Hi and introduction..

[firetrap90210]

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would say hello and explain a bit about myself and my reasons for joining this forum... My name is Ian and I turned 40 last week, I am married and have two teenage kids.
I work as a maintenance manager,I enjoy doing anything practical and have always loved metal work (one of my hobbies is knife making as well as collecting and working Whitby jet). I have always had a fascination with gold and have collected various bits over the years and melt it all down now and then and make whatever shape I can (without any proper equipment) and then polish it up to a mirror finish before putting it away and forgetting about it for a while, and so on, but recently I have really been wanting to make something useful and meaningful, so I have decided to go for it, buy a few basic tools and try and make something myself and see how it goes!

I have joined with the hope of finding some friendly advice/help with getting started, basic tools, methods and just any advice that's going really. I will obviously need all the help I can get and will be grateful for any tips or advice to get started and hopefully start making a few easy rings/pendants out of gold.

Also, if there is anyone near the Peterborough area that runs classes or would be willing to show me some basics, please feel free to contact me, my wife tried to find a goldsmiths course for my 40th but couldn't find anything local/suitable for someone who works full time and would like to do it as a hobby, so here I am having found the Cooksongold site and ordered a few bits I'm eager to learn and get started, it is something I've always wanted to get into so I am keen to get going.

I have pretty much no knowledge except from the self taught stuff so please feel free to help in any way you can, for example.. is the 9ct casting grain the correct stuff to buy to melt down and start with?

Thank you for reading this, and I look forward to hopefully learning plenty and fulfilling one of my ambitions whilst doing something I enjoy.

Kind regards,

Ian

[Goldsmith]

Hi Ian,
If you have no experience of making jewellery, then my advice is to leave the casting route alone until you have learned some basic skills. Practice with sheet and wires first, learn to use a piercing saw and files on sheet and also the use of pliers on wires. Then you need to learn the basics of soldering.
As for tools, Cookson sell starter tool kits, see; http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Beginners-Tool-Kit-prcode-997-1001
or a better equipped kit, see;http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Workbench-Tool-Kit-prcode-997-1003

James

[CJ57]

Hi Ian
Everyone is busy with their Christmas orders so thought I'd welcome you in the meantime.
It's worth doing a search on here for specifics although sometimes they can be very difficult to find!
I don't cast myself, too much faffing so can't answer that question but I would ask what you intend to do with it? Are you casting to make specific pieces or to turn it into sheet metal to cut solder and form pieces of jewellery?
There was a post a couple of days ago from a new forum member wanting to start with a more difficult task like yours.
The response from most that it is really important to get basic workshop skills under your belt, sawing, soldering, finishing and get a feel for metal and your tools and how they work. Either try as you already are to get some workshop time in which is really the best way, watch videos, read a lot of books. Once you have the basic skill in then you can turn your hand to anything.
It's always a learning curve for all of us, new bits of equipment, new techniques to try but it you have the very basics at least, then it all becomes simpler.
There is always someone on the forum who can answer your questions and we are generally a friendly lot so just ask:)
I see James got in before me but we are saying the same thing

[Patstone]

Hi and welcome. When I started about four years ago, I enrolled at the local college to give me the basics, the only advice I can give is to start with silver as its cheaper if you make a mistake and you will I expect. Changing to gold perhaps when you have mastered the basics. I use silver most of the time, but have made gold itemss on the odd occasion. Mine is a hobby too, I am retired so have plenty of time to experiment.

[firetrap90210]

Thank you for your replies so far, I'm not too sure at the minute where to start to be honest.. I have the urge to make rings and pendants to start with, although how possible this is I don't really know - I thought I would get started by getting either some scrap gold or buy some casting grain and melting this down into a mould as a starting point and then cutting and shaping from there, but maybe that's not the way to do it! What would be the best way to make a simple wedding band style ring?

I am familiar with working with metals mainly stainless steel and O1 tool steel and can gas/mig/tig/arc weld as well as annealing steel and then hardening and tempering as well as cutting and shaping as I do this when making knives, from what I have done so far gold is a lot easier to work with as its so soft and doesn't require too much elbow grease when cutting and filing. the problem I have is that all the equipment and tools I have are way too big for the small intricate jewellery work, although I do have plenty of good needle files and polishing equipment as I use these a lot when working with the Whitby jet (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to mirror finishes). As for making mistakes, I guess that inevitable, but I figured it wouldn't be wasted as id just melt it down and start over.

I hope to have a good look round the forum tonight and try and find some info relevant for what I would like to do, but thanks for any advice and thoughts in the meantime :-)

[Wallace]

Hi Ian,

silver is really easy to work with too. Gold is easier the higher the carat of course.

a few more tools on your list could include:-

solder
pickle solution
visual aid of sorts could probably be needed at some point
buffing tools to include some sanding sticks or at least some fine mesh paper
bending formers - you may already have some.

I could add a few more, but I am sure others could offer some insight too.

welcome to the forum

kindest,

Wallace

[enigma]

Hi Ian

Sorry, I have to chuckle at you starting in gold, most people start in copper because of the expense lol.
Casting is good though for recycling so I can understand that, are you using the Delft clay system?
In the studio run lots of jewellery courses and I don't think they are that far from you:
http://www.inthestudio.co.uk/main/courses.html
I recently did a stone setting course with them and also a couple of hours of private engraving tuition and found them to be very good and well worth it.
The other benefit is you get to try their tools before deciding what you want to buy.
They run some general jewellery making courses and also specific courses too.

[Goldsmith]

Ian, check out the tutorials section on the forum; http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17 there is a lot of useful info there.

James

[CJ57]

Sarah's point was a good one about classes being the place to handle tools before buying. It's such a costly exercise so it's better to get it right before spending the money!

[Wallace]

Sarah's point was a good one about classes being the place to handle tools before buying. It's such a costly exercise so it's better to get it right before spending the money!

also, sometimes it is fun just to go ahead and get it, following the reviews or seeing what it can do through feedback.

[firetrap90210]

I will be looking into local colleges or a local goldsmith who runs classes/courses, hopefully I can find something and get started, if anyone can recommend any please feel free.

Meanwhile, I'm going to get a few basic bits to make life easier with the stuff I'm already doing and will just keep practising and generally learning as I go :-)

[Dennis]

Ian, What you need is a book for absolute beginners, which shows lots of pictures of tools, methods, and simple projects. Two In One Manuals, Jewellery by Madeline Coles does all that and only costs £13.

And no-she is not my auntie. Welcome to the forum, Dennis.

[firetrap90210]

Thank you Dennis, I'll take a look at the book and get it ordered :-)

[Tabby66]

Hi and welcome Ian!!

I think that you may find casting grain hard to work, casters mix it with other alloys to make the appropriate carat and to improve it's workability (if that's a word!!). Also beware that repeated melting of silver and gold can make it very brittle. I would also echo many of the others, learn/practise the basics first....since you are already familiar with metal work, I'm guessing that this may be fairly quick. That said....you may just enjoy the trial and error!!

To make a simple wedding band, I would suggest cutting with a piercing saw and then soldering a strip of silver sheet, or a length of silver wire. Many folk use tutorials on youtube.

Most of all Enjoy!!

Tabby x

[CJ57]

I will be looking into local colleges or a local goldsmith who runs classes/courses, hopefully I can find something and get started, if anyone can recommend any please feel free.

Meanwhile, I'm going to get a few basic bits to make life easier with the stuff I'm already doing and will just keep practising and generally learning as I go :-)

Wondering if you missed a link Enigm/Sarah shared with you earlier re courses I think ?

[Moon Willow]

I will be looking into local colleges or a local goldsmith who runs classes/courses, hopefully I can find something and get started, if anyone can recommend any please feel free.

Meanwhile, I'm going to get a few basic bits to make life easier with the stuff I'm already doing and will just keep practising and generally learning as I go :-)

Hi Ian

Some brilliant advice landing on your door step already as James said "Learn the Basics first" you need to keep it simple,
practice and perfect your techniques.

I was once asked by a student "what tools do i need" my reply "What are you making" answer "I don't know" my reply "Then that makes 2 of us"
so it's back what James said "start with the basics".

I once told a student anyone could make a piece of jewellery using a bench peg, sawframe and blades not forgetting a flat piece of silver, copper or brass and with these you can sawpierce a shape.

Next you might want to form the metal (bend) so now you need pliers.

Next you might want to solder a ring or another component to your piece so you'll need to purchase a torch, so there you go
you're building up the tools you need and gaining experience along the way.

Welcome to our world Ian, hope you have years of pleasure creating fab pieces of jewellery.

Carlton

[CJ57]

Hi Ian

Some brilliant advice landing on your door step already as James said "Learn the Basics first" you need to keep it simple,
practice and perfect your techniques.

I was once asked by a student "what tools do i need" my reply "What are you making" answer "I don't know" my reply "Then that makes 2 of us"
so it's back what James said "start with the basics".

I once told a student anyone could make a piece of jewellery using a bench peg, sawframe and blades not forgetting a flat piece of silver, copper or brass and with these you can sawpierce a shape.

Next you might want to form the metal (bend) so now you need pliers.

Next you might want to solder a ring or another component to your piece so you'll need to purchase a torch, so there you go
you're building up the tools you need and gaining experience along the way.

Welcome to our world Ian, hope you have years of pleasure creating fab pieces of jewellery.

Carlton

This is why you teach Carlton and most of us just make, this is a much simpler way of saying what we have been trying to. I would find it easier to show :)

[firetrap90210]

Wow, thanks everyone for your advice.. I'll certainly take it on board. I will forget the casting route for now and get some flat sheet and work with that. I have plenty of torch options (oxy/acet, map gas and butane) but was wondering if the Antex Gascat 120p would work as I have one of these but have only just remembered it's in the shed somewhere! I may dig it out and have a play tomorrow.
I will need to buy a small saw, and the blades are a little different to what I'm used to, is there a particular type I should go for?
Again, thanks for all the help��