Why Clean Air Became One of My Biggest Workshop Investments

Growing up, i've seen the impact of poor lung health, i've learned it is something to be taken seriously. Whether lung difficulties are from jewellery making, smoking or due to other reasons; the consequences are devastating.

Jewellery making can be a relaxing, fulfilling activity, but there are risks involved that should be respected. Making jewellery can produce fine dust, metal particles, chemical fumes and intense heat.

Sometimes I watch jewellery-making videos online where little or no extraction is being used, and I can't help wondering whether the maker realises what they're breathing in. It reminds me how easy it is to underestimate risks that aren't immediately visible.

One of the challenges is that many of these risks aren't obvious. Fine metal dust is largely invisible, and the effects often take years to develop. Because of that, older working practices didn't always place the same emphasis on ventilation that many jewellers do today.

Much of the equipment sold for jewellery making such as polishing machines, are sold without any included filtration / ventilation features and do not provide warnings of the danger associated with using it.

In recent years more and more research is starting to show the consequences of bad safety practices, with conditions like COPD and a term now known as Jeweller's lung. Awareness, seems to be improving on this issue.

Another high risk activity is the handling of molten metal, which is precious metals (gold and silver, etc) heated up to near 1,000c until it is in liquid form. First this molten metal (often held in a crucible) needs to be handled with extreme care, any loss of concentration of mishap may result in the splashing or metal landing where not intended with disastrous consequences. The other risk is what's called thermal shock; If molten metal comes into contact with moisture or a significantly colder surface, it can react violently - this is similar to how a thunderstorm happens.

The other factor influencing this issue is that in jewellery making there are always new and expensive tools and machines to invest in - the idea of spending money on something which doesn't make the jewellery any better and is tackling a problem you may not see or feel. It's much easier to get excited about buying a new machine that makes better jewellery than one that simply makes the workshop safer.

Building my own workshop

I knew from the start that I wanted to build a workshop that always had safety in mind; good ventilation, effective extraction and cleaner air.

The two highest risk activities with air quality are soldering and polishing. Soldering creates fumes that are damaging. In an ideal setting, soldering would be done outside or under an open window. Unfortunately, this isn't always practical, so i invested in a portabl fume extraction unit.

The other high risk activity is polishing. This activity creates metal dust and polishing compound to be produced and ejected into the air. Much of this dust is microscopic and invisible to the eye and is small enough to penetrate standard face masks. I chose a high end polishing machine which had the strongest inbuilt extractor fans on the market.

The other risk around working with molten metal, is why i invested in the Neutec casting machine. This is an enclosed casting machine. Thisgreatly reduces the risk of molten metal escaping the casting chamber compared with more open casting methods.

Finally, I've invested in equipment that will continuously background monitor air quality and do a level of continuous air filtration, meaning the room should have better quality air than a standard room in a house.

Why take these steps?

When customers see a finished piece of jewellery, they'll never notice the extraction system in the corner of the workshop or the air quality monitor quietly running in the background. Those aren't the glamorous parts of jewellery making, but they're some of the investments I'm most pleased I've made. If I want to spend the next thirty years making jewellery, then looking after the workshop also means looking after myself.

Making beautiful jewellery has always been the goal, but I don't think beautiful jewellery should come at the expense of the person making it.