Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

We’d thought we’d look at some of the essential techniques, tools & processes used when filing precious metals – gold, silver & platinum.

Filing is an essential technique in jewellery making, and although simple in concept following proven practices combined with the right equipment and tools, ensures the job becomes a breeze.

Filing precious metals
Filing is used in jewellery making to remove excess metal, even out surfaces, smooth or to shape, form and texture pieces.

The actual files come in a variety of shapes, grades/cuts and sizes. The shape of the file you choose will depend on the job you are completing i.e. flat files are used for straight edges or convex curves e.g. the outer edge of a disc, and curved files are used on concave curves – e.g. inside of rings.

The cut describes the arrangement of teeth and therefore the amount of material the file will remove and the surface finish it will leave. The most often used, and useful file is a medium cut 2 file, (cut 0 = course, Cut 4 = fine) this general purpose file removes material quickly, and leaves only light markings which can be easily removed. 

Common types of file types
In terms of types of file, both needle and hand files are the most commonly used in jewellers workshops.  The common shapes of file are Flat files – a general use file for use on flat surfaces and outside curves, Square files for use in grooves or inside angles, Three square files for tight angles and difficult to reach areas, Round files for inside curves, Half round files for inside curves, Knife files for limited access corners, Crossing files for inside curves, Safety back files ideal for tight angles as serrated edge are only on one side.

Hand files - Range of over 150 available

Fitting a file handle
Needle files have an integral handle; however hand files often require a handle to be fitted. To fit your handle place the file in a vise with the ‘tang’ (where the handle is fitted) pointed upwards, then heat the tang until red hot ensuring you direct the flame upwards. Push the file handle onto the hot tang allowing the it burn into the handle. Then tap the handle with a mallet until the handle is secure.

Filing techniques for a straight line
When filing ensure that the metal is secured, as an unstable bench peg/metal will lead to inaccuracies and mistakes.  When filing a straight line use long strokes, applying pressure on the forward stroke. Make sure that the file is level and that you watch the metal to ensure accuracy plus allowing the jeweller to continually assess the pressure/placement of your next stroke. When filing you should work at a steady pace, as an aggressive technique increases the chance of inaccuracy. Many jewellers mark there metal as a guideline to measure progress and to see where they need to file.

Filing techniques for curves (convex)
With a flat faced file place the file on the metal and push forward using a sweeping action that follows the curve, ensuring the file is level. Use marks to guide the filing process, and check the surface whilst filing.

Files – an essential jewellery tool
Skilled filing is a key technique that once mastered gives the jeweller great control over shaping metal and forming designs. However initially it takes practice, concentration plus a level of intuition to ensure accurate lines or curves are achieved.  A complete jewellery tool kit will include a full selection of files – both needle and hand, of all shapes and sizes and cuts, and become some of the most used tools at the bench.

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Forming metal is an essential part of jewellery making, and as a process the level of skill involved is often overlooked.  Forming refers to any process that maneuvers metal into the desired shape or design. Unlike many other skills in jewellery making forming is more a combination of a range of techniques that change an objects shape, rather than one particular process. 

Under the heading of forming are processes such as bending, chasing, repousse, sinking, hammering, using stamps/dies and forging.  These processes will affect the pieces shape, thickness and often the texture of the metal being worked on.

Forming Tools
The range of forming tools available is as wide and varied as the different processes contained within the skill.  The key forming tools available are:

Mallets
The simple mallet allows the craftsman to apply direct force without stretching or damaging the metal.  The head of the mallet is softer that the metal so not to mark the surface.

Mandrels or Triblets
Mandrels or Triblets are used for forming shapes, and are most associated with rings or bangles.  Mandrels are available in a variety size and shapes, and in both steel & wood.

Hammers
Hammers can complete a variety of jobs from stretching the metal, polish/smoothing or adding texture. Jobbing hammers are ideal for general use and metal forming. The planishing hammer is used for smoothing, shaping and polishing metal.  Riveting hammers are designed with a small head for detailed rivet work. Raising, bossing and chasing hammers are used in the different stages of forming.

Doming Blocks & Punches
Doming blocks & punches are the ideal way of shaping metal and making domed, shaped pieces or hollow beads. Pieces of circular metal/discs are place over the hollows of a doming block, and then using punches and a hammer the metal is formed into a shape. 

Steel Blocks
Steel blocks provide the ideal flat surface for working, flattening sheet or wire or to support work as it is raised or forged, riveted or textured.

Swage Blocks
Rather like doming blocks, Swage blocks help form metal into tubes, curves and channels.  Different blocks will allow different shapes and sizes to be formed.

Sandbag / Grit filled Cushion
These bags provided support whilst you work and form your piece. They help keep your work firm and in place whilst working.

Pliers
Pliers have a multitude of uses but they are the most basic tool for holding/gripping, forming and shaping wire.  Having a basic selection of needle nose, round nose, flat nose, half round and a pair of parallel action pliers, will give the jeweller the flexibility to complete most jobs.

Stakes
Often used by silversmiths, the metal is placed over the stakes (usually clamped independently into a vice) and hammered to achieve the shape required. Various shapes can be achieved by using different stakes.

Files
Files are essential for removing excess material, and fine tuning and shaping your piece.  The different sizes available allow the jeweller to work large areas or at a more intricate level. To start with buy a selection of shapes containing round, square, triangular, half round and warding.  Plus consider the cut ranging from 0 the coarsest, to 6 the finest.

Draw plates
Draw plates are most commonly used to reduce the size or change shape of wire. Each plate has a series of holes through which the wire is passed through, this then changes the size of the wire. The holes in the plate are of decreasing size allowing you to continue draw down the wire to the required size.

Rolling mills
These larger machines often seen in jewellers’ workshops are ideal to reduce the thickness of sheet, or help decorate sheet. If used with Square and D shape sections rolling mills can be used to form or shape wire. 

This selection of forming tools & equipment allow jewellers, and metalsmiths to create any number of shapes, textures and patterns.  As with all jewellery projects the range of forming tools jewellers have will start with the basic i.e. pliers, hammer and perhaps a doming set, and then expand as their projects demand.

Forming Tools

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This weekend only Cooksongold.com are offering an incredible 50% off starter bench packs. The bench pack contains 11 quality jewellery tools at an amazing price of ONLY £23.08 this weekend only - WHILE STOCKS LAST!

50% OFF Bench Packs

Every good jeweller’s workshop needs a quality supply of findings… and with many sensational new lines, and up to 50% off our most popular findings, you won’t find more choice or better value than Cooksongold.com.

We’ve got lots of other new products to tempt you with; a fabulous selection of glass beads and stringing supplies, silver chain, silver beads and spacers, display materials and a series of price offers for workshop essentials. What’s more, spend over £100 and you will automatically be entered into our Win a Workshop competition!

If you would like to receive a FREE copy of our NEW Workshop Materials mini catalogue click here. Alternatively, click here to view these new product online via the website.

Click here for your FREE copy

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Making jewellery doesn’t require a large space or big pieces of equipment or even furniture. A selection of key workshop pieces combined with basic hand tools provides everything for the first workshop. Cooksongold.com provides a full range of jewellery tools - everything from basic hand tools, pre-packed tool kits, consumables, larger machinery right through to the professional jewellers bench.

Your first workshop
Often the beginner or student will start making jewellery on ‘normal’ desk, worktop or even kitchen table!  Adapting the table can be easily be achieved by clamping a G clamp bench vice or anvil.  The jewellers peg/pin can then be held in place securely giving a simple, yet sturdy place to work.

Work Benches - Click here

The peg is perhaps the most vital part of any setup allowing the jeweller to work quickly and efficiently. This wedge or triangle of wood supports the piece, holding it in a notch or v shape insert. This holds the piece rigid, allowing the jeweller to saw, cut, & file. 

If adapting an existing desk, the desk should be elevated, so that the working area is at mid chest level when the jeweller is sat upright, thus allowing maximum control of your tools and metals.

Let there be light and ventilation

Although normal desks can be adapted, two factors must be in place when setting up your ‘bench’ – light and ventilation. The work area needs to well ventilated to ensure a safe working environment combined with good bright and direct lighting. Natural light can be complemented by adjustable lamps ensuring that no shadow falls over your piece from the jeweller or the equipment.

Workshop lighting - Click here

The professional jeweller’s bench

The traditional jeweller’s bench is a purposed designed and provides the perfect working area for any project. Often mistakenly seen as expensive luxury, a good bench will last you a lifetime and most importantly will help in improving your technique. Benches are higher than a normal desk (mid chest level if the jeweller is sitting uptight) ensuring that the jeweller does not stoop to work. Most benches have the semi circle cut out ensuring that you can sit close to the to the work, and with the aid of a bench skin collects scrap and protect the jeweller from hot or sharp objects.

Organising jewellery tools  

Keeping a workshop tidy, and the tools organised will help the jeweller when working, creating an efficient working environment. Both tools & materials should ideally be kept close to the bench, with the aim of trying to keep all materials within arms reach. Practically many of the basic jewellers tools will be actually left on the bench – Pliers, files, cutters, tweezers are used so often that they can be left on the work top for immediate access. 

As a large part of jewellery making involves heat often a section of the bench will be dedicated to the equipment needed for soldering. Often the soldering area will be based around the placement of a torch, with the soldering block placed alongside a borax cone and dish.

For other materials such as jewellery findings, settings, and metal, storage containers should be used. These ideally have sliding draws to allow you to split different carats, sizes or types of findings.

Storage - Click here

Once the workshop is established all that remains to be added is the essential basic selection of popular jewellery tools such as files, saw & saw blades, emery & polishing sticks, pliers, cutters, verneirs along with forming tools and heating/soldering equipment.

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Why not combine a visit to the Cookson Trade Counter with a visit to the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.

The Museum has a preserved jewellery workshop offering a unique glimpse of working life in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter. For more than eighty years Smith and Pepper produced jewellery from this workshop, founded in 1899. Explore this extraordinary industrial time capsule on a lively guided tour. Here you will find things left as they were on Smith and Pepper’s last working day.

The museum tells the story of jewellery making in Birmingham. The Jewellery Quarter gained its distinctive identity in the 19th century when Birmingham was known as the ‘Workshop of the World’. Today the city is still very much at the forefront of jewellery manufacture in Britain.

You can get a feel for this great industrial past and modern  jewellery trade as you wander through the Quarter’s tight-knit street, lined with jewellery shops, makers’ workshops and distinctive historic factories.

 

The Jewellery Quarter Museum

How to find the museum:

Telephone: 0121 554 3598

Admission is FREE!

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If you’d like to make a general comment regarding this article or post a question to the Cookson team please click here

Last year we introduced Precious Metal Clay (PMC), and we had a great response to the range. Designers loved PMC’s flexibility, giving them the ability to create unique designs using a new material. Throughout 2008 we had many requests to stock Art Clay Silver, so we are now pleased to be offering both ranges!

As part of the launch, this week we thought we should focus on these two great products and outline what metal clay is, how it works and the main differences between PMC & Art Clay.

Precious Metal Clay

Metal clays allow jewellers to work with a material that is as malleable as ordinary modelling clay but produces fine (almost pure) silver jewellery of exquisite intricacy and beauty. Once polished it has a lustre and shine that is easily comparable to cast silver and because of the development of the products over the last few years shrinkage is now no longer an issue. The type used depends on personal preference as both types have their advantages, but incorporating metal clays into your jewellery design gives you a new medium to explore with beautiful results.

What is Metal Clay?

Metal clay is a suspension of tiny particles of metal in a clay binder, which can be used to make jewellery, beads and small findings. The beauty of metal clay is that it can be manipulated in the same way as any modelling clay, but once fired the binding agents are burnt off leaving the metal form intact. Although there is a certain amount of shrinkage (between 10-15% for the more modern versions), very fine detail can be achieved, including impressions that would require casting in any other method of metalwork.

Precious Metal Clay (PMC)

Silver metal clay results in objects containing almost pure silver (also known as fine silver) which is ideal for enamelling. There are two popular brands available – Precious Metal Clay (also known as PMC) and Art Clay Silver (ACS). Precious Metal Clay was developed in the early 1990’s in Japan and consists of microscopic particles of pure silver (or fine gold powder) and a water-soluble binder which burns off during firing. The original formula of PMC (now called ‘Standard’) has to be fired in a kiln at a temperature of 898°C/650F and has a high shrinkage rate of around 30%. Two additional versions were later developed called PMC+, which can be fired at 810°C/1490F and PMC3, which can be fired at temperatures as low as 593°C/1100F. Both of these later versions of PMC have much lower shrinkage rates, allowing much finer detail to be worked into designs.

Art Clay Silver

Art Clay Silver (ACS) was also developed in Japan and is similar in consistency to PMC+. The main difference with Art Clay is that it is more suited to be fired using a hand-held torch or gas oven. Because of subtle differences in the binder components and the longer firing times, Art Clay Silver benefited from having a considerably lower shrinkage percentage – only 8-10%. This means that ACS can be worked in more detail without any loss of definition in fine work. Art Clay Slow Dry was introduced soon after, which has a much longer working time before requiring firing, allowing intricate work to be moulded into the clay with no loss of malleability.

NEW Art Clay

Art Clay 650 and Art Clay 650 Slow Dry are now becoming increasingly popular, as not only do they have a longer working time but can be fired at temperatures as low as 650°C/1200F. This allows jewellers to incorporate glass and Sterling Silver into the designs without fear of damaging the components. The manufacturers of ACS have also introduced Oil Paste, a product only used on fired metal clay or milled fine silver, and Overlay Paste which is designed for drawing designs onto glass and porcelain. These two products have allowed the use of metal clay products to be incorporated into a whole new range of designs and mediums, expanding the potential of this product.

Metal clays allow jewellers to work with a material that is as malleable as ordinary modelling clay but produces fine (almost pure) silver jewellery of exquisite intricacy and beauty. Once polished it has a lustre and shine that is easily comparable to cast silver and because of the development of the products over the last few years shrinkage is now no longer an issue. The type used depends on personal preference as both types have their advantages, but incorporating metal clays into your jewellery design gives you a new medium to explore with beautiful results.

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Click here for beads

Beads are commonly made from Sterling silver which is a silver alloy made up of 7.5% copper, 92.5% silver.  Pure silver is designated as 99.9% pure, but this purity tends to make the metal very soft. In jewellery applications, this can mean that delicate work is easily damaged or broken through the slightest of knocks. Adding another base metal to the silver gives it greater durability and strength. Sterling silver has this additional alloy and is only 92.5% silver.

Silver beads are used in almost every type of jewellery, from simple necklaces to modern body jewellery. A silver necklace carries with it an air of sophistication and elegance, particularly if the silver beads are offset with other precious or semi-precious stones or pearls.

Necklaces are not the only use of silver beads in jewellery. Because of the huge range of designs available, they can be used in earrings, bracelets and cufflinks to match a simple but stylish necklace. Silver beads can also be incorporated into all kinds of applications, such as embroidering onto clothing or bags, eveningwear or shoes. Designers across the world continue to be captivated by the myriad of uses that silver beads have in fashion and couture, with the top design houses often including beading in their collections.

Semi-precious stones

Silver has the advantage of being the ‘black’ of jewellery in fashion terms – it goes with practically anything. A delicate, silver bead necklace can casually compliment a simple outfit of jeans and tee shirt. That same necklace can be worn with a cocktail dress with equal flair and finesse. A handful of silver beads, a well-thought out design and a little bit of patience can produce something that is unique and timeless. The best way to begin to incorporate silver beads into your jewellery making is to buy a small selection and let your imagination loose. The results will be uniquely yours and always a favourite part of your jewellery collection, no matter what the occasion

As part of our latest mini catalogue ‘From the Heart‘, we are offering 10% off selected ring tools as well as our fantastic range of wedding ring blanks. This offer includes 10% off our stainless steel wheatsheaf ring stick, selected rawhide mallets and our wedding ring gauges.  

10% OFF selected Ring Tools

This week the designers of Cookson look at the essential hand tools required for those starting jewellery making.

Essential Jewellers Tools

Body

Perhaps the most important decision jewellers have to make when starting is the selection of there first set of jewellery making tools – the backbone to their trade.  The basic hand tools needed for Jewellery making have not changed in decades and Cookson provides a full range of Jewellery tools, covering every thing detailed in this article. Everything from basic hand tools, pre packed tool kits, consumables, larger machinery right through to the professional jewellers bench.

A place to work

A jewellers workshop requires only a small area – a spare room is ideal, but it is essential that it is well lit, and has good ventilation. Professional jewellers usually invest in study purpose built workbench, however a normal working desk or work top can be adapted, simply by adding a G clamp bench vice or anvil. The Jewellers Peg/pin can then be held in place securely giving a simple, yet study place to work. 

Hand tool essentials

The range of jewellers tools to choose from can initially be overwhelming, however once the basics are in place, additional tools can be added as the jewellers skill improves or their projects demand.  

Saws (frames and blades) allow the jeweller to make small and intricate cuts. Frames are either fixed or adjustable.  Selecting which grade of saw blade you require is key, the most popular is grade 2/0 which is relatively fine but is still robust, where as grade 6/0 is used for very fine work but is less robust. 

Hand drills are less used with the prevalence of powered pendant or hobby drills. However the more traditional hand drill, Archimedes or Bow drill still provides a simple & effect way of drill holes.

Files are essential for removing excess material, with the different sizes available for working large areas or at a more intricate level. To start with buy a selection of shapes containing round, square, triangular, half round and warding.  Plus consider the cut ranging from 0 the coarsest, to 6 the finest. For cleaning up your piece after filing or soldering, jewellers tend to use sand paper, emery sticks, or wet & dry paper with a range of grades allowing them to achieve different finishing effects.

Polishing your piece is essential but again a few selected tools & polishing compounds will allow you to achieve good initial results.  Polishing sticks (made of felt or leather) when combined with compounds such as Tripoli or rouge will help create a polished finished looking piece.

Pliers allow jewellers to tackle most jobs and work with a wide variety of materials, and are particular useful in wirework.  They allow the jeweller to hold, form and shape and it is essential that you have snipe nose, flat, round nosed pliers in your tool box.

Ensuring accuracy in finely detailed work is essential in jewellery making, but marking and measuring tools are often overlooked. Investing in a metal rule, a set of good vernier calipers plus a scriber and punch ensure you can mark and measure accurately and easily.

Jewellery Making

Although this list is not exhaustive, these tools will ensure that a jeweller will have the basic tools to start their first project.  But as jewellery making is such a wide subject very quickly other equipment will be required.. The next step will invariable mean that a  heat source is required – such as a hand torch complete with soldering block.  As the metal is worked you will need forming equipment – hammers and mandrels, plus as the jewellers skills develop they will have a need for improved and quicker finishing, requiring  will mean the introduction of a polishing motor & mops. All this combined with a wider range of other hand tools and other equipment such as files, tweezers, glues, setting & soldering equipment.