Here is a tip for prepping your ring shank to be soldered to a baseplate from @mothersonthemountainjewelry - “I use sandpaper and a tile board. Getting rink shanks nice and flat ensures a no fail solder!” This is super simple but such a great... more
Here is a tool modification to help you hold work while you solder from @fairbankandperry - “Grinding the tip of this old pair of cross locking tweezers to a fine point worked great for holding and soldering individual links of this 2.5 mm curb... more
For this week’s #tooltalktuesday I wanted to show a fantastic tool that makes your @grstools Benchmate System even more versatile, the Slide & Lock Tru-Axis available from @ottofrei1930 what this fixture does is allows you to quickly adjust the height... more
I love this wax working tip shared by @creativesidejewelry - “Use a q-tip to polishing up the inside of your bezel (shown here in wax) . Yes it looks crazy, but you're going to break a q-tip in half and lock it in your flex shaft (Thanks Kate Wolf... more
Here is a #diy needle file handle from @spindlekate - “I swiped a few of my kitty’s foam ball cat toys as really inexpensive holders for my smallest needle files. ⠀⠀ Choose a drill bit slightly smaller than file shaft and drill a small hole ¾ of the... more
Here is a set up for a flat sanding surface in your studio from @mariannejenningsstudio - “I use round adhesive sanding pads on a piece of acrylic. You can use any grit I use 220 but it gives you a flat surface to sand with. You don’t have to hold... more
I like this idea for holding small pieces while sawing from @aimeesutanto - I have this super handy clamp made locally by @tyler_brothers_tools. It saves me so much time (and skin!) when trimming out shapes in small bits of gold. I work more... more
Here is a classic tip for glueing a design to metal for sawing from @thistlehandmadejewellery - “Because I make a lot of multiples, I photocopy my patterns and arrange them on a sheet of paper in order to make production as efficient as possible, and... more
Here is a tip for polishing into tiny details from @makestuffwithyourhands - “ I rough up a toothpick or q-tip shaft, and then place in the chuck of my rotary tool. You can coat it in polishing compound and get into very small curves.” 🙌✨ love this!... more
For this week’s #tooltalktuesday I wanted to talk about a simple and inexpensive tool that is incredibly useful - my brass brush. I use mine to shine and clean my tiny hammered lines! All I do is add a drop of hand soap and some water and the little... more
Here is an old Japanese technique of applying a matte finish shared by @johnnyoro -“You can get any sort of size media sand, the more uniform the better. Any place that carries sandblasting equipment will have a variety of sands, beads, media choose... more
Here is a tip to consider if you’d like a beautiful, seamless bezel from @sara_kratzer - “Fusing fine silver bezels! I finally have switched to only fusing bezels instead of soldering. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when a bezel solder joint... more
Here is a tip to find the exact tool you are looking for a bit quicker from @christineterrell - “I use the top drawer of my workbench as a repository for lots of the little tools I use most often as well as a place to rest my many hammers. - I... more
In October the challenge was to incorporate two different styles of stonesetting, everyone did a wonderful job! Thank you for submitting! If you are interested in having your work featured in the IGTV please email me your challenge submission at... more
KINDNESS ✨ COMMUNITY ✨ EDUCATION ✨ I really missed this post last month (there was too much happening with a tool talk and the Metalsmith Challenge IGTV all happening on Oct 1st) it is my opportunity to show off some fabulous members of our community... more
Here is a technique for stretching a tight bezel from @lucywalkerjewellery - “When your bezel is just a little too tight bezel mandrels are one of many solutions!” I love videos! They are so helpful! Thank you for letting me share! If you have a short... more
Here is a tip for keeping your wires together from @wildroutedesign - “I’m always looking for ways to re-use plastic packaging. I re-use the bread bag clips to help keep certain gauge wires together as well as hang wire on a hook beside my... more
For this week’s #tooltalktuesday I wanted to show off an inexpensive tool that can give new life to your flex shaft bits - the Foredom Dressing Stone (made out of silicone carbide!) I had dozens of pumice, rubber and silicone bits lying around my... more
Here is a pliers modification for pulling back prongs from @tinsley_james - “My tip of the day is to modify a pair of chain nose pliers for safe easy and accurate stone removal. Simply use a diamond file, burr or cutting disk to grind the one side... more
