For the past couple of years in my post-grad-life I have not had at permanent studio space with all the tools and equipment I need. Sure, the little jeweler’s bench in my cold shared basement is good for piercing, riveting, and freezing my toes off, but it’s far from housing all of the necessities. Luckily, as a staff member and instructor at Metalwerx I have had the pleasure of using our very well equipped studio space.
But, traveling with all of your different gauges sheet metal, tubing, wire, silver solder, stones, etc… can be difficult and messy! I am sure many of your relate- weather it be traveling to take a class or using open studio time at your local maker space, we are all in need of a little “Marie Kondo” when it comes to storing materials.
Furthermore searching threw a pile of skeet silver floating around in the bottom of your toolbox will not only scratch your nice sheet metal, but it’s also a waste of time and money when you’re a rent bench-time! So in my attempts to make life more organized, and to save me time, I’ve found a 3-ring binder and some clear binder pockets to be the perfect way to store and transport my silver and gold stock! This method has been keeping my materials safe and my mind at ease for years!
Here’s what you will need:
- 3 ring binder (I prefer an extra-large size, with a zipper closure and handle)
- Clear zipper Binder Pockets (Note: I do not recommend hole punching your own clear pockets, the holes will allow little pieces of silver to fall out and get lost!)
- Sharpie (or if you want to get really fancy a label maker)
Additionally, a little contact paper or masking tape can be helpful for protecting your sheet metal from scratches.
Note: I like to write the gauge of metal on the tape or contact paper, and the cost per square cm/inch of when I purchased it. I started doing this so I could sell metal to my students when they were in a pinch, but it is also helpful when you are trying to determine what your material cost was for a pieces of jewelry you are selling!