Jewelry & Metals Tool Buying Guide
Want to make some jewelry on your own? Here are the basic tools I suggest for starting. Some links are from Amazon, so you can begin shopping there (full disclosure- some are affiliate links). You may also check out a place called Rio Grande www.riogrande.com.
We buy all of our tools and equipment from there.
We buy all of our tools and equipment from there.
Essentials:
You can buy a kit, but beware that you may have some items thrown in that you may not need:
Basic Jeweler's toolkit: ($ 130)
Includes:
German jeweler's saw, Herkules Saw Blades, Ring clamp, Bench Pin/ anvil-topped clamp, Ring sizer
Ring mandrel, Rawhide mallet, Ball peen hammer
Basic Jeweler's Tools Kit 2: ($60) for working more with wire
German jeweler's saw, Herkules Saw Blades, Ring clamp, Bench Pin/ c-clamp, Ring sizer
Ring mandrel, Plastic mallet, needle file set, jeweler's plers set
Or, buy items individually, and acquire more as you need them:
German-made sawframe- ($14) Different from the cheaper German "style" sawframe, this has to be a high-quality item, made in Germany, to handle a jeweler's workload. Sawblades need to be high-quality, as well, so I go with Herkules White Label ($24/144pk), always. I prefer size #1.
Grobet Half-Round hand file, cut #2: ($47)
Flat hand file, Mill Bastard Cut: ($14)
Set of 10 needle files: ($28)
Heavy-duty home workshop torch- ($640) this is for those who don't want to mess around with a propane torch. OR, you can go local an cheap, and get a hardware store propane torch with a trigger start:$20-40.
Blazer Big Shot butane torch- ($55) If you're making very small items (no more than 20 ga, 2" X 2" items, or wirework/filigree) you can go with this highly-recommended butane torch.
EuroTool Soldering Tools/Supplies Kit: $130
Includes, Pickle pot, pickle powder, Tweezers, tongs, Solder block, flux, pickle, paste solder,
Jeweler's pliers set- Michael's is a great place to get these at a good price.
Brass, Copper, Nickel sheet metal
If the links are dead, try a Google search using the keywords in the links above. Amazon has lots of metals available for ordering, as does etsy and riogrande.com.
Brass wire, Copper wire, Nickel wire, try hardware stores in town, Hobby Lobby has some metals packaged in the modelmaking section of the store.
You can buy a kit, but beware that you may have some items thrown in that you may not need:
Basic Jeweler's toolkit: ($ 130)
Includes:
German jeweler's saw, Herkules Saw Blades, Ring clamp, Bench Pin/ anvil-topped clamp, Ring sizer
Ring mandrel, Rawhide mallet, Ball peen hammer
Basic Jeweler's Tools Kit 2: ($60) for working more with wire
German jeweler's saw, Herkules Saw Blades, Ring clamp, Bench Pin/ c-clamp, Ring sizer
Ring mandrel, Plastic mallet, needle file set, jeweler's plers set
Or, buy items individually, and acquire more as you need them:
German-made sawframe- ($14) Different from the cheaper German "style" sawframe, this has to be a high-quality item, made in Germany, to handle a jeweler's workload. Sawblades need to be high-quality, as well, so I go with Herkules White Label ($24/144pk), always. I prefer size #1.
Grobet Half-Round hand file, cut #2: ($47)
Flat hand file, Mill Bastard Cut: ($14)
Set of 10 needle files: ($28)
Heavy-duty home workshop torch- ($640) this is for those who don't want to mess around with a propane torch. OR, you can go local an cheap, and get a hardware store propane torch with a trigger start:$20-40.
Blazer Big Shot butane torch- ($55) If you're making very small items (no more than 20 ga, 2" X 2" items, or wirework/filigree) you can go with this highly-recommended butane torch.
EuroTool Soldering Tools/Supplies Kit: $130
Includes, Pickle pot, pickle powder, Tweezers, tongs, Solder block, flux, pickle, paste solder,
Jeweler's pliers set- Michael's is a great place to get these at a good price.
Brass, Copper, Nickel sheet metal
If the links are dead, try a Google search using the keywords in the links above. Amazon has lots of metals available for ordering, as does etsy and riogrande.com.
Brass wire, Copper wire, Nickel wire, try hardware stores in town, Hobby Lobby has some metals packaged in the modelmaking section of the store.
