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Virtual Factory Tour
Changes in the lease, the market and state and local taxes forced to look around
for a new place to setup shop. The small town of Clackamas, OR had all the things
we needed. It placed us outside of tax hungry Multnomah County, while still leaving
us close to the jewelry dense Portland downtown.
Several long days of moving equipment were followed by a week of cleaning and
painting. A complete revamp of the electrical system was also necessary. This
building gave us nearly the same amount of square footage for the factory. The
gains from the move still greatly out-weigh any losses.
Enjoy the tour....
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Walking in the
door to the factory,
looking front to
back. We begin
our tour.
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To our right we have one of the
stone set benches and the laser
station. "Stone Set" is obvious, this
is where we set the gemstones.
The laser is one of most useful
tools we own. Nearly 100% of our
assembled parts are welded (no
soldered) using the laser.
Occasionally we weld pieces for
local jewelers or far off customers.
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Standing in the middle
looking towards the
back of the factory.
The final polish station
is in the far right-hand
corner.
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The goldsmith's
bench gets a lot of
work, every day.
Pieces come here
for final assembly.
Several types of
clasps and hinges
are fabricated at
these stations.
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The casting area. In the forground
is the Naycraft centrifical caster.
Several custom and small casts are
done there. The smaller button
allows us to save on gold. In the
background are the Memco
vaccuum caster (with heavly
modified pump), ovens, steamer
and our investment station. Yes,
that's the same Kitchen Aid mixer
your Mother used. Much better than
a wooden spoon for mixing
investment for casts.
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Standing at the
rear looking
forward. Above the
shipping area and
laser/stone set is
the design studio.
Very warm in
winter, too warm in
summer.
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Final polish, the smallest,
dirtiest place in the factory.
Every piece that goes out of the
factory come through this
station. The large Handler dust
collector is the work horse of
polish. The 3 or 4 stage polish
wheels charged with compounds
give us the high polish that is
the standard for our jewelry.
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