Q: I love working with silver but prices have been so high lately. How can I stretch my stash?

A: We did get used to rather reasonable prices on silver for the last 6 or 7 years, but it has risen and the pundits are calling for it to rise even more. While pundits are often wrong, rather than wait and see, I’ll offer some tips on making the most of the supply you have and can afford.

Save all of your scrap! Here are some suggestions as to what you can do with your scrap metal:

Q: How do I keep metal dust from covering the lines I’m trying to follow when I’m sawing? I’m using rubber cement to glue the design on the metal, but the adhesive seems to just attract the filings and I can’t see where I’m going!

Q: I’ve had bone spurs at the base of several fingers on the palm side of my hands on and off since I graduated with a degree in metalsmithing. Because I constantly work with my hands, they never fully have a chance to go away. What can be done about bone spurs?

Q: I went to buy some copper from an industrial supply house and they didn’t have the gauge I was looking for but instead had it listed by ounces. How do I determine what I need?

ASK BETSY – November 2020

Q: Do you have any tips for filing? I sometimes feel like I just don’t get the results I think I should be getting.

Q: Not so much a question, but, prompted by a conversation I had with a metalworking friend who is much more frugal and inventive than I, this month I want to share some ideas on using household items in your workshop. Here are a few items:

-Clothes pins. These are very versatile implements.

Greetings fellow Metalsmiths!

We have a new video available in the Members Only Online Video Library, It’s the Spicula & Beyond Demonstration that Andrea Kennington hosted for us on July 18th.  https://vimeo.com/showcase/massc

Q:  How do I know if my MASSC membership is current?