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
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: ($27)
Flat hand file, Mill Bastard Cut: ($14)
Set of 6 Swiss 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.
Soldering Tools/Supplies Kit: $130
Includes, Pickle pot, pickle powder, Tweezers, tongs, Solder block, flux, pickle, paste solder,
Jeweler's pliers set- Michael's is a great place to get these at a good price.
Brass, Copper, Nickel sheet metal
Brass wire, Copper wire, Nickel wire, try hardware stores in town
You can buy a kit, but beware that you may have some items thrown in that you may not need:
Basic Jeweler's toolkit: ($ 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
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: ($27)
Flat hand file, Mill Bastard Cut: ($14)
Set of 6 Swiss 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.
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
Brass wire, Copper wire, Nickel wire, try hardware stores in town
