Monday's Methods: A Few More Tools of the Trade

On this installment of Monday's Methods, we're going to look at the rest of the tools I use most frequently in my jewelry making. The first photo is of a hammer and anvil. These are VERY useful in my jewelry making! When wanting to flatten, harden, or just plain "texturize" my work, these two tools come in very handy. Now let me be clear here: these are NOT "jewelry maker" anvil and hammer - I got them at (*GASP*) my hardware store! You can too, you just need to have a few goals in mind:
1. the anvil needs to be clean and flat - mine came with a layer of grease to protect it from rust, so I had a heck of a job cleaning it to get it ready. I still need to polish the metals after I hammer them on it, but as a plus, it is large (the flat area is about 5"x2-1/2" and the round area is about 4 inches, tapering down from wide to narrow), it is heavy (10 pounds) and it only cost me $10 (as opposed to $25-$30 for one 1/4 the size that says "for jewelry making" on the box)! I do recommend putting a flat cloth or heavy cardboard under it when hammering so that you don't mark the surface the anvil rests on.
2. Your hammer should be comfortable to hold and clean and flat on the hammering end. You can use a ball-paean hammer with a rounded hammering surface, but you'll get pock marks on your metals. While this can be useful for some applications, in general, you want it flat and even and clean of scratches and dents that come from hammering nails into things. I hunted for a while at the hardware store to find this one on sale for $5! It isn't too big and heavy, which means that for really flat wire I have to hammer more, but it also means that I can do more delicate hammering with a lighter touch and don't have to worry about a giant hammer coming down on a tiny piece of metal.
Now, certainly, if you have the money and want to get the jewelry making-specific tools, go ahead, but I have found these to be perfectly workable and VERY affordable - score!
Here we have a vise. This is great when you have finicky projects that require more than 2 hands. I don't know about you, but I only have 2 and when they are full, I can't do much of anything else but deal with what is currently in my hands. I now make my braided wire bracelets on this and I can't tell you how much easier it is to braid 9 strands of wire with a vise holding them together, than with just my own two hands. I found this one at my hardware store for $15, and again, I had to clean it, but it is great. I should also mention that the actual vise part that grips the metal has a bumpy surface, which is not at all desirable as it can really mar the jewelry. The solution: I simply put a small piece of plastic or folded up paper on the insides to protect my wire and voila! No more marks on my wire!
Here are some really dead-useful items. The small ring on the left is actually a jump ring opener and is incredibly handy when opening large numbers of jump rings (little rings for connecting jewelry pieces, or making chain mail). You simply slip this on whatever finger it fits on, slide part of the ring into the slot that fits the ring (there are different sized slots for different sized rings on this one), twist the jump ring slightly, and there you have it; the jump ring is opened properly and took less than a second!
The red handled items are step mandrels. These are useful for creating rings, or even just bends and curls in wire. What is great about these is that they are stepped- meaning each one starts out wide at the handle, and then reduces in measured increments (like steps) to another, smaller increment. These go from (on the left) 1.5mm to 5mm in 5 steps, to (on the right) 6 mm to 10 mm in 5 steps.
The next 2 items are ring mandrels. The first is a heavy, mountable, metal mandrel that is suitable for hammering on. It has all the rings sizes engraved on it so you can see the size of the ring you are making, and it is great for measuring finished rings on as well. The furthest right is a plastic mandrel, used for measuring rings with stones. It has the ring sizes engraved on the side not shown, but what is neat about this one is that it has a channel in it (shown) to measure rings with large stones. This is NOT made to be hammered on as it is breakable.
Finally we have plastic ring sizers which are (obviously) used to measure your fingers to see what size you are. Interesting to note is that these are not always 100% accurate: they are accurate if the ring band is the same width as the sizers, but rings with wide bands may actually need to be upped by 1/4 or even 1/2 of a ring size to accommodate for the width having to fit over knuckles. Just keep in mind that these are always approximate, though more accurate than not :-)
And last, but certainly not least is a jig. This is a most wonderful tool as you can make patterns in wire, as well as useful findings like ear wires. This one is a WigJig (tm) and is made of clear airplane window-grade acrylic. It is see-through, unlike most jigs, which means that if you draw a pattern, you can place it under the jig and see the pattern while you follow it with your wire. Also useful are the many different sized pegs that are sold separately, to give you different sized circles with your wire. This brand of jig is slightly more expensive than the non clear metal ones, but I really find it worth the price. Besides, I saved enough on the vise, anvil and hammer to pay for this jig!

That is all for today, tune in tomorrow for an update on the bracelet I'm (still) making!

Happy creating,

Monday's Methods:Jewelry Making Basics

~Bent Chain Nose Pliers, Round Nose Pliers (Ergonomic), Flush Side Cutters~

For the first installment of Monday's Methods, we are going back to the basics: The very foundation, the tools of the trade as it were. This is a very BASIC list of tools (and you can be sure that I'll be adding to this list as we go on) that you can get at any jewelry supplier or bead store to start your own beading adventures! The biggest thing to keep in mind at any stage is to get the best you can afford. Never, ever get the cheapest pliers ($5 and under here in Canada, probably less in USA and abroad). They are uncomfortable (read: bruises and blisters), they don't have good construction, and they won't really last. A good starting point is about $10. From there, you can move up to more expensive ones (I am coveting a set of German ones, at about $40 per pair....it'll be awhile!), or resell them to a beading friend at a reasonable price if you don't think jewelry making is for you. A quick note: DO NOT use regular needle nose pliers that you would get at the hardware store. With very few exceptions, these all have ridges on the inside of them which will seriously mar your wire.

The first photo shows three sets of pliers: Bent Chain Nose Pliers, Round Nose Pliers (Ergonomic), and Flush Side Cutters.

Bent chain nose pliers are great for wire working when you need a bit of an angle on things. They are great for helping you get into tiny areas. If you look closely, or at the second photo, you'll see that mine taper to a fairly fine point. This is, again, to get into those tight spaces. The angle looks awkward, and feels awkward, at first, but after a little while working with these babies, you won't EVER want to go to back to straight chain nose pliers. When I teach classes, I always get my students to grab the bent chain nose over the straight. Try them and you'll see why!

~Tapered Bent Chain Nose Pliers~

Round Nose pliers are great for making wrapped loops, bends in wire, and so much more. They aren't as good for holding wire as the chain nose pliers, as the rounded sides may mar the wire if you press down too hard. Mine have more ergonomic handles which reduce stress and fatigue on your hands - always a plus if you are doing many hours at a time, or if you have arthritis.

Flush side cutters are great for cutting wire flat. You position the cutters perpendicular to the wire and it will cut at a ninety-degree angle, reducing the amount of filing time. They are a little more expensive than regular cutters, but worth it. A side note: do NOT cut thick wire or memory wire with these, as it will nick the blades. These are for regular wire only. I cut 18 gauge or less, though usually for 18 gauge, I'll use my big cutters, just to be safe.

~Nylon Jaw Pliers, Crimp Pliers, Heavy Duty Cutters~

The next photo shows Nylon Jaw Pliers, Crimp Pliers, and Heavy Duty Cutters. Though not strictly essential, they REALLY help move things along.

Nylon Jaw pliers are great for straightening curled wire, and work hardening wire (we'll get to that last technique another day). They are also great for holding soft wire without making dents in the wire. You can even make small pieces of wire decoration (swirls, etc) and then hold and press them in the pliers to make them more sturdy (again, we'll get to that another day).

Crimp pliers are a wonderful invention for using the very finicky crimp beads. They help to make crimping and flattening the crimp beads as simple and painless as possible (this is again, for another lesson).

Heavy duty cutters are just that: cutters for cutting heavier gauges of wire, or memory wire. These are actually taken from a regular old hardware store set of pliers. They are inexpensive and effective. You can, of course, get the fancy heavy duty ones from bead stores, for a little more expense.

~Right Angle Bent Chain Nose Pliers, File, Tape Measure/Ruler~

Here is another set of bent chain nose pliers, a metal file and tape measure.

This, second pair of bent chain nose pliers, is less expensive (they were actually my first pair that I have retired to second duty, as their joint is starting to wiggle) and are used when two pairs of flat pliers are needed (usually in finicky wire work). If you look at the fifth photo, you'll see that these pliers have a near ninety degree bend and don't taper quite as much at the end as the other pair - there are many types and styles of pliers, so if at first you don't find a favorite, keep trying and you're sure to find some that you like.

~Ninety Degree Bent Chain Nose Pliers~

The file is an essential piece of equipment in my opinion - you don't have to buy expensive metal ones either, as a simple nail file will suffice for all but the most rare of projects. Use this to file the ends of your wires to prevent snags on clothing, or for filing the ends of ear wires to prevent them being uncomfortable when inserting them into ears.

The tape measure, or a ruler, is imperative. If you want to produce accurate replicas of your work (for ear wires, or other more particular pieces), you must be able to accurately measure your wire or other materials. I have both a rigid 6 and 12 inch ruler, as well as a standard fabric tape measure. They are all worth the money you'll save in wasted, improperly measured wire later on!

The second, forth and fifth (above) photos show how to correctly hold your pliers. You want to cradle your pliers in the natural depression of your hands (above). Gently curl your fingers around the pliers as you'll see in photos 2 and four, and you'll have your grip. Here is where trying a few different sizes and types of pliers will come in handy - my hands are long and so the "mini" or smaller type pliers are out for me, unless I want to induce fatigue on my hands. Also, pay attention to the handles - the smaller or narrower they are, the quicker they will hurt or fatigue your hands if you are doing anything remotely finicky.

That is all for today, I'm sorry this was a bit late - our internet kept dropping and then I had a doctor's appointment. Tune in tomorrow for a bit of the project I'm working on now.

See you tomorrow!