In every field the top artisans have their favorite ways of solving common problems. Making a piece of fine jewelry is no exception. The work is intricate, but accomplished jewelers have a variety of techniques, special tools and shortcuts that are proven to save time and improve the quality of your work.This book is written as a resource for jewelers with skill levels from beginner through advanced. The bench tips come from Brad Smith's 17 years of experience in the jewelry industry, including a decade teaching hundreds of students. 101 tips are detailed and illustrated with closeup pictures as ready solutions for common problems at the bench. They include over 20 ways to save time when soldering and polishing, 8 common hazards to avoid, many ways to cut costs, 10 tips to improve stone setting skills, and the "Must-Have" tools for increasing productivity at the bench.

Brad Smith is a studio jeweler, lapidary, and jewelry instructor in Santa Monica, CA who enjoys working with silver, gold, exotic woods, bone, fossil ivory and meteorite. A long-time member of the Culver City Rock Club, Brad has taught lapidary skills, led field trips, organized gem and mineral shows, and served as club President. As a member and Vice President of the Metal Arts Society of Southern California, he has worked on their Board of Directors and organized workshops with visiting artists. He taught Advanced Jewelry in the Los Angeles school district for eight years, and since 2009 he has taught both beginner and advanced jewelry at the Santa Monica Adult-Ed Center.