See our infographic above for 4 top tips on how to polish jewellery using your Foredom pendant drill.<\/em><\/p>\n Your Foredom drill is an incredibly versatile tool and when it\u2019s used with the right bits, bobs and burrs, can become your most trusted buffing and polishing system for those smaller, more intricate pieces such as rings and charms.<\/p>\n Step one in the process of buffing and polishing means starting with the coarsest abrasive for the job at hand. Along with your Foredom pendant drill you\u2019ll need to invest in a range of course wheels, including; rubber\/silicone, paper discs and sander rolls for this stage in the buffing and polishing process. These come in a variety of shapes and grades of grit, and the choice that you make on which to invest in very much depends on the pieces that you\u2019re creating.<\/p>\n You can expect to be presented with a choice of shapes:<\/p>\n For those items that are sold separately, you\u2019ll also need to think about which mandrels you\u2019ll need to attach the wheels to your Foredom pendant drill too. Make sure you check that the manufacturer, shank size and speed recommendation you\u2019re looking at is compatible with your specific Foredom pendant drill model \u2013 there\u2019s nothing worse than getting a new tool through the post and not being able to try it out straight away.<\/p>\n TOP TIP: If you\u2019re just starting out and have just invested in a Foredom pendant drill we\u2019d recommend picking up a <\/em>polishing kit.<\/em><\/a> This will eliminate any chance of you ordering any mandrels that don\u2019t fit or mops that aren\u2019t of any use to you. <\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n Identified which bits you\u2019ll need? Once you have your pendant drill bits all laid out in front of you, make sure you can easily identify which is the coarsest grit and which is the finest. If it helps, store them in this order and label them up too. This will help you remember which colour corresponds to which grit and you\u2019ll soon figure out your own system of remembering to work through the grades.<\/p>\n Laid out your chosen polishers? Here\u2019s what\u2019s next:<\/strong><\/p>\n Attach the coarsest polishing wheel to your Foredom pendant drill. Once it\u2019s secured in place you can get started. Don\u2019t forget your protective equipment! Goggles and face masks are recommended to avoid any injuries during this process. Polish the piece systematically to ensure you remove any surface scratches or dinks in the metal that were caused while creating the piece.<\/p>\n Consistently move the pendant drill over the entirety of the piece \u2013 it\u2019s important to buff in the same direction and avoid concentrating on one area to ensure you don\u2019t put any grooves or dents into your metal.<\/p>\n Now you\u2019ve removed any sharp edges, scratches or small inaccuracies in your metal you can move onto the next grit. Think about this stage as removing any scratches that were put into the metal in this previous stage of buffing with the coarser grit. Repeat the process of moving consistently over the entire piece and once you\u2019re happy that you\u2019ve worked over the entire piece, give it a wipe to make sure you\u2019re happy with it.<\/p>\n Working on particularly small pieces, awkward corners or rings? Now is the time to switch to a small silicone pin polisher or cylindrical polisher to ensure you\u2019re getting into all those hard-to-reach places before you move onto a finer grit.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got stuck into the more awkward corners of your piece using the pin polishers, you can then switch back to a fine grit wheel to bring out any fine scratches in your piece. Once this final stage of buffing is complete you can then move onto polishing.<\/p>\n Depending on the type of soft polishing wheels you choose to use with your Foredom pendant drill you may or may not need to add a little polishing compound. Some are already impregnated with the abrasive compound needed to bring your piece to a high shine, but always check this with the manufacturer that you choose to buy from.<\/p>\n A plain soft fabric mop will need a small amount of jeweller\u2019s rouge<\/a> added to it. To do this, add your soft polishing mop to your pendant drill and start the motor using your foot pedal. Take your rouge and touch it with the polishing mop while it is in motion \u2013 this will pick up a small amount of rouge ready for use with the metal you\u2019re working on.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no need to apply a lot of pressure to the metal. Remember that the rouge will do the cutting work for you, leaving you with a high shine finish that\u2019s ready to go out to your customers.<\/p>\n Interested to learn more about Foredom? Take a look at our entire range of Foredom power tools<\/a>, including the handy pendant drill as well as additional accessories and other heavy duty metalsmithing supplies. Don\u2019t forget to download our Foredom catalogue<\/a> too, and for more information on choosing the right Foredom flex shaft tool for you, check out our handy guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the most complex and time-consuming elements of jewellery making is buffing and polishing. This stage in the process is one that you want to get right, first time – so any way that you can speed it up is a bonus! That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together our top tips on how to polish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1785],"tags":[1042,1262,1263,1254,1255,1264,1265,1266,1775,324,985],"class_list":["post-9114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polishing","tag-foredom","tag-foredom-bits","tag-foredom-drill","tag-foredom-pendant-drill","tag-foredom-power-tools","tag-how-to-polish-jewelry","tag-how-to-polish-metal","tag-how-to-polish-metal-jewelry","tag-legacy","tag-polishing","tag-polishing-jewellery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"foredom](\"https:\/\/www.cooksongold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/4-expert-tips-on-polishing-jewellery-with-a-foredom-pendant-drill-1-139x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere\u2019s how to polish metal with your Foredom drill along with:<\/h2>\n
Coarse Abrasives<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"foredom](\"https:\/\/www.cooksongold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/foredom-pendant-motor-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMini pin polishers<\/h3>\n
Soft wheel polishing discs<\/h3>\n
Polishing with Foredom power tools<\/h2>\n