques... the book has a place in the workshop of any halfway serious jewellery maker.' Art Book Review (August 2007)

About the Author
Tim McCreight is a well-known American author, teacher and jeweller. He has been working with metals since 1973. He has an MFA from Bowling Green University and he taught for over 30 years at a number of schools, including the Maine College of Art. He consults for industry, teaches workshops internationally, and he is the author of 16 previous books including our own Working with Precious Metal Clay.

Customer Reviews

ahhh, what a little gem.
I'm extremely fussy about what i give 5 stars to. Some of my fave books thus far have had 4 stars from me. The reason I've given this little gem my 5 star rating is because....Its not pretty, it doesn't have lots of pretty photographs and inspiration, it doesn't contain projects. It hasn't jumped on a jewelry making bandwagon and thought "hey! everyone's into this, let me write a books about it and cash in". lol.
What this little spiral bound book contains is information in its purest form. Jewellers who wish to learn many ways they can construct thier work with connections can have this book open (lying flat - thankyou tim) on thier bench. It teaches us about joining techniques. Hot and cold. It covers soldering and it covers riveting and pins, staples and other little thought of methods that make you think, "Ahh, of coooourse.". Tim also goes into bonding with the cold connections, using glues/adhesives etc. Lots and lots of ways of joinging stuff together depending on your project. I think this is invaluable for me because if I ever have a situation where I think, how can I put this all together with the combustable material in the middle? then out will come this book. I also happen to love the way tim writes. He's so casual and funny and completely un patronising. We dont need to know physics and science - we just need to know why it'll work and why it wont - in its simplest explanation. There was a particular bit in this book that made me laugh out loud....its on pg 88 where tim tells us briefly about welding options. he stars the sentance; "Arc welding was discovered in suburban desmoines in 1969 when little johnny smith reached into the toaster with a butterknife. Ok, thats not true. In fact, it was patented in britian in 1885......" I just thought that was funny. ;o)
This book does contain Tims hand drawn diagrams and examples - which is helpful visual aid. The contents of this book are;
COLD CONNECTIONS, Intro, tabs, staples, bezels, threaded connections, rivets, other cold connections.
HOT CONNECTIONS, overview, soft soldering, brazing;torches,surfaces,equipment,soldering investment,misc supplies, clean up after soldering, welding;equip,modern welding.
ADHESIVES; History of,natural glue, drying glues, polyvinyl, hot melt, epoxy, which to use, cyanoacrylates and ultraviolet curing....
At the back of the book are some useful charts. Equivalent numbers - giving the US and UK guages, mm, inches and drill#. Melting points for various metals. Temperature conversions - celcius to fahrenheit and vice versa.
Then, and this was a nice surprise, a list of suppliers....IN THE UK!! YEEEEY. (I think that this one has been done for the UK, with A&C Black. I know he's also done one with his own publishing co, Brynmorgen press - which probably has US suppliers. So keep an eye out for that.)
Excellent little refrence. I highly recommend for having a more rounded knowledge of joining your parts. Good stuff.

Really handy little book
As per Jokat's review, this is an excellent book to have. Its easy to understand and a very good reference. I learnt quite a bit from this book as a beginner and have been able to develop on ideas from using the knowledge from this little book.

The list of suppliers has come in really handy for me as I have now found a new supplier for my stuff.

I definitely recommend buying it.

Excellent.
A proper, no-frills bench reference to all kinds of joining - really useful, functional and not just another glossy coffee table book for hobbyists!