Here is a soldering tip from @Tennessee_Rose_Jewelry - “When I need to solder a jump ring on a delicate chain, I set it all up on a charcoal block, with chain directed away. Then I set another charcoal block on top, leaving only the jump ring exposed.... more
#sponsored For this week’s #tooltalktuesday I formed a thick bezel using my Swanstrom Pliers and Cutters Set (Item #: 111026). exclusively available from our friends at @riogrande. If you are a beginner and looking for a set of pliers to get started... more
Here is solder tip, periodically make sure your solder is clean! Oxidation, grease from your hands and dirt can prevent you from having the perfect solder joint so make sure you are working with clean solder (and clean metal!) There are multiple ways... more
For today’s tip I wanted to share some techniques for working with patterned bezels! This post is sponsored by @jeffkleinjewelry who makes 38 varieties of sterling, copper and brass bezels. For my little demo I worked with his Castellated Silver Bezel... more
Here is a storage tip for your wire solder from @cirkel.joyas & @arcano.noveno - “Organizing my solder wire has always been a problem for me because I use Soft, Medium and Hard solder, so I don’t want them to be mixed and all around my bench. I used... more
Here is a #diy bench from @seaelements - “This is an Ikea high bar table. It's very sturdy & stable, so it worked pretty well to cut out the curve with a jigsaw. I drilled holes below to attach screw-in hooks, which you can find in any hardware store.... more
Here is a tip for modifying a compressed charcoal block for soldering. Last week I needed to solder an earring post onto a gold earring that wouldn’t sit flat on my charcoal block, so I took a wax bur and *with ventilation* I ground a divot into the... more
Here is a tip to store your solder from @johannah_jewlery - “You can get cheap glass aromatherapy vials and store solder in them. I like to have different color vials for different metals and label the tops easy, medium or hard.” Thank you for sharing... more
Here is a tip to give your tweezers new life from @pelessongjewelry - “This video shows me using my grinding wheel to sharpen the tip of these worn out tweezers. Makes them nice and sharp for picking up tiny pieces of solder on the soldering block:)... more
Here is a tip for pickling small items from @moodichic - “Tired of fishing small items out of your pickle pot? Here’s a great way to save some time, put all those small items in a silicone tea infuser and drop that in your pickle pot!” Thank you for... more
Here is a hammering tip from @BlueGlassDesign - “ I make dozens of hammered studs at a time. I figured out this little cheat that makes it so easy to do without damaging the posts. After soldering, I use one of the holes in my multi-angle miter... more
Here is a tutorial on making silver leaves from @spiritmountainsilver - “These leaves are made using 24 gauge sterling silver sheet. I simply draw the shape of the leaf using a sharpie and saw it out. Then I used a line stamp for the details of the... more
My annual Holiday Gift Guide for jewelers is on my blog! You can head over to the link in my profile to read it. I added some fantastic options from small businesses that are members of our community: 🔨 A vegan sandbag to place underneath your... more
#tooltalktuesday I have been wanting to show off a Butane Torch since I started this page. While I didn’t learn with one they are affordable, portable and I know many many people in our community use them. I am not super experienced with butane... more
Flux link in my profile! #tooltalktuesday this week I’m showing off pepetools_usa new Bench Basics Smart Flux and their Flux Spray Applicator. These are my go to when I’m annealing or soldering larger pieces! The flux itself comes in a large bottle... more
Here is a storage tip from @shira_hanna_designs - “Here’s a great #rainyday organizational tip for the #instasmithies . I pre-prepped my wire solder (silver) and sheet solder (gold) into clean, flat little pallions and then organized them into these... more
Here is a tip for preventing solder flow from @hannah.lynn.jewelry - “Ochre powder is a paint pigment powder that can be found in most art stores for a fraction of the cost of some of the solder flow preventing jewelry products that are available.... more
Here are some tips for doing Keum Boo on a hot plate from @taylorsaleem -“Keum-boo is an ancient Korean gilding technique used to apply thin sheets of gold to silver. This technique is usually accomplished by repeatedly annealing and pickling sterling... more
Grid Soldering Boards can be helpful when you want to align a nail on a pendant or a bezel onto a ring. You can certainly make your own with a ruler and a sharpie or you can get one from our friend David at this link (which has an automatic discount... more
Here is a flux tip from @silversuspensions - “Thought I’d share a flux tip I’ve learned from my mentor, he’s an old school master diamond setter/goldsmith. Find a small container (I’ve re-used a face cream container) drill a small hole in the lid,... more
