What you really need to get started

metalsmithing
 Welcome!
Introrduction
Hey there, my name’s Lucy and I’m a toolaholic! But I want you to avoid my fate!!

I’m guessing you’re reading this because you’re pretty new to this metalsmithing malarkey and
you might be a little lost on what you need in terms of tools to get started, I know I was! So in
this e-book, we’re going to take a look at what you really need to get started on your jewellery
making journey, and hopefully save you a couple of bucks along the way.

If you haven’t tried metalsmithing previously, before you do anything, my advice would be to
try to find a local class to give it a try first. If you’re lucky, you might know of a local school or
even a jeweller offering private classes. But if not, a good place to look is your local community
college. As well as learning the absolute basics with someone there to guide you, taking an
in-person class helps build confidence around tools that you might not have used before. Just
be aware that there is never only one way to do anything, and different schools teach in
different ways of doing the exact same thing. There is no drama at all here. As long as you’re
working safely, it’s about finding the methods that work best for you.

Another reason to take an in-person class to begin with, is that it is quite an investment to set
up your own home studio. Taking classes or even attending open studio hours will give you
access to a wide range of tools to try out, so that you can make more informed decisions when
deciding what to purchase for yourself. Remember, having all the tools does not make you a
better jeweller.

Where to Splurge and Where to Save

You’ll probably hear a lot of folks say “buy the best tools you can afford”, and this is very true in
many cases. But there is a difference between “best” and “designer” or fancy as I generally refer
to them as. Avoiding designer tools is one way to save a lot of money when just starting out.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Green Lion saw frame and Lindstrom pliers. But personally, I
believe it’s better to spend money on the basic tools that you really need to get started and
save money to put towards metals at the start of your journey. The fancy tools can come later
on.

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 Do I need a jewellers workbench?
There are some absolute stunningly beautiful workbenches out there made just for jewellers -
check out Otto Frei if you want a good perv. But they can get very very expensive, spending
$1000 plus on a jewellers workbench is not unusual.

My advice to begin with would be not to go all out crazy spending on a bench, try to find
either a second hand jewellers workbench, take a look at the student range from Duston Tools,
or even rig something up yourself from a cheaper generic workbench - you’ll find lot of
inspiration online.

The ideal height of a workbench depends on how tall you are, but generally when seated the
workbench should be about to boob height (when wearing a good bra), or just slightly below.
Having an adjustable chair is certainly helpful too, but both feet should be able to comfortably
reach the ground to keep you steady whilst working.

Saving your scraps

When working with brass, bronze or copper, saving
scraps and metal filings isn’t really an issue.
However you still want to keep your workplace
tidy, of course. But when working in silver, we
really want to make sure we are catching as many
of our filings as we possibly can so we can send
them in for refining later. This is where having a
jewellers bench comes in very handy.

European style benches come with what’s known

as a “skin” to catch filings, which is basically a piece
of leather hanging under the bench. American
style benches come with a drawer for the same
purpose. Whilst adding a drawer to a workbench
might prove tricky, rigging up a skin to catch filings
could be done relatively easily to a standard
wooden workbench from a hardware store.

Student workbench from

Durston Tools - Approx: $295

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 Where to work
Whilst unfortunately having the possibility to cause marital stress, the one thing I would
argue for is a space in the garage! Kick the cars outside, throw away all the kid’s oll school
stuff and make it your little slice of heaven. Of course, there are other options though.

Why the garage? Well metalsmithing isn’t what you’d consider a clean hobby. Things are going
to get dirty, so ideally you don’t want to be working on your best carpets, and they could
potentially be a fire hazard too.

You also need to make sure you have plenty of ventilation and good air flow too (garage doors
are great for that). When metalsmithing, all sorts of nasty stuff ends up in the air around us:
polishing compound, fumes from soldering, not to mention that brutal lint that flies off your
polishing mops. We don’t want to be breathing that in, so good ventilation is a must.
Remember, even if you are using a mask whilst workinig, the fumes and dust can linger much
longer without good ventilation.

If you are working inside the house, work on flooring rather than carpet if possible - it’s a lot
easier to keep clean. Again, make sure to have adequate ventilation. Locking yourself in a
broom cupboard is not going to be a healthy choice here. Another unhealthy choice would be
to work in the kitchen which poses the risk of contaminating food with potentially poisonous
chemicals. Wherever you work though, make sure to keep all tools, equipment and chemicals
out of the reach of pets and children.

For more information on health and safety in the studio, I

can’t recommend The Jewelry Workshop Safety Report
by Charles Lewton-Brain enough. It should be read by
every jeweller.

I’m not a health and safety expert. Along with most

jewellers I take the common sense approach. Mr
Lewton-Brain however consulted a series of experts for
this book to put together an outstanding report on how
to work safely in the studio.

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Despite popular myth...
You don’t need all the tools to get started

So, what do you need?

Well, that does depend on exactly what you’re going to make, which is why it’s a good idea to
start out taking classes in person or using a shared studio space - so you can take the time
necessary to figure that out. There are however a few basics that I think most metalsmiths will
agree are a must. But even these can be broken down, and certainly don’t need to be
purchased all at once. The key really is to master what you have. Rushing ahead, trying to
learn all the techniques, and buying all the tools, will be make you a worse jeweller rather than
a better one.

Before we dig in to the good stuff though, I want to officially warn you: making jewellery is not
a cheap hobby! And I want to make sure you understand these 3 important noggins of insight
right now, before we even start…….

Concentrate spending on tools Buying every fancy new shiny tool Ingenuity is more important than
that you really need. The ones out there will not make you a any physical tool. Not having all
that will make the biggest better jeweller. Focus on learning the tools really forces us to think
difference to your work. to use the basics first. outside the box.

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 SAFETY FIRST!
Safety glasses, mask, ear protection and a fire
extinguisher. These are absolutely the first tools you
should have before you even pick up a hammer!

Make sure to always read instructions before

operating tools and utilising chemicals that you
haven’t used before - and then follow the
instructions (it’s a novel idea I know, but we must
try our very best).

The absolute basics

Saw Frame Saw Blades Bench Pin and Block

Saw Frame - Approx $10

The humble saw frame is one tool you absolutely can’t live without. You’ll likely find that even
as you expand your tool collection, this is going to be the most regularly used tool in your tool
box. From saw piercing intricate designs, to simply sawing through heavy gauge wire to make
a ring band, this is one tool you must have if you want to make jewellery. Personally I love my
standard German style saw frame, they’re cheap and they do exactly what they’re supposed to
do. You can go nuts spending a fortune buying designer frames, but I’ll be honest - they all do
exactly the same thing.

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Saw Blades - Approx $3 / Dozen
If you value your mental health, I don’t recommend purchasing cheap saw blades. I love Super
Pike, Laser Gold from Rio Grande, Nano from Pepe Tools (and a couple of other brands too), but
generally you should be paying around $24 for 144 blades (a gross). Thankfully though, you can
also buy blades by the dozen too - I have found Otto Frei and Gesswein to have the best prices
when buying by the dozen! But be warned, when just starting out, that first dozen will get used
up pretty fast!

As for which sizes you should get to start out with, that really depends on what you’re going to be
doing. Cutting heavy gauge metal for ring bands will require a much thicker blade than delicate
saw piercing work. Personally though, I’m usually flipping between a 2/0 and a 4/0 blade 90% of
the time (a 4/0 is a finer blade than a 2/0).

You’ll also want some lubricant to help keep those saw strokes smooth. To begin with, an old
candle or bees wax will work perfectly. But you can purchase lube in stick form such as Burlife,
PepeLube or Gesswein Lube stik - don’t worry too much about the brands, they all work the same.

Bench Pin and Block - Approx $15

A steel bench block is a simple, but must-have tool. It’s mostly used as a solid surface for
planishing or forming metal (basically hammering). And of course, you’re also going to need a
bench pin to work on. Almost all of a jeweller’s work actually gets done on the bench pin, rather
than the bench itself. As with many jeweller’s tools, you’ll most likely need to modify your bench
pin to suit your needs.

The screw-on bench pin and steel block on the previous page in one is a super handy little tool
that kills two birds with one stone. This one was purchased from Gesswein, but a quick search on
any jewellery tool website should bring up something similar. Just make sure to attach it to a
solid work surface.

Practicing with a jewellers saw should

be one of the first things to master.
Besides using it for every single
project I’ve ever worked on, there’s an
awful lot of creative potential in this
exceptionally simple tool!
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 Rotary Tools
To make the most out of your saw piercing potential, and for a million more advanced jobs to
boot, you’re going to need some form of rotary tool (i.e. a drill). Now these come in various
different forms and budgets, but my preferred option is known as a flex shaft (American) or
pendant motor (British). Other options include Dremels or even hand drills.

One of the main benefits of a flex shaft over a dremel is that it is

much easier to control, and a lot more comfortable to use. It’s also
most often used together with a foot pedal to control the speed.
Flex shafts are a lot more expensive than Dremels, but when you
are ready for a rotary tool, I would prefer one of the cheaper flex
shafts available, such as a Prodigy, over a dremel any day.

There are numerous brands and models of flex shafts available,

however the most popular by far is the Foredom SR motor that
comes as standard with a chuck style handpiece and runs around
$315. My personal favourite however is the Universal Motors flex shaft (pictured above)
available from Gesswein in the USA for $255. This comes as standard with a more expensive
quick change handpiece.

Flex Shaft Handpieces

When it comes to flex shafts, before purchasing one, you’ll want to consider which kind of
handpiece you want, and there are two main options available:

Chuck Style Handpiece (#30 Foredom Handpiece)

These require a key to tighten drill bits and burs in the jaws of the handpiece. The benefit is that
they can be used with different sized shanks, but on the negative side they’re larger than quick
change handpieces and thus not as comfortable to use, and changing out bits takes a lot longer
than with a quick change hand piece.

Quick Change Handpiece (#20 Foredom Handpiece)

These operate with a lever system to quickly open the jaws and insert drill bits and other
accessories. The quick change handpieces are more efficient to use and more comfortable to
hold than the #30 handpiece. On the negative side, they can only be used with 3/32 sized
accessories (which is the standard size worldwide for burs so this doesn’t create too much of an
issue for me personally).

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Drill Bits - Approx $15 / 6

Just as with saw blades, I highly recommend quality drill

bits. And in my mind, they don’t get much better quality
for the price than Busch.

Even when not using my quick change flex shaft

handpiece, I still choose to use the drills with a 3/32 shank
(the standard size for quick change handpieces). These
drills are much sturdier than their skinnier counterparts. In
terms of what size drill bits to purchase, I’d say 90% of the
time I use a 1mm drill bit, however smaller ones are handy
if you intend to get into detailed saw piercing work.

Now Stop Shopping!

Seriously, once you’ve bought these few basics, if you’re brand new to metalsmithing, I would
stop at this point and spend a month or even two just working on my saw piercing skills. When I
started my apprenticeship for an incredibly high end New York jewellery company, even though
I’d been smithing for a couple of years, even though I’d taken a 3 month class from the incredible
New Approach School for Jewellers in the USA...... I sat and I cut out shapes to exact
measurements for 2 whole weeks. If you ask me now to cut you out a square measuring 20mm x
20mm, I will give you a square measuring 20.0mm, not 20.1mm.

The things you practice on don’t need to be quite that dull, and you can turn your successful
practice pieces into jewellery later on if you wish, but the fact is, we need to practice first. We
can’t expect our first saw piercing attempts to be saleable pieces (your grandma buying them
doesn’t count).

And maybe you’re thinking, “but what about files, I’ll need to clean up my saw piercing work
with files won’t I?”

You know one thing that will make you really at saw piercing? Not having files to clean up your
mistakes after. I’m serious, not having all the tools really does force us to master those we have.

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Sandpaper
For sure we are going to need files pretty soon too, but that’s
where things start to get quite expensive, so let’s start with
the cheap option first which you can buy from any hardware
store.

I generally use 240, 600, 800 and 1200 grit. But don’t get too
hung up on the grits. Start with coarse and work towards fine,
simply making sure you remove all the marks created by the
previous grit before moving onto the next.

Whilst sometimes I’ll just use sheets of sandpaper as they are,

more often than not I’ll turn my sandpaper into sandpaper
sticks or sandpaper rolls (although I do prefer to buy
sandpaper rolls)!

Polishing Paper
3M Tri-M-Ite® polishing paper - Approx $12
For a non - motorised method of polishing finished pieces,
you might also want to take a look at something called 3M
Tri-M-Ite® polishing paper. I recommend purchasing a set of
these with different grits from 400 - 8000 grit and they can be
used in much the same way as sandpaper.

Even with a polishing motor, I still often use the polishing

papers when I want to ensure I keep a surface perfectly flat
during the polishing process.

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 Hammers and Mallets
Chasing Hammer - Approx $10
You can get by to start out with by stealing any
hammer from your pop’s garage, and just
making sure the face is smooth and the edges
are rounded off with sandpaper.

But a chasing hammer will definitely make life

easier in the long run. If you’re just starting out,
a budget chasing hammer such as this one will
do the job just fine. And you can even use the
end with a ball peen to add a classic hammer
texture to pieces.

Dead Blow Mallet - Approx $20

I personally prefer to use a nylon dead blow
mallet. Because they have steel shot inside
the head, they do pack that little extra punch.

At around $20 each, they have come down in

price vs 10 years ago when they were double
the price of a rawhide mallet, so for me a
deadblow mallet is a no brainer. Another
benefit is that they don’t need any breaking in
before use like a rawhide mallet does. In my
opinion rawhide is best left for the dogs.

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 Pliers & Snips
The Basics

Flat Nose Pliers Chain Nose Pliers Flush Cut Snips

Flat and Chain Nose Pliers - Approx $6

Well, what don’t I use these pliers for? I highly recommend getting a pair of flat nose and chain
nose pliers, if for nothing else, they’re a godsend for opening and closing jump rings. But of
course, you’ll end up using them for so much more. At about $6 a pair, they won’t break the
bank either!

Top tip: use a little 240 grit sandpaper to take off the sharp edges on the plier jaws.

Flush Cut Snips - Approx $16

All snips are not created equally. Flush cut snips are the ones you want. When you make a cut
with flush cut snips, one side of the cut is left almost perfectly flat while the other side has a
beveled edge. And to answer your question, no, you can’t get snips that leave both sides
perfectly flat I’m afraid.

Is That it For Pliers?

It certainly can be if you’re brand new to metalsmithing, you’ll find you can get an awful lot
done with just these three tools. But if you’ve ever looked in a jewellery supply store, you’ll
notice they have a tonne of different pliers available. And so we’re going to take a look at the
most useful of these on the next page. But before we do, I want to say expensive pliers feel
nicer in your hand for sure, and they might also last a little longer. But when just starting out,
and it comes to pliers, I’d prefer to get 6 or 7 pairs of economy pliers, rather than one set of
“designer” pliers.

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 Other Useful Pliers
Round and Flat, and Half Round
and Flat Pliers - Approx $7 each
The perfect pliers for forming curves without
chomping up your metal. I use these regularly
for making jump rings, bezel settings and form-
ing metal in general. Because one of the jaws
of the pliers is flat, I find I get a lot less marks on
my metal when using these over traditional
round nose pliers where both jaws are curved.

Parallel Pliers - Approx $33 / $44 Ring Bending Pliers - Approx $11
Because these pliers are designed to open in Also known as bow closing pliers, I can’t live
a parallel motion, they offer an excellent grip. without these for forming heavier gauge
Maun are the original, and my favourite metal into rings or chain links. To make sure
brand of parallels. You can find cheaper you don’t mark your metal when using
options, but this is one case where I’ll say the these ,I recommend using a little leather
more expensive pliers are worth it. inside the outer jaw.

13
 Files
Don’t Buy Economy Files!

Hand Files
Files come in various sizes. Large files, used for doing heavy clean up work are known as hand
files and they’re an absolute necessity. One thing to note, is that most files do not come with
handles, and so you’ll mostly likely want to purchase these too and there are lots of options
available. But you can easily save some cash and make your own too.

Flat Hand File - Approx $25

Whilst some budget tools work perfectly well,
budget files do not. Cheap files wear out faster
than… (I can’t think of a clean analogy), but believe
me they don’t last. If you are on a budget and can
afford just one hand file, I recommend starting out
with the half round file below.

When it comes to files, the higher the cut number,

the finer the file. For flat hand files, my #0-cut gets
used more often than my finer #2 cut, so I’d suggest
going for a #0 cut flat hand file.

Half Round Hand File - Approx $35-$40

Again, don’t scrimp on files. If you can only afford
one hand file though, go with this. The half round
file has a flat side too, which whilst not as evenly
balanced as the flat file above, it will work just fine.

Although I don’t use this as often as my flat file, it

does get a lot of use, especially when making rings. I
use my #2-cut and #0-cut half round hand files
equally, but if you’re getting a flat hand file in a
#0-cut, I’d suggest to go with #2 cut for the half
round file.

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 Needle Files
Needle files are pretty much a necessity too, although it does depend on what you intend to
make. But these petite files are perfect for refining saw piercing work. They come in various
different shapes and cuts (0 being the coarsest generally available, and 6 being the finest). I find
I use the three mentioned below in a number 2 cut for about 90% of the work I need a needle
file for.

Just as with hand files however, I’d avoid purchasing cheap needle files. A quality single needle
file should set you back about $9 - $13 or so. It’s not only a much more even cut than its
cheaper counterparts, but it will also last a lot longer too.

If you need files smaller than needle files, then you’ll want to take a look at escapement files (I
prefer a number 4 cut for these). They’re another super handy tool to have, but I’d recommend
starting with needle files and see how you get on with those before spending unecessarily.

Barrette Half Round Square

Barrette Needle File - Approx $9 - $13

My barrette file gets used more often than any other needle file I own. It’s perfect for cleaning
up saw piercing work, chamfering bezels, and cleaning up solder seams on smaller items.

Half Round Needle File - Approx $9 - $13

My half round needle file is another well used tool in the studio. Again, it’s ideal for cleaning up
saw piercing work as well as filing inside rings and bezels.

Square Needle File - Approx $9 - $13

I don’t use this as often as my other files, but the square needle file is ideal for filing notches
when you need to bend metal to create perfect 90 degree angles - think square bezels!

15
Measuring and Layout
Dividers - Approx $12
Maybe not something that you’ll need straight off the bat,
but if you do intend to work accurately, you’ll find these
invaluable. They’re basically like a compass but with two
stabby ends.

A cheap pair of dividers is better than no dividers, but I

highly rate Starrett dividers personally. Starretts will set
you back in the region of $70, while a cheaper model will
cost around $12 - if budget is tight, go for the $12 option.

Digital Calipers - Approx $22

Again these could potentially wait, but if accuracy is
your bag, you’re going to need a pair of calipers.

My favourite brand by far: Mitutoyo. But at $170 they

are not cheap. In terms of budget models, I’ve had
equal success with everything that isn’t Mitutoyo, so my
advice would be to simply go with a pair in the $20
range rather than say the $50 range. I’ve also had
relative success buying even cheaper models from the
local budget hardware store.

Engineers Square
My favourite engineers square was my dad’s, but you
can pick these up from local hardware stores. They’re a
god send for creating perfectly perpendicular guide
lines when cutting sheet metal.

16
 Making Rings
Ring Specific Tools

Ring Mandrel - Approx $20 - $30

If you intend to make rings, then you can’t
make do without one of these. But thankfully
for such a solid tool, they don’t break the bank.

For forming purposes, I highly recommend a

steel mandrel. You may see aluminium
(aluminum) mandrels, but these are just for
checking the sizes of rings. If you try to size a
ring on an alumium mandrel, you’’ll likely
destroy the mandrel before finishing the ring!

I prefer mandrels with the sizes on them, but

do double check these correspond to the sizes
on your ring sizing set below.

Ring Sizing Set - Approx $12

Again if you intend to make rings, and especially
for custom orders, you’ll want a set of these for
finding out your customer’s ring size.

This is another tool that I find you really don’t

need to go crazy with and buy an expensive
model. As long as the sizes are accurate, you’re
good to go. However if you are intending
making wider ring bands, you may want to
purchase a wider sizing set too – just make sure
you’re getting an accurate ring size from your
customer.

17
 Soldering
Always solder in a well ventilated area, and practice basic fire safety. Have
a fire extinguisher handy at all times.

Torches

If you’re just starting out with soldering, the easiest torch to start with would be a butane torch.
They’re simple to use, don’t require gas tanks, and they’re easy to refill with a standard butane
canister. They do however they do have their limitations in terms of power. We’ll take a look at
two of my favorites below:

Blazer Butane Torch - Approx $63 Durston Blow Torch - Approx $52
Pretty much the standard choice for small This is my new favourite butane torch. With
scale jewellery soldering. This can be filled a larger flame than the Blazer, this is the
over and over again from a regular butane perfect butane torch for larger projects such
canister available at any hardware store. It’s as small scale bangles, and larger pendants.
a great starter torch for jewellery making. Again, this is refillable from a standard
But is best suited to smaller scale items such butane canister.
as rings, pendants and earrings.

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 Flux - Approx $11
When working in silver, brass, bronze or copper, as
far as I am concerned, there is no better flux than
Handy Flux– and I’ve tried a lot! If you’ve had
trouble soldering brass, bronze and copper before,
I recommend giving this flux a try.

Top tip: If your flux starts to dry out, just add a

little water.

Hard Charcoal Block - Approx $8

The standard go-to surface for soldering on. I prefer
to use hard compressed charcoal over soft charcoal
99% of the time, for the simple reason it lasts a lot
longer.

Top tip: Unless you’re a fan of raging fires, do not

place this directly on this on your workbench for
soldering – use the heat-proof surface on the next
page underneath your charcoal block.

Solderite Pad - Approx $10

As an alternative to charcoal, these work perfectly.
One of the major benefits of these is that you can
draw or scribe in guide lines onto your solderite
pad - it makes lining things up for soldering an
absolute dream.

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 Silquar™ High-Heat Block - Approx $25
I love my 12 inch heat-proof surface for placing on
my workbench underneath my charcoal block. I’ve
had mine now for probably 5 years and it’s been a
solid investment. Mainly because, thanks to this, I
haven’t burnt my studio down. Remember don’t put
your charcoal block directly on your workbench!

These surfaces are not great to solder directly on

though – they’re very dense and will really suck the
heat away from whatever you’re trying to solder.

Titanium Solder Pick - Approx $5

It takes a little bit of practice to get used to soldering
with a pick, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you
ever lived without it.

To pick up the solder, make sure you have a little flux

on the pick, place the pick about an inch behind your
solder and have the tip of your flame about one inch
in front of the solder. Heat the solder until it turns
into a ball, then immediately REMOVE THE HEAT, and
scoop up the solder. Easy peasy! As long as you
remember to remove the heat before scooping.

Crock pot (slow cooker) and

citric acid
Citric acid makes for a great pickle, it’s cheap and
easy to use. And easily available from grocery
stores. I use a ratio of about 1 cup of acid to 5 or 6
cups of water. Remember to always add acid to
water just like your chemistry teacher told you!

To keep it warm, I use a slow cooker. Pickle works

best hot though (not steaming hot – just like a nice
warm bath).

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 Tweezers

Copper Tweezers - Approx $6

You’ll need these for placing items in the pickle after soldering. Other options are available, but
to keep things safe and simple, I recommend copper tweezers.

Cross Locking Tweezers - Approx $3

These are cheap as chips and make holding things for soldering a breeze. When it comes to
soldering, these are about as fancy as I get - I have a pair with straight tips and one with bent
tips. For the price it’s worth getting both.

Steel Tweezers - Approx $2.50

Another option for placing solder when soldering. Most of the time I’ll use a pick, but there are
some cases where tweezers make life a lot easier.

21
 Polishing & Finishing
If you have a flex shaft, or even a dremel, there are
a few things that will really make cleaning up and
polishing your work a lot easier!

SAFETY FIRST
When polishing at your workbench, always make
sure to wear safety glasses and a mask, tie long hair
back, don’t wear jewellery, and of course work in a
well ventilated area. It’s also worth remembering
that polishing compound particles and loose fibers
from polishing mops can stay in the air long after
you finish polishing, so keeping your studio nice
and clean is a healthy practice too!

Polishing Compound - Approx $6

When just starting out, a simple one stop polishing solution, and my go to for most things, is
Zam polishing compound.

Polishing Mop / Buff - Approx $1.50

Ideal for polishing up most jewellery work. Just run the mop against the polishing compound
for a few seconds and you’re ready to polish.

Polishing Felt - Approx $1.50

I find these felt cylinders exceptionally handy for polishing up the inside of ring bands.

Satin Finish Wheel - Approx $1.50

For a subtle satin finish, these work a treat. I recommend highly polishing a piece before using
these for the best finish.

22
 And These Are Just the Basics
But you’ll be surprised at just what you can accomplish with these

As you progress on your jewellery making journey, especially if you want to get into stone
setting, you will find you need to add more tools to your collection. We cover all the tool
options you might want to consider for specific projects in all our online classes, but as we
always like to say - there’s more than one way to do everything, which means we try to provide
as many options as possible for all budgets within our class handouts.

On the next couple of pages, we’ve included a list of worldwide tool suppliers to help you get
started, but don’t forget to check out second hand options too. There are a lot of great
Facebook groups out there that specialise just in selling second hand tools!

If you remember just one things from my

ramblings, let it be: Having all the tools
will not make you a better jeweller.
But.....

t i m e s t he y ’r e
e
Som the divorce
worth
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 Worldwide Tool Suppliers
Asia

World Jewellery Tools - www.wjtgroup.com

Gesswein - www.gessweinsiam.com

Wing Wo Hong - www.wingwohong.com

Australia and New Zealand

Regal Castings – https://www.regal.co.nz

CJS Tools - www.cjservice.com.au

Australian Jewellers supplies - www.jewellerssupplies.com.au

Twin Plaza Metals – www.shop.twinplaza.com

Koodak Jewellers’ Supplies - www.koodak.com.au/

Canada
Gesswein Canada - www.gessweincanada.com

Europe
Fischer - www.goldschmiedebedarf.de

K A Rasmussen - www.rasmussen.ee

Cookson Gold - www.cooksongold.de

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South Africa
Cape Watch Tools - www.capewatch.co.za

Goldsmith and Jewellery Supplies - www.gjsupplies.co.zav

South America
Fornitura Virtual - www.fornituravirtual.com.br

UK

Cooksons – www.cooksongold.com

Betts – www.bettsmetalsales.com

HS Walsh - www.hswalsh.com

Proops Brothers - www.proopsbrothers.com

Cousins – www.cousinsuk.com

USA
Otto Frei - www.ottofrei.com

Gesswein - www.gesswein.com

Rio Grande - www.riogrande.com

Pepe Tools - www.pepetools.com

Zak’s Tools - www.zakjewelrytools.com

Metaliferous - www.metalliferous.com

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