Small Metals Lab

Art 210

For J-Lab Hours – contact Lydia Black <lydia.black@sjsu.edu> or Yvonne Escalante <yvonne.escalante@sjsu.edu>

The Jewelry and Small Metals facility (JSM) located in ART 210 features 24 dedicated workstations outfitted with individual Foredoms, torches, and hand tool kits. The main classroom features fully-stocked hand tool cabinets, a variety of forming stakes and hammers, three anvils, a large jump shear, a Beverly shear, and a 12” guillotine shear, and three buffing machines. Dedicated wax working, annealing, and investment areas are equipped with ventilation. A large degassing vacuum chamber is available for degassing investment and molds. An attached lab houses casting equipment, a TIG welder, large drill presses, grinding stations, and a sandblaster.

Casting

The fully-ventilated casting area has three programmable kilns dedicated to lost wax burnouts. In addition to a large Romanoff centrifugal casting machine, there is a vacuum casting machine, Electro-melt furnace, and various ingot molds. 

Metalsmithing

JSM is well equipped with forming stakes, an assortment of hammers and mallets, three anvils, multiple stakeholders, and a variety of specialty forming blocks.

Enameling

JSM has a dedicated enameling station fully stocked with Thompson enamels. Three programmable Paragon kilns with viewing windows can accommodate everything from jewelry to vessels.

Precision tools

JSM has three high-speed drill presses and a Sherline benchtop lathe and mill. The Lab is equipped with everything you need to create fabricated and cast jewelry and small metal sculptures. The lab supports beginning and advanced fabrication for wearable sculpture, machines in metal,advanced soldering and cold connections, pattern and mold making, multiples and modular design, and Lost wax casting.