Faculty Syllabus

Jewelry Techniques 1 focuses on the fabrication of jewelry and will give the student an introduction to the equipment and techniques of jewelry manufacture, as well as an introduction to our facility and policies.

Dress Code: 

For students' own safety, close-toed shoes, and natural fibers should be worn to class. Synthetic fibers tend to melt when exposed to flame or hot material, potentially turning a minor burn into something far more severe. Long hair must be pulled back and secured. Students could be asked to leave class if they're dressed in an unsafe manner.

Attendance/ Class Participation

Jewelry technology courses are practice-intensive and require that you develop skills progressively throughout the semester.  If more than 10% of the total 80 clock hours for this course are missed (8 hours or 3.2 classes...I'll round up to 4) you could be dropped with a grade of “W”, or after final semester withdrawal date, with a grade of “F”.
Arriving late or leaving early will count against your total attendance, such that three late arrivals/early departures will count as one absence.
If you have extenuating circumstances or know ahead of time that you'll miss a class or be late, PLEASE let me know as soon as possible. I understand that sometimes things happen, and life gets in the way, and I'm sympathetic to those issues. That said, if you miss too many class hours, you're simply not going to get enough instruction to recieve class credit.

General things to have of your own:

1. Tool box of some sort to keep your tools and supplies organized
   1. Your tool box must be able to fit on or under your bench
2. Clear safety glasses. (We try to keep a good supply of these, but please get your own)
3. Dark safety glasses (you probably won't need them for this class, and we do try to supply them, but again, it's a good idea to get your own)
4. Hearing protection (disposable ear plugs, reusable ear plugs, etc.)
5. Dust mask for breathing protection
6. All materials for projects (metal, solder, rubber for molds, wax for models, etc.

Specific project materials (we'll talk about each of these when it's time for the projects):

Project 1

1 sheet hard silver solder  

20g sterling silver sheet, dead soft, 2”x3” 

2/0 jeweler's sawblades, at least 2 dozen

Project 2
6g half round sterling silver wire, dead soft, 6" 

Project 3

14g sterling silver wire (dead soft), 5 feet 

Project 4

fine silver bezel wire, 1 ft.
If you have size options on this, you're looking for approx 0.25" tall, by 0.010" thick

20g silver sheet for backplate (varies with size)

cabochon stone, approx 8mm x 10mm (varies) **agate or harder preferred**

If you want to buy from a local store, the only general jewelry supply in town is:

AMC Company

2412 Greenlawn Parkway  

512-452-9765

You'll have to push a buzzer button to get in...just say you're an ACC student.

If you would like or prefer to order online, there are a lot of options: Rio Grande, Otto Frei, and Gesswein are suppliers I've regularly used. Of them, I think Rio Grande (riogrande.com) is the easiest to use for beginners, and has good prices and quick shipping

An introduction to the basic techniques of jewelry fabrication techniques including:

• layout
• drilling
• sawing
• filing
• forming
• soldering
• finishing
• ring construction
• stone setting

All instruction emphasizes industry standards.

Students take this course to:

1. Satisfy degree requirements for a certificate or an Associates of Applied Science degree in Jewelry.
2. Learn basic jewelry fabrication skills.

Your final grade will be based on your progress throughout the semester.  Grades will be given in accordance with the following:

Productivity……….60%

Student will complete all assigned projects to the satisfaction of the instructor. Extra credit may be earned for projects completed in addition to the assigned projects

Attendance……….30%

The importance of your attendance cannot be expressed enough. It goes hand in hand with “productivity”. You will not be able to finish the projects if you don’t attend.

Attitude…………..10%

All individuals should show a cooperative spirit in working together and helping each other so that the collective experience will be beneficial to everyone.  Cooperation with each other in a working situation is very important so that an atmosphere of learning, productivity and creativity may take place.

Lab Safety

Jewelry processes can be dangerous if proper procedures are not observed.

Stay alert.  Be present in your surroundings.  

When it involves the safety of you and others, learn to pace yourself and move cautiously and deliberately. Most accidents occur when people get in a hurry, so don’t get in a hurry and please use your common sense. ACC strives to provide you with proper training and a safe environment, but you also must do your part. Think ahead to possible outcomes of what you’re doing.  The students are vital participants in a safe lab. 

Learning a hand skill, especially one as fussy as jewelry-making, is inherently aggravating.  When you feel emotionally distraught for any reason, e.g., getting in a hurry, frustration with the project/teacher/yourself, etc.-- take a break.  It’s time well spent if it prevents an injury to you, or even just damage to your workpiece.

1. Before using any piece of equipment, get a qualified person to explain its proper use.
2. Report all accidents to your instructor without delay. If you suspect an unsafe condition, bring it to your instructor’s attention immediately. 
3. There's a first aid kit in the office. I'll show it to your when we take our tour.
4. If the campus police are needed, their emergency number is 223-7999, or 222 from ACC phones.  The Highland Campus non-emergency number is 223-7300.
5. Know the locations and proper use of fire extinguishers.
6. Wear your safety glasses at all times when you are exposed to flying particles, as well as harmful chemicals and solutions.
7. ESPECIALLY wear safety glasses when using certain tools like cut-off discs which are prone to shattering.
8. Wear earplugs in the presence of high noise levels.
9. Wear a dust mask when sanding, buffing, investing or in other situations where respiratory hazards are present.
10. Tie back long hair, loose sleeves, dangling jewelry, and anything else that could get caught in rotating machinery such as polishing motors, flex-shafts, rolling mills, or the casting centrifuge.
11. Torch safety:
    1. Never walk away from a lit torch, even for a moment.  Turn it off and relight. 
    2. Don’t leave flammables (except firecoat) on your bench, e.g., paper towels, books, plastic bottles and cups, etc.  
    3. If you smell gas, don’t assume someone else will take care of it. 
    4. Be sure that both oxygen and fuel valves are closed on unlit torches.
    5. Be aware of the direction of the heat plume from a lit torch. 
    6. Keep your hair out of the flame.   
12. If you are melting metal to pour an ingot, make sure your metal and mold are dry.  Molten metal can pop and splatter if it comes in contact with even trace amounts of moisture.
13. Wear proper eye protection when using the torches. Most soldering is done without dark lenses, but if a process is causing you afterimages, you should wear a #3 shade lens for that type of work.  A #3 lens will also be enough protection in most casting situations. A #5 lens may be needed when casting metals with higher melting points (bronze, brass, and copper) and for prolonged melting of larger volumes of metal (50 grams or more). A #5 to #11 lens would also be needed for platinum work.
14. Throwing hot metal into the pickle solution can cause spattering, dispersing toxic and corrosive particles into the air, which can harm your skin, lungs, eyes, and clothing.  So, allow it to cool and then put it in carefully.
15.  Always wear the proper attire when working with fire (torches) and hot or molten metal. Clothing should be natural fiber. Synthetic fibers melt and stick to skin when heated, making burn injuries far worse than otherwise.  Your legs should be covered to the knees, and shoes should completely cover your feet. 

Lab Policy

1. We have literally thousands of objects to keep track of in the Jewelry Lab, some of them so small they look like debris when scattered.  Notice where things come from, and put them back exactly in their proper places.  If you don’t know for sure where something goes, don’t put it away-- put it on the instructor’s bench - and tell the instructor.  Sometimes a tool can be lost for weeks, only inches from where it belongs. 
2. Your instructor will assign you a workbench at the start of each semester.  Students may switch or trade seats, as long as they update the seating chart with their instructor. 
3. Your bench will be used by several other students.  Please leave it clean.  Clean-up time is ten minutes before the end of class.
   1. Return all tools to their proper places. 
   2. Throw away used sandpaper and other trash on the bench or in the drop trays.  Leave nothing but sweeps in the lower tray.
   3. Brush off your bench top into the lower drop tray. 
   4. If there are any sweeps in the upper tray, send them down the hole to the lower one. 
   5. Use the magnet to separate steel, such as sawblades, from the sweeps, and discard or recycle it. 
   6. Brush the sweeps through the hole into the plastic container beneath the tray.  Once the sweeps go down the hole, they belong to ACC—no scavenging. 
   7. Please report any missing tools to the instructor.
   8. Surrounding work areas must be cleaned with the combined efforts of all students.
4. If there is an equipment malfunction, please inform your instructor immediately to that it can be returned to service as soon as possible.
5. If you make a mess somewhere else in the lab, please take care of it yourself.  Note to casting students: This includes the investment area and the casting area. 
6. At the soldering stations, if you find something missing or depleted, don’t borrow it from another station.  If you don’t know how to fix or replenish the item for yourself, ask your instructor to show you.
7. Smoking and eating are not permitted in the laboratories or classrooms. 
8. Please do not use your cell phone in the lab. When it rings, please take it outside. 
9. Please keep conversations quiet, so as not to distract the instructor or students. 
10. A Lost & Found box for small or valuable items is located in the tool room.  For larger items you should ask the instructor.  At the beginning of each semester, any unclaimed items will be disposed of. 
11. While you are registered for a jewelry course, you may occupy an empty seat in another class in the jewelry lab, provided you have the permission of the instructor whose class you sit in on.  You are a guest outside your own class time, however, and must defer to the students in that class in choice of seats, use of equipment, and the instructor’s attention.  You may be asked to relinquish a seat you have occupied for some time to a later arriving guest student.  Please yield graciously, in any case. 
12. Do not enter the lab while under the influence of, or while suffering the aftereffects of, any recreational drug, including alcohol, or any prescription drug that impairs your ability. No tobacco products may be used in the lab.  Caffeine is allowed!

Books of Interest

1. Jewelry Making  by Murray Bovin
2.  The Complete Metalsmith  by Tim McCreight
3. The Design and Creation of Jewelry  by Robert von Neumann
4.  The Jeweler’s Bench Reference  by Harold O’Connor
5. Jewelry Concepts and Technology  by Oppi Untracht
6. Jeweler’s Resource  by Bruce G. Kruth
7. Professional Goldsmithing by Alan Revere
8. The Theory & Practice of Goldsmithing by Prof. Dr. Erhard Brepohl
9. The Metalsmith’s Book of Boxes & Lockets by Tim McCreight
10. Creative Stonesetting by John Cogswell
11. Introduction to Precious Metals by Mark Grimwade
12. Jewelry Metals by James Binnion
13. Jeweler’s supply catalogs (e.g.-Rio Grande, Otto Frei, Gesswein, Hoover and Strong Precious Metals, and many others) all of which are excellent resources for familiarizing yourself with the tools available, as well as for general information on metals and their alloys, technique, charts for calculations, and new jewelry products on the market.
14. Professional jewelers’ periodicals (e.g.-Jeweler’s Circular Keystone (JCK), Metalsmith (SNAG), Jewelry Artist (Lapidary Journal), Professional Jeweler, etc.)
15. A large assortment of jewelry related books are available at the ACC library. I highly recommend taking a look at those books, especially the picture books, to familiarize yourself with different jewelry styles and techniques. Take time to consider what pieces you do, and do not, like, and why you feel that way about them.