Recycled furniture – Ornamento

Make Yourself a Tabletop Jeweler’s Bench

By: ornamento.blog July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

Art, DIY, jewelry making tools, Recycled furnitureArt, DIY table top Jeweler's benh, recycling3 Comments

A few weeks ago, I decided to make myself a tabletop jeweler’s bench similar to this one. I don’t have a proper jewelry bench and needed one that fit into a crowded work space. I had a few more requirements: I wanted to set up the bench directly across from my soldering station. I wanted the bench to hold my bench pin at the right height for comfortable sawing. I also wanted to have a bit of storage underneath the bench. Most importantly, I needed a portable bench so I could move it out of the way if I needed to use the work station for something else.

My last requirement was that I wanted to make the bench using tools and materials I already had on hand. I possessed an old hand-held power jigsaw, a couple of miter box saws, (inherited from my father-in-law), a drill, and a cordless screwdriver. My materials consisted of a wood snack tray (which seemed to be the perfect size for the top of the bench,) some boards and wood scraps picked up from dumpster diving, and an assortment of screws collected over the years. I didn’t want to buy anything else if I could help it. And every time I was ready to break down and buy something, I discovered that I already owned something that would do the trick. I didn’t have to buy a thing!

19 finished bench

This is my finished bench and I think it looks pretty good considering that I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m not skilled enough to make drawers but I did make a pull-out shelf and added a rack on the back for pliers.

19 Back of bench

The portable bench measures 24” wide, 16” deep and about 9” high with the screw-on feet and 8” without. It is put together entirely with screws. This means it can be disassembled and stored easily. Or you can just slide the shelf out and stow it a corner.

I have no carpentry skills. I have never made anything out of wood unless you count the Popsicle stick trivet I made for my mother in Kindergarten. So I watched a lot of YouTube videos on carpentry and using tools. I wish I could tell you that there’s a great video on how to make this portable bench, but there’s not.

My raw materials:

Snack tray

Snack tray legs-I used these too!

Assorted boards

I will post plans on how to make the bench, and step-out photos next week. Stay tuned.

My Old New Couch

OK, so it’s not really new, but the cushion covers are. I also made floor pillows (shown on the couch here) throw pillows for the couch and leather chairs, and covers for a couple of bed pillows (the pillows slip in a slit in the back) that are good for lounging. I heard someone say that being “green” does not mean that you throw away your belongings and buy new things made with organic materials; it means you find a way to reuse what you already have. That’s what I did. One less couch in a land fill.

These are called “hamburger cushions. My mother-in-law had them on her sofa and I always admired them. My mother taught me how to make box cushions and piping, but I had no idea how to make hamburger cushions and could not find a pattern. I don’t sew enough to be able to figure it out. Then, one day, someone on my block threw out a sofa with hamburger cushions. I swiped one of the covers and figured out how to make my own. Saved by my not-so-inner dumpster diver.

I tacked the striped material to the front of the couch.

Throw pillow on leather chair. Brown fabric on reverse

This is the back of the bed pillow cover.

I had to make miles of piping for this project. I learned a wonderful new way to cut and sew the fabric fast and neatly. Here are the YouTube videos.

I hereby nominate Karen Erickson for a Nobel Prize in sewing!

One last thing. Most home decor junkies are lamenting the passage of Domino Magazine. The good news is the former editor of Domino started Lonny Magazine which you can only read on line. Check it out!

Make Your Own Jewelry Tools

About a month ago, I put up a post about how I made a small jeweler’s bench from a small desk and scrap wood. Since then, I have been trolling for tool making directions and tutorials.

I recommend two excellent articles from Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. The first one is on how to make a swage block from hardwood by Tom and Kay Benham. It’s in the November 2007 issue which you can order by pressing here. You can find other tips on making swage blocks here. The authors used a Fostner drill bit set and a drill press to make their swage block. Since I don’t have access to tools like that, I used a spade drill bit set and hole saws to make mine. I got pretty good results. You can buy hole saw and spade drill sets from Harbor Freight or your local home center.

T 409 he other article from the April 2009 issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist is about how to make a hammered wire cuff bracelet. Author William Fretz throws in a nifty side bar on how to construct a jig so you can get consistent curves in heavy gauge wire. Press here to order the back issue.

Ganoksin is a treasure trove of jewelry making information. Be sure to check out Charles Lewton-Brain’s article on making chasing tools and Tina Wojtkielo’s article for tool junkies. It’s full of tips for making and using tools that she collected from several jewelry artists.

The last item comes from a great Internet resource, the How-To-Make-Jewelry Blog. It’s a useful bracelet sizing template you can download for free. The video that shows how to use it is below.

My New Old Work Bench

Ever since I took the classes with Susan Lenart Kazmer and Jane Wynn, I have been inspired to get back into metal work. I was Jonsing for a Jeweler’s bench but my workspace is small and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. So I took scrap lumber, made made a work surface, and bolted it to the top of an old desk. I even attached a pegboard and shelf. Finally, my bench pin is in the right position for sawing. Here is a picture of the new old bench and a piece in progress.