This week, I’ve been rearranging the workshop to make room my new jewellers bench. I bought the bench from a jeweller who was retiring after 40 years of jewellery making. Since this was a piece of furniture I was inevitably going to be spending a lot of time at I wanted to ensure sure it was the right choice for me. I initially looked into buying a new bench but they just don’t seem to make them like they used to. They were all a bit light and I wanted a bench that would withstand the pressure of hammering, cutting and soldering without fear of collapse! So when I found this bench with all the years of experience and character that had been in use for over 20 years, I knew I could give it a good home with many more years in a busy workshop.
The height of the bench is extremely important. The bench needed to be high enough so that the jewellery is at at the correct eye level so I’m not hunched over the bench all day.
What makes a jewellers bench different from any other workbench is the semi circle cut out in the middle to form the work space. This ensures you can sit close to your jewellery at all times, with a bench skin or tray allowing you to collects stray pieces. It really is so important! As jewellers, we work with tiny components all day so if you drop something, it will more than likely fall in to your bench tray.
Unfortunately there was one casualty from the move, my bench peg snapped while I was trying to remove it so I’ll have to getting working on make another one. It was nearing it’s retirement anyway. I’m loving working on the new bench. All my favourite tools have found new homes as over the years the previous owner had added handy clips and hooks for the pliers, soldering torch and piercing frame.
Read more about Jewellry Designer Eileen Moylan here