Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition

I keep picking this book up and studying a random page. Always learn something new (I am new to this). I love the illustrations that are in here. It’s organized well, colorful and you can learn a lot from it. Excellent reference.

This is my first go-to book when I am doing something new and need to know how to get started. It is encyclopedic in that it covers everything, but it does not go into a lot of detail on some subjects. It seems to have enough to get you started, and a lot of details on setting up workshop, tools, etc with less coverage of the more advanced techniques. The pro edition is a spiral bound hard cover, and it also has more pages and more subjects than the cheaper student edition. I bought the pro version since I would would hate to end up buying both if I find out it had something essential. There is also a super-deluxe version that has a DVD, The Pro edition is the one you want. The book has lots of reference material, details on tools, metals, techniques, etc. so if you are doing jewelry work or metalsmithing it has enough in it to make it worth buying. It does not have pretty pictures, and does not have a lot of details for the more advanced techniques, but in those cases you really need to buy a book devoted to a single technique to get enough coverage. I bought this and Jinks McGrath's The Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques and they are a good pair. McGraths's book is less thorough but he has a different perspective on things and also includes lots of nice photos. It is more visual and maybe that is more useful for some people, but I find them both essential. If I had to buy just one, it would be the McCreight book since I can live without the photos, but for the very beginner I think the McGrath book may be a little easier to get into.

Recently I have returned to playing with metal in designing jewelry, mixed media art, and fine art. The author of this book - Tim McCreight is world-known for his work and providing books to help others learn the basics and some of his own "tricks" in manipulating metal. I have to say this book is one of his best and probably the one I hold in highest regard. It it thorough. It is well written. It is full of high quality, often with color to help know which piece is what when working an item. It is well organized. The appendices are SUPERB - from safety (ventilation, repetitive motion, chemicals) to suppliers to geometric formulas to melting points to conversion factors to properly photographing jewelry AND MORE! It is a great starting point for all those who are seriously interested in pursuing this type of work as a hobby or art. Some of McCreight's other books (e.g.Practical Joining) are often rehashes with a bit more thoroughness of this book, while others (e.g. on PMC - precious metal clay) cover other topics. Of the numerous books by MeCreight in my library, I refer to this one first. The spriral binding is great and thus when I have to review something when working, the book lies flat and doesn't need to be held down in order to stay in place. The only drawback is that the cover (at least my version) tends to attact fuzz or dog hair when I take it from my work area to review sections in my home. Weird...luckily tape takes care of that problem for I don't want to give up my pets! So for beginners to advanced workers in metal - get this book first...or second if you want a more beginner book to see if this work is really for you. Other books by McCreight should be considered IF you are interested in pursuing various aspects of metalwork in detail (e.g. "Metals Technic" - book based on his workshops and focused on producing quality pieces in various methodologies...but some of the images in it have much to be desired - ?new addition might help that???).

This book has an extraordinary amount of information in it and I highly recommend it for beginners and advanced metalsmiths alike. It is a definite must have any any metalsmiths library. What this book is: This book is a reference book which touches on many techniques used within the field of metalsmithing and jewelery making. I've been a silversmith for over 15 years and I learned quite a bit from this book. Personally, I think the title of the book is a bit misleading. Though it does touch on an enormous amount of invaluable information, that's pretty much all it does is touch on it. I certainly wouldn't call it "Complete Metalsmith". The book is illustrated by very small basic drawings, some of which can be a little bit hard to understand. What this book isn't: This book is not a typical How To book. You're not going to see illustrations or instructions on how to make specific jewelry pieces. And you're barely going to see much in the way of drawings on how to actually do the techniques described. It's more like a text book of techniques without much in the way of visuals. If you are the type who learns better by illustrations, then I would suggest The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques by Anastasia Young, which I received yesterday and is an absolutely beautiful book with loads of information and gorgeous photographs. And the price is extremely reasonable for such an excellent book. But if you can swing it, I would recommend both of these books. I wouldn't want to be without either of them.

This book has been very helpful to me in my jewelry-making course. The explanations are generally clear and Mr. McCreight covers a wide variety of topics. I've bought several books on metalsmithing, but this is the one I go to first to familiarize myself with a new technique before trying it out. I wouldn't want to use this book to teach myself metalsmithing; some explanations that seem very clear in the comfort of your study turn out to be just a bit terse when you're at your bench alone with the book and a lump of metal that resists becoming a piece of jewelry. But with the help of a teacher who can fill in the gaps, this book is very useful indeed. My decision to award this book four stars is due mainly to flaws in the tables at its end. For instance, one table reports that the number of Troy ounces in a Troy pound is the same as the number of Troy ounces in a pound avoirdupois, a bit over 14. Another tells us that the conversion factor for going from 18kt gold to platinum (how much more the same volume of platinum will weigh) is the same as the conversion factor for going from silver to platinum, about 2.06, thus wrongly telling us that silver and 18kt gold have the same density. Those are just the errors I caught as I casually looked over the tables. They shake my confidence in the other numbers provided and convince me I'd better get out my calculator and my CRC manual to verify those tables before relying on them. Tables like these are usually taken from other sources and compiled by assistants, so I expect those errors are errors either of transcription or in the source material. In the area in which he's expert, metal smithing, Mr. McCreight has been a sure teacher who hasn't led me astray. It would be a very good idea, however, for someone to fix those tables. They do reduce confidence in an otherwise excellent book. Pictures and more illustrations would really help clarify some of the explanations in the text.

I have purchased MANY books over the past year because I need hard copy verses internet/device use. This book, although published a bit ago, is so well organized and thorough. If there is any one book you choose to help you learn the craft this is it. First, my copy is hard covered with spiral bound inset. The pages are of good print quality and weight. Clear graphics with detail versus photographs help you see what is needed. Soooo much information is well organized and charts are easily found. As one who can be very judgemental on quality of educational books, i wish I had gotten this from the start. If you are new to this caft, I don't think you will be disappointed I would post pics, but it is copyrighted and I honor that. I will be looking at Tim's other works and hope they are just as wonderful.

I have been working with silver, brass, and copper wire and sheet metal for about 3 years now. I consider myself a beginner to the wide world of metalsmithing and often take on projects that are very complex to stretch myself. This book is not only confidence building but motivating for me to try new techniques or improve those I have already learned. I carry it with me on trips for reading on the plane or in the hotel or at the pool, reach for it at the end of the day as good bed time reading and when I am in the studio working on creating. Great illustrations, and explanations, though I am not scared of trying anything and failing and trying again. I also bring my book to my fabrication class and find it a great reference to aid my plans in designing a project with my instructor to plan the techniques I'd like to incorporate into a larger composition. I got this book as a birthday present, and it's the gift that keeps on giving well beyond the $30. it cost.

I have fallen in love with this book and Tim McCreight. In all seriousness though, if you have an interest in working with metal, but don't know what specifically you want to do with it, or don't know where to start - buy this book (or the slightly lighter student version). I bought the book with the intention of picking up some welding/cutting knowledge and wound up discovering my previously unknown obsession with enameling and patination. The book summarizes many different techniques and methods of working with metal and gives a basic description of what the processes involve. It's enough to use alone on some of the techniques, and on the rest it's enough to assist you in figuring out what supplies you'll need to proceed and/or whether or not you'd be served in buying another book specific to that process. Regardless of whether or not the book covers each process completely or not (pretty much impossible unless it was to weigh 50lbs), it's an invaluable reference and very motivating and inspiring to have around. You want this book!