Manufacturing jeweller Allan Mether has spent the past 12 months creating the Third Hand Bench System for makers of hand-made jewellery, just like himself.
Frustrated by what he described as “clunky bench devices”, Mether designed his own bench vice system that utilises extremely powerful rare earth magnets instead of traditional hinges.
Mether says the result is a highly flexible, extremely accurate and stable two-piece system that will make bench jewellers’ tasks that much easier.
“These kits provide an ‘elegant’ solution for bench jewellers who need to accurately position small components for hands-free soldering,” Mether told Jeweller.
The device mounts instantly to any metallic surface via the magnets in the base of both units.
“This is my own design. There is nothing like it on the market,” he said.
“It is unique in the way the magnetic elbows hold the work, while still allowing fine, easy and accurate positioning.”
Mether said a quick internet search for “magnetic third hand” profiles four different products, including his own.
“One other looks close to mine but it’s no where near as versatile. My unit has been designed by a jeweller, for jewellers,” he attested.
Mether said he sold four of the units in the first week, including one “sight unseen” after he described the system to a colleague over the phone.
“A couple of others jewellers close by to me have purchased the system after I demonstrated to them how it worked. They were so impressed they bought them on the spot.”
Mether’s store, Mornington Jewellers, is around an hour from Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula.
He believes the Third Arm Bench System has many applications outside the jewellery industry but for the moment his aim it to restrict the initial production run of 140 units to the local jewellery industry.
He is hoping to ramp-up production of the device but insists he wants to keep manufacturing within Australia.
The two-part kit comes fully assembled, is packaged in a small box and sells for $129 plus postage.
Mether is currently developing a larger, sturdier ring clamp that adheres to the same design principles as his Third Arm tool.