What tools do I really need to start making jewellery?
Well, that does depend on exactly what you’re going to make. But if you’re just diving into the wonderful world of metalsmithing and want to get yourself a starter tool kit, then hopefully you’ll find this blog post pretty handy.
Before we dig in though, I want to officially warn you: making jewellery is not a cheap hobby! The tools here are the basics and in a few years time, you’ll likely have a hell of a lot more as you develop your own style and focus. But I want to drill in 3 important noggins of insight right now before we even start…….
Buying every fancy new shiny tool out there will not make you a better jeweller. Focus on learning to use the basics first.
Concentrate spending on tools that you really need, the ones that will make the biggest difference to your work.
Ingenuity is more important than any physical tool. Not having all the tools really forces us to think outside the box.
Safety glasses, mask, ear protection and a fire extinguisher.
These are absolutely the first tools you should have before you even pick up a hammer!
For more information on health and safety in the studio,
I can’t recommend The Jewelry Workshop Safety Report by Charles Lewton Brain enough.
Alrighty Let's Take a Look at Those Tools!
We’ve included links to everything mentioned (just click on the little buttons below the image). The links are to one of my favorite tool companies, Gesswein, who have been absolute legends in helping make sure we have everything on this list available for sale in the US! You can order most of the tools on here from any jewellery tool supplier but as I said I do love Gesswein.
We are proud affiliates for Gesswein, so if you would like a 5% discount, and for us to earn a few more coffees to keep us going, you can use the discount code: LWA21 at checkout. If you don’t want to – I still recommend all the tools below with all my little heart.
Jewellers Saw Frame
This is one tool you absolutely can’t live without.
You’ll likely find the humble saw frame is the most regularly used tool in your tool box. In fact, I don’t think I could go a day without mine. From saw piercing intricate designs to simply sawing through heavy gauge wire to make a ring band, this is one tool you must have if you want to make jewellery.
The link gives a selection of frame sizes, but personally I’d choose the large, which has a depth of 3 3/4 inches. One thing to note when it comes to frame sizes though: the bigger the frame the harder it is to control. So while a larger frame is handy for certain things, it makes piercing small detailed pieces that bit more complicated. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want a couple of different frame sizes for different jobs.
Which Saw frame is best for jewellery making?
A little braggy I know, but I have pretty much every jewellers saw frame out there. As nice as the fancy frames look, if you’re just starting out, I highly recommend buying a standard German style frame and saving money to spend on quality blades.
If you value your metal health, you don’t want to purchase cheap saw blades. I love Super Pike, Laser Gold from Rio Grande, Nano from PepeTools (and a couple of other brands too), but generally you should be paying around $24 for 144 blades (a gross).
As for which sizes you should get to start out with, that really depends on what you’re going to be doing. Cutting heavy gauge metal for ring bands, will require a much thicker blade than delicate saw piercing work. Personally though, I’m usually flipping between a 2/0 and a 4/0 blade 90% of the time.
If you want a smooth saw cut (you can also use this with burs and drills too), then you’re definitely going to want to use lubricant. My favourite comes in stick form, and you can get branded ones from different suppliers, but as far as I can tell it’s all exactly the same stuff.
If you want to save a bit of money, you can totally skip this though and just use an old candle, a bar of soap or beeswax too.
FILES
Flat Hand File
Whilst some budget tools work perfectly well, budget files do not. Cheap files wear out faster than… (I can’t think of a clean analogy), but believe me they don’t last. If you are on a budget and can just afford just one hand file though, I recommend starting out with the half round file below.
For flat hand files, my 0-cut 8-inch gets used the most, so I would suggest starting with this. I use my flat hand file pretty much every day, it’s certainly a tool I couldn’t live without.
You’ll also most likely want to get file handles too for these as they don’t come with handles. There are lots of options available, but you can easily save some cash and make your own too.
half round Hand File
Again, don’t scrimp on this. If you can only afford one hand file though, go with the half round. The half round has a flat side too, which whilst not as evenly balanced as the flat hand file above, will work just fine.
Although I don’t use my half round file as often as my flat file, it does get a lot of use, when making rings. I use my 2-cut and 0-cut half round hand files equally, but if you’re getting a flat hand file in a 0-cut, maybe go with 2/0 for the half round.
The price is for the 6-inch version, which works great for me, but I do have small hands.
NEEDLE FILES - #2 Cut, 5 1/2 inch
Barrette
There are all sorts of shapes available as needle files go, but my barrette file gets used about 50% of the time. It’s perfect for cleaning up saw piercing work, filing bezels, and in fact the list could go on forever!
Half Round
My half round needle file is another well used tool in the studio. Of all my needle files, this one gets used about 25% of the time, for cleaning up saw piercing work as well as filing inside rings and bezels.
Square
Whilst I don’t use this as often as my other files, the square needle file is perfect when bending metal to create perfect 90 degree bends. I use this regularly to make bezels for square stones.
SANDPAPERS
I generally use 240, 600, 800 and 1200 grit. But don’t get too hung up on the grits. Start with coarse and work towards fine, simply making sure you remove all the marks created by the previous grit before moving onto the next. For silver, brass, bronze, copper and gold, I’ll usually work up to 1200 grit before polishing.
Whilst sometimes I’ll just use sheets of sandpaper as they are, more often than not I’ll turn my sandpaper into sandpaper sticks. You can learn how to make these right here:
Have no fear, the Metalsmith Academy is here!
If you’d like to join us and over
3000 international jewellers in there,
just click the button below to sign up!
Polishing - Sample pack
When it comes to polishing, there are so many options available, and it’s often not just a one step process. But I don’t want to blow your mind to begin with. The one thing you do need to know though, is that a final polish is only as good as your sanding allows. Polish will not remove deep scratches, it will just make them shiny scratches.
This polishing kit will let you try out some of my favourite buffs and satin finishing wheels too, and it comes with one of my new favourite polishing compounds (as you probably know I also love ZAM). Click here for ZAM
Steel Bench Block and Bench Pin
A steel bench block is a simple, but must-have tool which is mostly used as a solid surface for hammering on.
And of course, you’re also going to need a bench pin. Almost all of a jeweller’s work actually gets done on the bench pin, rather than the bench itself.
This screw-on bench pin and steel block in one is a super handy little tool that kills two birds with one stone.
CHASING HAMMER
You can get by to start out with by stealing any hammer from your pop’s garage, and just making sure the face is smooth and the edges are rounded off with sandpaper. But a chasing hammer will definitely make life easier in the long run. If you’re just starting out, a budget chasing hammer such as this one will do the job just fine. If your hammer has sharp edges though, just make sure to use a little sandpaper to soften them so then don’t put those nasty dings on your metal as you work.
FLEX SHAFT DRILL
My dream flex shaft. I have this model personally and use it as often as my very expensive NSK micromotor – the mechanism is that smooth! But it’s also got plenty of torque too! To answer your question before you ask it…. yes, it does work perfectly with the Foredom hammer handpiece (and all other Foredom handpieces too) and it comes together with a quick change handpiece of its very own!
As a jeweller and stone setter, I couldn’t live without a flex shaft motor. You can get by with a dremel if you’re not really getting into stone setting, but once you start setting, these are an absolute game changer!
Flex Shaft Hanger
If you do buy a flex shaft, then you’re definitely going to need something to hang it from. If you’re reasonably handy you can get creative and rig something up, but when we had in person classes here in Malaysia, every bench was set up with this particular hanger, and both my personal benches have this too.
You can get hangers that clip onto your desk, but I prefer those that you screw into place – yes you make holes in your desk, but you also have a nice tool to work with too.
Drill Bits
Just as with saw frames, I highly recommend quality drill bits, and in my mind, they don’t get much better quality for the price than Busch.
Even when not using my quick change flex shaft handpiece, I still choose to use the drills with a 3/32 shank (the standard size for quick change handpieces). These drills are much sturdier than their skinnier counterparts. 90% of the time I simply use a 1mm drill bit, but you will most likely want to purchase a few smaller ones too if you’re getting into some detailed saw piercing work.
Pliers and Snips
Well, what don’t I use these for? I highly recommend getting a pair of these together with a pair of chain nose pliers too. If nothing else, they’re a godsend for opening and closing jump rings. But of course, you’ll end up using them for so much more!
TOP TIP : use a little 240 grit sandpaper to take off the sharp edges on the plier jaws.
When I first started out, everyone told me to get a pair of half round pliers. But I love half round and flat pliers. Regular half round pliers (with two half round jaws) will leave a lot more marks on your work, but half round and flat pliers are perfect for bending and forming ring bands and bezels etc. where we need a gentle curve to the metal without leaving dings in it!
All snips are not created equally. Flush cut snips are the ones you want. When you make a cut with flush cut snips, one side of the cut is left almost perfectly flat. But no, you can’t get flush cutters that leave both side flat I’m afraid 🙂 I have these on every bench in my studio!
Ring Mandrel
If you want to make rings, then you can’t make do without one of these, but thankfully for such a solid tool, they don’t break the bank. For forming purposes, I highly recommend a steel mandrel. You may see aluminium (aluminum) mandrels, but these are just for checking the sizes of rings. If you try to size a ring on those, you’ll destroy the mandrel before finishing the ring!
Select “Steel Standard” from the drop down menu – remember, not the aluminium one!
Ring Sizing Set
Again if you intend to make rings, and especially for custom orders, you’ll want a set of these for finding out your customer’s ring size. This is one tool that I find you really don’t need to go crazy on and buy an expensive model. As long as the sizes are accurate, you’re good to go. However if you are intending making wider ring bands, you may want to purchase a wider sizing set too – just to be as accurate as possible.
Select “Ring Gauge Sizing Set” from the drop down menu.
Soldering
Blazer Butane Torch
Pretty much the standard choice for small scale jewellery soldering. This can be filled over and over from regular butane from a canister available at any hardware store, and is a great starter torch for jewellery making.
Durston Butane Torch
My new favourite butane torch. With a larger flame than the blazer, this is the perfect butane torch for larger projects such as bangles, and larger pendants. Again, this is refillable from a standard butane canister.
Flux (Handy Flux)
For working in silver, brass, bronze or copper, as far as I am concerned, there is no better flux – and I’ve tried a lot! If you’ve had trouble soldering brass bronze and copper before, I recommend giving this flux a try.
TOP TIP : If your flux starts to dry out, just add a little water.
Charcoal Block
The standard go-to surface for soldering on. I prefer to use hard compressed charcoal over soft charcoal 99% of the time, for the simple reason it lasts a lot longer.
TOP TIP : Unless you’re a fan of raging fires, do not place this directly on this on your workbench for soldering – use the heat-proof surface below.
Heat-proof Surface
I love my 12 inch heat-proof surface for placing on my workbench underneath my charcoal block. I’ve had mine now for probably 5 years and it’s been a solid investment.
These surfaces are not great to solder directly on though – they’re very dense and will really suck the heat away from your piece. I remember my very first attempt at soldering was on one of these, and it didn’t go well. If you’re having trouble soldering, and you’re using one of these to solder on – give charcoal a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!
Titanium Solder pick
I love my titanium solder pick, it speeds up soldering no end for me in comparison with using tweezers. It takes a little bit of practice to get used to, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
To pick up the solder, make sure you have a little flux on the pick, place the pick about an inch behind your solder and have the tip of your flame about one inch in front of the pick. Heat the solder until it turns into a ball, REMOVE THE HEAT, and scoop up the solder. Easy! But always remember to remove the heat before scooping.
Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) and Citric Acid for Pickling
Citric acid makes for a great pickle, it’s cheap and easy to use. I use a ratio of about 1 cup of acid to 5 or 6 cups of water. Remember to always add acid to water just like your chemistry teacher told you! You’ll also want a pair of copper tweezers for placing items in the pickle.
To keep it warm, I use a slow cooker. Pickle works best hot though (not steaming hot ok – just like a nice warm bath). Pickle vapours aren’t healthy so don’t let it boil. I’d recommend having one with an automatic off switch, so if you forget about it (it happens), it will automatically turn itself off. The one I use most regularly also has a warm and a hot setting – the warm setting works perfectly to leave on all day without boiling,
We would love to welcome you to the Metalsmith Academy where we can help you create the jewellery you always dreamed of.
- Incredible classes with close up videos and crystal clear explanations.
- Extensive full colour handouts for all our classes (a firm favorite with our current members).
- Quick win projects, we call them Express Bites. If you don’t have the time to commit to a full class, but want to learn some new skills quickly, these are for you.
- Bi-monthly challenges to help get those creative juices flowing.
- Active community forums – and when we say active, seriously it’s like a party over there!
- Direct help – Lucy and Vennice are over in the forums every single day to help.
- Exclusive discounts.
- Tips and tricks galore – you got a problem, we create the content you need to fix it.
Just click below to join the family now!
Jewellers Saw Frame
This is one tool you absolutely can’t live without. You’ll likely find the humble saw frame is the most regularly used tool in your tool box. In fact, I don’t think I could go a day without mine. From saw piercing intricate designs to simply sawing through heavy gauge wire to make a ring band, this is one tool you must have if you want to make jewellery.
The link gives a selection of frame sizes, but personally I’d choose the large, which has a depth of 3 3/4 inches. One thing to note when it comes to frame sizes though: the bigger the frame the harder it is to control. So while a larger frame is handy for certain things, it makes piercing small detailed pieces that bit more complicated. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want a couple of different frame sizes for different jobs.
Which Saw frame is best for jewellery making?
A little braggy I know, but I have pretty much every jewellers saw frame out there. As nice as the fancy frames look, if you’re just starting out, I highly recommend buying a standard German style frame and saving money to spend on quality blades.
Quality Saw Blades
If you value your metal health, you don’t want to purchase cheap saw blades. I love Super Pike, Laser Gold from Rio Grande, Nano from PepeTools (and a couple of other brands too), but generally you should be paying around $24 for 144 blades (a gross).
As for which sizes you should get to start out with, that really depends on what you’re going to be doing. Cutting heavy gauge metal for ring bands, will require a much thicker blade than delicate saw piercing work. Personally though, I’m usually flipping between a 2/0 and a 4/0 blade 90% of the time.
$3.25
Lubricant
If you want a smooth saw cut (you can also use this with burs and drills too), then you’re definitely going to want to use lubricant. My favourite comes in stick form, and you can get branded ones from different suppliers, but as far as I can tell it’s all exactly the same stuff.
If you want to save a bit of money, you can totally skip this though and just use an old candle, a bar of soap or beeswax too.
$6.45
Flat Hand File
Whilst some budget tools work perfectly well, budget files do not. Cheap files wear out faster than… (I can’t think of a clean analogy), but believe me they don’t last. If you are on a budget and can just afford just one hand file though, I recommend starting out with the half round file below.
For flat hand files, my 0-cut 8-inch gets used the most, so I would suggest starting with this. I use my flat hand file pretty much every day, it’s certainly a tool I couldn’t live without.
You’ll also most likely want to get file handles too for these as they don’t come with handles. There are lots of options available, but you can easily save some cash and make your own too.
Half Round Hand File
Again, don’t scrimp on this. If you can only afford one hand file though, go with the half round. The half round has a flat side too, which whilst not as evenly balanced as the flat hand file above, will work just fine. Although I don’t use this as often as my flat file, it does get a lot of use, especially when making rings. I use my 2-cut and 0-cut half round hand files equally, but if you’re getting a flat hand file in a 0-cut, maybe go with 2/0 for the half round. The price is for the 6-inch version, which works great for me, but I do have small hands.
Needle Files - #2 Cut, 5 1/2 inch
Barrette
There are all sorts of shapes available as needle files go, but my barrette file gets used about 50% of the time. It’s perfect for cleaning up saw piercing work, filing bezels, and in fact the list could go on forever!
$12.00
Half Round
My half round needle file is another well used tool in the studio. Of all my needle files, this one gets used about 25% of the time, for cleaning up saw piercing work as well as filing inside rings and bezels.
$13.50
Square
Whilst I don’t use this as often as my other files, the square needle file is perfect when bending metal to create perfect 90 degree bends. I use this regularly to make bezels for square stones.
$11.90
Sandpaper
I generally use 240, 600, 800 and 1200 grit. But don’t get too hung up on the grits. Start with coarse and work towards fine, simply making sure you remove all the marks created by the previous grit before moving onto the next. For silver, brass, bronze, copper and gold, I’ll usually work up to 1200 grit before polishing.
Whilst sometimes I’ll just use sheets of sandpaper as they are, more often than not I’ll turn my sandpaper into sandpaper sticks. You can learn how to make these right here:
Help - what do all these tools even do?
Have no fear, the Metalsmith Academy is here! If you’d like to join us and over 3000 international jewellers in there, just click the button below to sign up!
Polishing - Sample pack
When it comes to polishing, there are so many options available, and it’s often not just a one step process. But I don’t want to blow your mind to begin with. The one thing you do need to know though, is that a final polish is only as good as your sanding allows. Polish will not remove deep scratches, it will just make them shiny scratches.
This polishing kit will let you try out some of my favourite buffs and satin finishing wheels too, and it comes with one of my new favourite polishing compounds (as you probably know I also love ZAM). Click here for ZAM
Steel Bench Block and Bench Pin
A steel bench block is a simple, but must-have tool which is mostly used as a solid surface for hammering on.
And of course, you’re also going to need a bench pin. Almost all of a jeweller’s work actually gets done on the bench pin, rather than the bench itself.
This screw-on bench pin and steel block in one is a super handy little tool that kills two birds with one stone.
$16.45
Chasing Hammer
You can get by to start out with by stealing any hammer from your pop’s garage, and just making sure the face is smooth and the edges are rounded off with sandpaper. But a chasing hammer will definitely make life easier in the long run. If you’re just starting out, a budget chasing hammer such as this one will do the job just fine. If your hammer has sharp edges though, just make sure to use a little sandpaper to soften them so then don’t put those nasty dings on your metal as you work.
$13.15
Flex Shaft Drill
My dream flex shaft. I have this model personally and use it as often as my very expensive NSK micromotor – the mechanism is that smooth! But it’s also got plenty of torque too! To answer your question before you ask it…. yes, it does work perfectly with the Foredom hammer handpiece (and all other Foredom handpieces too) and it comes together with a quick change handpiece of its very own!
As a jeweller and stone setter, I couldn’t live without a flex shaft motor. You can get by with a dremel if you’re not really getting into stone setting, but once you start setting, these are an absolute game changer!
Flex Shaft Hanger
If you do buy a flex shaft, then you’re definitely going to need something to hang it from. If you’re reasonably handy you can get creative and rig something up, but when we had in person classes here in Malaysia, every bench was set up with this particular hanger, and both my personal benches have this too.
You can get hangers that clip onto your desk, but I prefer those that you screw into place – yes you make holes in your desk, but you also have a nice tool to work with too.
Drill Bits
Just as with saw frames, I highly recommend quality drill bits, and in my mind, they don’t get much better quality for the price than Busch.
Even when not using my quick change flex shaft handpiece, I still choose to use the drills with a 3/32 shank (the standard size for quick change handpieces). These drills are much sturdier than their skinnier counterparts. 90% of the time I simply use a 1mm drill bit, but you will most likely want to purchase a few smaller ones too if you’re getting into some detailed saw piercing work.
Pliers and Snips
Flat Nose and Chain Nose Pliers
Well, what don’t I use these for? I highly recommend getting a pair of these together with a pair of chain nose pliers too. If nothing else, they’re a godsend for opening and closing jump rings. But of course, you’ll end up using them for so much more!
Top tip: use a little 240 grit sandpaper to take off the sharp edges on the plier jaws.
$5.60
Half Round and Flat Pliers
When I first started out, everyone told me to get a pair of half round pliers. I hate half round pliers. But I love half round and flat pliers. Regular half round pliers (with two half round jaws) will leave a lot more marks on your work, but half round and flat pliers are perfect for bending and forming ring bands and bezels etc. where we need a gentle curve to the metal without leaving dings in it!
$10.80
Round and Flat Pliers
I feel exactly the same about regular round nose pliers as I do the half rounds. Having one flat jaw makes all the difference to the amount of tool marks left on your work. I use mine all the time for making small bezels and jump rings – amongst a lot of other things too!
$7.50
Flush Cut Snips
All snips are not created equally. Flush cut snips are the ones you want. When you make a cut with flush cut snips, one side of the cut is left almost perfectly flat. But no, you can’t get flush cutters that leave both side flat I’m afraid 🙂 I have these on every bench in my studio!
$16.50
Ring Mandrel
If you want to make rings, then you can’t make do without one of these, but thankfully for such a solid tool, they don’t break the bank. For forming purposes, I highly recommend a steel mandrel. You may see aluminium (aluminum) mandrels, but these are just for checking the sizes of rings. If you try to size a ring on those, you’ll destroy the mandrel before finishing the ring!
Select “Steel Standard” from the drop down menu – remember, not the aluminium one!
Ring Sizing Set
Again if you intend to make rings, and especially for custom orders, you’ll want a set of these for finding out your customer’s ring size. This is one tool that I find you really don’t need to go crazy on and buy an expensive model. As long as the sizes are accurate, you’re good to go. However if you are intending making wider ring bands, you may want to purchase a wider sizing set too – just to be as accurate as possible.
Select “Ring Gauge Sizing Set” from the drop down menu.
Soldering
Blazer Butane Torch
Pretty much the standard choice for small scale jewellery soldering. This can be filled over and over from regular butane from a canister available at any hardware store, and is a great starter torch for jewellery making.
$66.65
Durston Butane Torch
My new favourite butane torch. With a larger flame than the blazer, this is the perfect butane torch for larger projects such as bangles, and larger pendants. Again, this is refillable from a standard butane canister.
$52.50
Flux (Handy Flux)
For working in silver, brass, bronze or copper, as far as I am concerned, there is no better flux – and I’ve tried a lot! If you’ve had trouble soldering brass bronze and copper before, I recommend giving this flux a try.
Top tip: If your flux starts to dry out, just add a little water.
$12.85
Charcoal Block
The standard go-to surface for soldering on. I prefer to use hard compressed charcoal over soft charcoal 99% of the time, for the simple reason it lasts a lot longer.
Top tip: Unless you’re a fan of raging fires, do not place this directly on this on your workbench for soldering – use the heat-proof surface below.
$9.80
Heat-proof Surface
I love my 12 inch heat-proof surface for placing on my workbench underneath my charcoal block. I’ve had mine now for probably 5 years and it’s been a solid investment.
These surfaces are not great to solder directly on though – they’re very dense and will really suck the heat away from your piece. I remember my very first attempt at soldering was on one of these, and it didn’t go well. If you’re having trouble soldering, and you’re using one of these to solder on – give charcoal a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!
$29.95
Titanium Solder pick
I love my titanium solder pick, it speeds up soldering no end for me in comparison with using tweezers. It takes a little bit of practice to get used to, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
To pick up the solder, make sure you have a little flux on the pick, place the pick about an inch behind your solder and have the tip of your flame about one inch in front of the pick. Heat the solder until it turns into a ball, REMOVE THE HEAT, and scoop up the solder. Easy! But always remember to remove the heat before scooping.
$4.95
Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) and Citric Acid for Pickling
Citric acid makes for a great pickle, it’s cheap and easy to use. I use a ratio of about 1 cup of acid to 5 or 6 cups of water. Remember to always add acid to water just like your chemistry teacher told you! You’ll also want a pair of copper tweezers for placing items in the pickle.
To keep it warm, I use a slow cooker. Pickle works best hot though (not steaming hot ok – just like a nice warm bath). Pickle vapours aren’t healthy so don’t let it boil. I’d recommend having one with an automatic off switch, so if you forget about it (it happens), it will automatically turn itself off. The one I use most regularly also has a warm and a hot setting – the warm setting works perfectly to leave on all day without boiling,
Whoa that is a tonne of tools Lucy!
Yeah it is. And this is just for starters. We haven’t even looked at stone setting yet! So if you are looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is 110% not the game you should be getting into. Making jewellery takes investment, both in terms of tools and skills, but more than that, it takes a solid can-do attitude. If you think you have that attitude, but just don’t have the tools to get started, we’ve got great news for you:
How would you like to win the perfect jewellery making tool kit?
Yes getting started is tough, but if you’re all in, then we want to help you get there. If you’d like to win over $1000 worth of tools (everything pictured below and a few surprises to boot) to help you get started on your jewellery making journey, sign up below. The winner will be announced on 21st December 2021 (wouldn’t that be the perfect Christmas gift)!
Just check that out for a prize!
Want to learn more?
We would love to welcome you to the Metalsmith Academy where we can help you create the jewellery you always dreamed of.
- Incredible classes with close up videos and crystal clear explanations
- Extensive full colour handouts for all our classes (a firm favorite with our current members)
- Quick win projects, we call them Express Bites. If you don’t have the time to commit to a full class, but want to learn some new skills quickly, these are for you
- Bi-monthly challenges to help get those creative juices flowing
- Active community forums – and when we say active, seriously it’s like a party over there!
- Direct help – Lucy and Vennice are over in the forums every single day to help
- Exclusive discounts
- Tips and tricks galore – you got a problem, we create the content you need to fix it
Just click below to join the family now!
50 thoughts on “The Best Jewellery Making Tools to Start Out With”
Parallel jaw pliers for me.
Yeah me too! Kind of had to cut it off somewhere though right 🙂
Good Heavy Bloody Question, Lucy
I would say, my tools would be Talent, Curiosity, Imagination, Dedication, Excitement…. plus the Loving to Create.. and be the Best Sales Person…
Because you can have all the Tools with no desire in your heart….
Hand over that Torch❣
Joan
Lucy thank you for educating us every time a little more
What size half-round file and barrette should I get? Also, do you have a link for solder and sheet metal (copper and sterling silver)?
Oooooh now this is a prize worth winning!! As are they all but as a total silversmithing newbie this makes me very excited. Fingers crossed 🙂
Keeping them crossed for you lovely xx
Awesome Tools List … I never thought to get a square file to use for bezels … that is so clever. Thank You for sharing that wonderful hint … ☺️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Great blog post! It was really helpful to know what you recommend & actually use. Thanks so much!!
Nice summary! Very useful!
Id suggest a couple of small adds. One, a pair of copper tweezers to use with the pickle pot. Especially if you’re going to be working in silver. Second, the ring sizers – if you’re going to make typical women’s rings, the ones you have pictured work. But, if you’re going to work with men or thick, bold rings, the wide ones will give you more accurate sizes.
Thanks Lucy Walker Jewellery team. Always a happy day when you enter my inbox enjoy the unlockdown freedoms, and stay safe and well. XxxxK
Thanks so much Kathleen! It makes my heart happy knowing you enjoy getting our emails 🙂
Take care lovely xx
Wow! What a wonderful collection of necessities! I have priced many in this list and have only purchased a few pieces. I hope to really get rolling on metal work to enhance my wire wrapping. Thank you Lucy for offering this great prize.
Definitely LOVE your site. I am so doggone close to wanting to
get started in making simple silver projects. I’m like a horse ready and waiting
to bust out out of the starting gate. Itchy Itchy.
Thnx for the general idea of start up costs.
Thnx and luv to all.
Me
Cheers Paul!!
Gotta scratch that itch soon mate!
Thee as no you what a wonderful share of information hopefully a great start to a new career
Hiya and thank you, yet again. What voltage and frequency is the motor, please? I went to a big box store and got an 18″ x 12″ wall tile. 450mm x 300mm. The ceramic tile blocks the heat well and I have it against the bench with fireproof on top. Steve…
Hey Steve!
Gesswein sell them at 110 volts, however I think if you’re in the UK you can check out https://www.hswalsh.com/ – they stock the brand, but not sure if they have this exact model – might be worth asking though!
Thanks for the very helpful information! My fingers are itching to get the credit card out
Are you able to share about what are the basic burs one would need? I’m having trouble understanding the different types.
Thanks a lot for your so helpful tips! Problem here is that anything I order from the US is charged enormously by customs 🙁
I will need to find a European or Dutch reseller.
Until now I always bought secondhand material and must say it is not so good quality…
Wishing you all the best!
Linda
Dear Linda
I have the same problem. And it is even worse when you order sth paid tax fee and shipment and they do send the wrong stuff …
But since you seem to live in the Netherlands- cooksongold do have a company in the Netherlands. At least that is what they told me in England . You may wanna try this ! They do not have everything, but still a lot 🙂
I thought I might use the Dutch store too, next time when I am visiting my mother in law in Maastricht . In case you try out first, please let me know !
Best regards from Germany
Maëla
Hi Lucy, thank you for all this wonderful information! Question about the flex shaft drill – using it with a hammer hand piece – is it just a case then of not stamping too hard on the foot pedal to keep the speed low?? Wanting to use both rotary and hammer, I’ve been looking at a micromotor which has a desk top speed limiter (I think) on it but it’s big bucks, and having already cheaped out on a dremel, I don’t want to make the same mistake again..! From your post I take it then that it is possible to use a flex shaft with a rotary handpiece at high speed or a hammer handpiece at low speed? Apologies if this is a dim question but I need to stop going round in circles over this ‘investment’ and get on with it!!! Xx
Hey there Jane!
By far the best option for a hammer handpiece is the foredom LX which runs at much slower speeds (however it’s pretty useless for a jeweller to use with rotary tools). The universal does run slightly slower than the Foredom SR -I still manage to use the SR carefully though with the hammer handpiece (yes not stomping too hard on the gas ha ha). If I had to choose the Foredom SR or the Universal motor to use with the hammer handpiece, the Universal would win however 🙂 I feel the foot pedal offers more resistance than the standard Foredom foot pedal and so I find it a little easier to control. That and when it comes to drills and burs, the Universal is so much smoother.
Hope this helps lovely xx
Thank you so much Lucy – super helpful as always! xx
Hi Lucy,
What size on the Barrett and flat file to you like?
Excited to add some essentials to my bench , as soon as I get a bench 😉
Pam
Hi there Pamela! I have mostly 6 inch needle files, but I also love escapement files to for even finer work 🙂
I love my Rawhide mallet and the Nylon Mallet too. Thanks for a well written comprehensive list.
I love my Joyce Chen scissors. They are relatively inexpensive, cut through thin metals with ease, and make great solder snips. Also, they last for many years!
I know this post is older, but for those looking to save a little money, check out your local thrift store for the crock pot. I found a small one for $2 that works easily with an inline dimmer to keep it from overheating my pickle. Great article, as always, Lucy!
I’m finally learning what half of these tools do!! So excited & a bit overwhelmed! Thanks for the amazing classes and hope to win!!
Best of luck to all!
Thank you Lucy for this list. Wish I had it when I first started trying to buy what I thought I needed lol. But this list saved me in areas like my pliers, blades and so much more.
Hello Lucy
I finally returned from my holidays. I read your list upon the island ! Amazing job!!! Thank you so much ! That was really helpful ! When I came back home I ordered the missing pieces right away 🙂
Hope you and your love and the doggies are all well !
Love and hugs
Maëla
Thank you Maëla
We’re all sending you love and hugs back. Hope you had a wonderful holiday xx
Thank you Lucy for all you do!! If it hadn’t been for your website, I wouldn’t know what I know now. I’ve visited a lot of “jewelry” sites, but all comes down to trust, and a caring attitude.
Thanks again,
Pam(Mela)
Thank you Pam!
xxx
This is an exciting!! A chance to WIN and a really good start on the metalsmithing journey. Thank you for the opportunity!!
Good luck everyone!
Diana
So much wonderful information as always. You are doing a wonderful service to those just starting out. Thanks so much for your wonderful upbeat energy and enthusiasm. It means a lot to know there are teachers such as you available to so many of us who have had to search out information and have been learning on our own for so long.
Thank you so much Lisa xxx
Thanks lucy from India….looking forward to learn more from you..would love to order some tools you mentioned but again don’t know how expensive it will be when it reaches me…
I promise I will do a handstand on the box of tools. Sincerely, I’ve been collecting stones waiting for the day I could learn the smithing and afford the tools. This list is invaluable! (It’s a tool jungle out there!) Kiss the puppies repeatedly!
Martha in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Thank you! Very informative and helpful! Looking forward to learning more!
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been yearning to learn the craft of smithing and have finally decided to take the plunge. This post is more than helpful and provides an easy first step to purchasing tools. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. Much love.
Super cool as always Lucy!! Keeping my crossed❤️
Exciting. Winning would be great for anyone.
Oh that flex shaft !
♀️ I think I have more than one entry, so so sorry.
Not much knowledge about PC’s or internet
Have found your YouTube channel and loving it
Thank you
Excellent advice on tools, etc.
I bought a Dremel 9100-21 Fortiflex 2.5 Amp FlexShaft Powerful rotary tool in 2016 and it serves me well. Plan on doing some cleaning and lubrication soon but would like a more powerful one. You prefer the Universal and I will check them out. Most everybody I know has a Foredom, here in Atlanta.
Thank youLucy. Where do I find a list,of classes offered?
A bunch of links in the article don’t work. Any chance of updates? Thank you!
You recommend butane torches but it looks like you are using an acetylene torch for soldering – which should I get?
Hey there Anne, If you haven’t soldered before I would suggest starting out with a butane torch just to get comfortable soldering. I will often use my butane torch simply because it’s so easy to use even though I do have propane and oxygen systems and acetylene and air torches. There a bit more complicated to set up, and sometimes having a fancy torch, ends up being a bit of a block to getting started.
When you are comfortable soldering though, I absolutely love my Smith Little Torch – I prefer to use that with oxygen and propane as it burns a lot cleaner than oxygen and acetylene.
Hope this helps clarify xx