Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition

• Jewelry: Fundamentals of Metalsmithing (Jewelry Crafts)
• Practical Casting: A Studio Reference, Revised Edition
• The Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques
• The Jeweler's Directory of Decorative Finishes: From Enameling and Engraving to Inlay and Granulation
• Creative Stonesetting

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. 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. This book has an extraordinary amount of information in it and I highly recommend it for beginners and advanced metalsmiths alike. 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've been a silversmith for over 15 years and I learned quite a bit from this book. And you're barely going to see much in the way of drawings on how to actually do the techniques described. 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.

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 certainly wouldn't call it "Complete Metalsmith". I wouldn't want to be without either of them. You're not going to see illustrations or instructions on how to make specific jewelry pieces.

This was a gift for our daughter who had already chosen it on her wish list. Best in the biz. She loves it.

I think it is a bit dated in it's look, but it has some helpful info.

The Bad: Too much subject matter is condensed to a single page or even a single paragraph. McCreight chose a very misleading title for this book. The Good: Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight is an excellent basic text for the beginner jewelry maker. Additionally many of the methods and techniques described fit better in a basement crafter's arsenal than in a professional metal smith's shop.

Overall it should probably be purchased by every hobbyist with an interest in working with metal in jewelry making. Topics such as gold leaf and its application and enameling are much more complex than the single page definitions Mr. McCreight offers his readers. The Ugly: Because metal smithing goes beyond the simple jewelry making techniques and methods described in this book, Mr.

I read all of the reviews left by others who own this book and am just as happy as any of them.I was looking for a very detailed text and this is it.