Making jewelry is a craft that is thousands of years old. When making any form of jewelry, you will need certain tools to aid you in the process. However, it can be quite difficult to know which supplies you need to make specific pieces of jewelry.
Different types of jewelry will often need different types of tools. You can purchase most of the tools you need for jewelry making at your local craft store. There are also many online stores as well as hardware stores that have the tools for jewelry making.
The following are some of the basic tools you need for jewelry making:
Wire Cutters
When making jewelry, you will definitely be using some stringing wire, headpins, or eye pins. You can use wire cutters to pinch or cut these with incredible accuracy.
The good news is that most home toolboxes will include some sort of wire cutters hence you might not need to buy them. You should check the garage or toolbox in your home to see if there are any wire cutters.
You should note that generic wire cutters will not work on everything. If you want to cut memory wire, then you will need memory wire cutters. Memory wire will damage the cutting edge of regular cutters.
Pliers
Pliers are another basic tool that every jewelry maker should have. In fact, there are different types of pliers that can be used by a jewelry maker.
Your go-to pliers as a jewelry maker will be flat-nosed pliers. They can be used for many functions including opening jump rings and wrapping wire ends. If you get two flat-nosed pliers, you can hold on to anything without denting the metal.
The other type of pliers a jewelry maker should have are round-nosed pliers. They are especially useful for making nice, smooth curves.
There are also nylon-tipped pliers that are particularly helpful in bending wires. They will tightly grab onto the wire and allow you to pull it through anything.
Drill
A drill is another versatile tool that can be used in jewelry making. A rotary tool that twists things or drills holes into them is helpful when making jewelry.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a drill for jewelry making such as the speed, purpose, and power of the drill. What is certain is that they are essential for making any jewelry. Every jewelry maker will tell you this.
Each drill will have varying features and benefits hence you should choose one that is best for making your particular type of jewelry. Drills for making jewelry are often light and affordable.
Bead Stoppers
A lot of jewelry usually contains beads and a lot of them. If you make jewelry using beads, then you will definitely need bead stoppers.
Bead stoppers are simple tools that help keep beads in place on a wire. They might just be the simplest tools on this list. Using them is also very easy.
Bead stoppers will prevent your beads from sliding off the other end while you are making jewelry. It makes jewelry more efficient and faster to a degree.
Wire
Almost every form of jewelry will include some sort of wire. The wire is a tool that can be found in many forms and sizes.
The wire can also be made from varying materials including silver, gold, copper, and aluminum. There are several other metals used to make wire depending on its function.
It is particularly important for you to know the various sizes of wire also called gauges. The paradox is that the higher the gauge the thinner the wire. For jewelry making, the common gauges of wire are 24, 26, 28, and 30 gauge.
The gauge of the wire will depend on the type of jewelry you are making and how strong you want to make it.
Soldering Tools
When making jewelry, you are almost certainly going to be using a lot of heat. In most cases, the heat will be administered by soldering hence you will need soldering tools for the job.
The two main soldering tools every jewelry maker should have are a soldering block and a gas torch. The torch will provide the heat to modify the jewelry pieces. A gas torch is the best for beginners since it has a small flame and is safe.
You also need a suitable platform to do your soldering work and a soldering block is the best option. It should be fireproof and offer a sufficient surface to do your work.
There are many tools used in making jewelry. The more complicated the jewelry, the more advanced tools you will need. With the tools above, you should be able to make the basic forms of jewelry. If you need any other tools, feel free to acquire them.