Hi, Due to my permanent back problem, I am thinking of changing my work to making jewelry of which I know nothing about. The things I would be interested in is Cufflinks, Pendants, Bracelets and Rings. Is there anyone on here that make this sort of stuff.
Also, I find it hard to use my Heiz 1000S so I will be looking to get a new machine approx. half size. I still intend to make my plaques and Lovespoons. Can anyone recommend a magical smallish machine with capability of a ring attachment?
Thanks
Dave
Making Jewelry
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TReischl
- Vectric Wizard
- Posts: 4653
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:04 pm
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- Location: Leland NC
Re: Making Jewelry
What do you mean by a "ring attachment"? A rotary axis?
If you actually mean a rotary axis so you can work around the outside of a ring shape you will need to be careful purchasing a machine. Putting a rotary on the bed of many machines results in very little available Z travel after it is mounted and a tool is put in the collet. A typical center height for a small rotary axis is usually 50mm or greater (about 2 inches). If you add half the diameter of a ring, say about .3 inches, and your Z only has 4 inches of travel you have very little room left for the tool.
Why these guys all seem to think that 4 inches is a great Z travel is beyond me. I modified my machine so that it has about 8 inches of Z to accomodate a rotary axis. To prevent the axis from being extended way out in space while doing normal work I built a sub table that reduces the Z travel height to about 4 inches. The rotary sits on the sub base behind the main table so I can easily work on a 10 inch bowl.
If you actually mean a rotary axis so you can work around the outside of a ring shape you will need to be careful purchasing a machine. Putting a rotary on the bed of many machines results in very little available Z travel after it is mounted and a tool is put in the collet. A typical center height for a small rotary axis is usually 50mm or greater (about 2 inches). If you add half the diameter of a ring, say about .3 inches, and your Z only has 4 inches of travel you have very little room left for the tool.
Why these guys all seem to think that 4 inches is a great Z travel is beyond me. I modified my machine so that it has about 8 inches of Z to accomodate a rotary axis. To prevent the axis from being extended way out in space while doing normal work I built a sub table that reduces the Z travel height to about 4 inches. The rotary sits on the sub base behind the main table so I can easily work on a 10 inch bowl.
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