Jewelry Making Tools
Essential jewelry making tools for the beginner include those shown here. A variety of articles can be made with a small set of good tools; in fact, some of the pieces here are made with only two or three of the jewelry making tools listed. All jewelery making tools should be kept clean and protected from pressure that may bend or dull them and from moisture which will cause corrosion or rust. A good workman takes care of his tools.
CARE OF JEWELRY MAKING TOOLS
Keep the working surface of the steel hammer and steel surface plate free of scratches and dents by using coarse and fine abrasives depending upon the depth of the dent or scratch.
The steel burnisher must be kept well polished and wrapped in chamois skin when not in use. The file and handle come separately. Only the small files, such as the needle files, have a handle as part of the file.
The teeth of the files will become dull if allowed to rub against each other, or against other steel tools. Clean the files with a file brush, and rub the smaller files with a coarse cloth. Files and all jewelry making tools should be put away clean.
Gauges are jewelry making tools to measure the thickness of the metal sheet and the diameter of the wire. Insert the metal sheet or wire in the slot nearest to the thickness of the metal or diameter of the wire and read the gauge number. The gauge numbers referred to in this book are measured by the Brown and Sharpe Gauge. Visit our other posts for more information on jewelry making tools.
Ball pein hammer, for general use, the ball end used as a punch to raise the metal.
Metal cutting shears, for cutting light weight metal.
Jeweler’s saw frame, to hold saw blades which come in various sizes in packages of one dozen.
Hand vise, to hold small work while filing, etc
End and side cutting nippers, used to cut wire.
Round and square nose pliers, used to bend and form wire.
Finishing and polishing tools Hand buffs, felt and chamois on wood handles, to buff and polish metal. Steel burnisher, used to smooth and finish metal.
Tweezers, used to handle stones and small objects. Scriber, used to mark an inscribed line on metal. Center punch, used to make depressions in the metal. Dividers, used to inscribe circles and divide lines.
May 14th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
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