Computer/Design Area

Our two computer systems are partitioned off from the livingroom by the bank of grinders, saw, and sander. We have fiberoptic internet through Xmission. We have been very pleased with their service. For our phone we use Vonage. Can't say enough about Vonage. It's a great service and if you have a business you can't beat the unlimited free long distance and tons of other features that don't cost a penny extra.

We probably spend a third of our time at the computers listing items, designing, and doing marketing work and research. It's my least favorite chore. I much prefer just making jewelry.

The woman with the pony tail is my wife Christina. We share one brain.

Cutting, Layout, Assembly Area

Other than a nice leather sofa and a TV, there's nothing to suggest this is a livingroom. We store all our glass, hand tools, findings, paints, etc. I have a Morton Cutting System which I use frequently. For a work and cutting surface, I have a few tables topped with drywall. It's great for stained glass work because you can insert pins, nails, etc. It's also heat resistant. I don't think there's a better surface for working with glass. I have racks where I keep my 90 COE, 96 COE and art glass separate. I have a small, portable work table I place in front of the sofa so I can continue to work while I'm "relaxing" in front of the TV.

Christina and I work nearly every waking moment.

Grinding Area

Yes, this is a very messy thing to do in your livingroom. Fortunatly the home we rent already has the most hideous carpet I've ever seen in one house. When the landlord asked if we wanted him to replace it, we declined. We would rather trash trashy carpet than have to spread tarps or whatever all over.

Our bank of grinding tools consists of the ring saw, large grinder with an ultrafine dichroic grinding bit, a small grinder with a standard bit, and a Covington wet belt sander.

A Rotating Ring

Ring Saw

A tool I find essential for making glass jewelry (besides the glass grinder) is my Taurus Ring Saw. It uses a very strong and flexible diamond coated stainless steel ring which rotates around pulling cooling and lubricationg water from the reservoir beneath the bed of the saw.

It is available with a standard blade, a thin blade, a mega blade( for cutting stone/marble) a dichroic blade (fine grit so as not to chip dichroic coating), and a separating blade (for inside cuts).

The diamond coating on the blades (as with glass ginder bits) do not cut flesh and are very safe to use. They will only cut hard materials, so keep your fingernails and jewelry away from the blade. Diamond blades will also make short work of a callus.

Tack fused dichroic and transparent glass

Full fused opaque glass with dichroic, topped with clear glass.