PB Cohen Creations

Like anyone who performs repetitive tasks regularly, jewelers have to be mindful of ergonomics. This is particularly true for people who hammer things regularly, like blacksmiths or traditional silversmiths. There was a day when I was working on my Bell Project that I did some damage to my left thumb, because I was holding the metal incorrectly, and taking too much of the force of the hammer on my hand. I quickly readjusted my methods, and luckily didn't do any permanent damage. My friend Stacy, who uses a hammer quite a bit, recently had surgery on one of her thumbs because of a stress-related injury. You can never be too careful about safety.

Hammering isn't the only potentially dangerous activity that jewelers participate in — any repetitive activity can cause problems if you do it for extended periods of time, if you perform it incorrectly (or without being mindful of your body), or if you don't take enough breaks. A good rule is, "If it hurts, find a way to do it so it won't hurt."

Jean left a comment on my post about sawblades, pointing out Brian Meek's "Frankensaw." He takes commercial, oven-bake clay, wraps it around the handle of his saw, grips it to mold the clay to the shape of his hand, and bakes it. You can click on this photo for a larger version, but be sure to go to Brian's site for more pictures and a how-to. As Brian says, the handle creates a "saw that you don't have to clutch to use," which would greatly reduce hand fatigue. He also describes the process in the article "Custom Saw Grip" from the August 2008 issue of Jewelry Artist.

I keep meaning to try this, but never remember to pick up clay when I'm out. Partly, I think, because it usually isn't my sawing hand that feels tired after a long session at the bench, it's my other hand — the one I use to hold the metal flat against the bench pin. So now I'm contemplating getting a different kind of bench pin. Contenti has two kinds of bench pins that include devices that will hold the metal for you: the Smartvise and the Clamping Bench Pin.

(Note that other jewelry supply companies have these, or similar products. I link to Contenti because it's easy to link to their photos.)

Too bad neither of these styles would help keep me from dropping 1/4" diameter circles on the floor.