Here is a method for holding your work in place while texturing/hammering from @makeitkimtoday - “I use masking tape all the time while teaching. It’s brilliant for saving your fingers while hammering. It's sticky enough to stay in place but is clean... more
In this week’s mini series post we are going to discuss how to get rolling 🙊😂 now that my equipment is safely secured my next step is to create a “sandwich” which is used when texturing metal and protects my mill (my precious 😂). I created mine with... more
Here is a tip to ensure your solder joint is 100% - - have a loupe on hand, I like the ones with 10X magnification. Often times I get messages from members of the community who thought something was fully soldered but it wasn’t (no shame, we’ve all... more
Here is an amazing tip to help ensure your pieces are centered and aligned while soldering from @pyrus_designs - “On the flat side of a honeycomb soldering block, draw grid lines with a fine point sharpie marker to help you line up your pieces... more
Here is an awesome technique for sharpening your gravers from @jewelleryinstitute - “To polish this square graver on the fly instead of taking it to the sharpening table, we use a Ceragloss yellow fine diamond wheel, make sure it has a backing on it... more
If anyone has a hard time finding the center of a circle 🙋♀️ this tool for #tooltalktuesday will be a game changer. It is simply, a center finder. You can slide your circles, squares, hexagons etc. into the center finder and you use your scribe to... more
Here is a tip to get your bands perfectly round from @refraction_manufacturing ”After bending up the band (on a ring bender) , soldering and cleaning it up we use a doming punch to true up each side for a perfect side profile.” We once shared this... more
Here is a great solder organizing idea from @bossy.bootz -“I found this escargot plate which is heavy ceramic (less than $10) and is perfect to conveniently keep my solder close by! It doesn’t get mixed up, I’m no longer tipping over my little plastic... more
Here is a tip for when your torch tips get clogged. Someone from the community suggested this last year and we did a story about it (I’m sorry I can’t remember who it was!) Use distilled water and boil them for ten minutes! Easy peazy! I wish I had... more
WELCOME TO THE MINI SERIES 🎉 every Friday (for at least 6-8 weeks) I will be posting about my rolling mill! Please tune in and share your thoughts and questions! This first post is going to be about the proper securing and care of my @pepetools_usa... more
Here is another storage solution for your gemstones and findings 😍 from @love_beyond_the_moon -“I love these acrylic makeup drawers for easy access when working on a collection because I can easily see all of my stones, there's even room for points or... more
Here is a method for stretching that bezel that is just a little too tight 😬 from @dancingbluestone - “I pry the pre-shaped bezel over the tip of a metal stamp and hammer out with a plastic mallet. I use a roll and stretch technique (on a thick piece... more
Amazing tip to keep your stone from shifting when you start to set it from @aimeesutanto - "Handy tip when bezel setting: use a skinny length of blu tack to temporarily hold it down, preventing it from jumping out during the initial stage of tapping... more
INTRODUCING the 2019 design for Metalsmith Society - “IN SOLDER WE TRUST” designed by Simon Beale @beardedcreative_studio 🙏🏻 this begins a new tradition - every year we will have a new design, available for that year only. Simon also designed the... more
The theme for the #metalsmithchallenge in December was MINIATURE and this community did not disappoint! I was so excited to see all of these fantastic submissions! Please be sure to follow the hashtag - #metalsmithchallenge where you can view the... more
I am SO thankful for all of you! It is my favorite post of the month when I get to share some of your faces/studios/selfies 💖🙏🏻 I’m starting to hear more stories about people running into other Society community members out in the wild, representing... more
Here is a tip for preventing solder from flowing from @lindablumelstudio - “I use clay as an anti-flow! It’s a fairly fine, white stoneware. A darker clay would probably stain the metal the same way yellow ochre does, (iron). I just paint it on, it... more
Here is a awesome tip for keeping track of materials you’ve ordered from @ravenrites -“After getting sick of Consistently ordering the wrong things I decided upon this little helpful method of keeping track of what I’ve got in and what I like and what... more
Here is a video on removing a burr that forms when you drill into metal from @clementineandsage - “To remove the burr that forms when drilling holes, take a larger drill bit and give it a few twists, by hand, in the hole you just drilled. It will... more
Here is a tip for creating your own carving tools from @argenta.shop - “I modify inexpensive screwdrivers! Any small screwdriver can work for modifying and then wax carving. The modification goes by annealing - hammering - filing- sanding (80 to 1000... more
