Jewelry Making

I am interested in making silver jewellery at home.. what sort of materials do you need to get started, andwhat sort of expertise?

Quite a few tools and alot of expertise. I would suggest you look around your area for beginners classes BEFORE you invest a lot of money in equipment, and take the risk of injuring yourself seriously into the bargain.

Check at your local art center, art museums-sometimes they have classes/schools attached to them-as well as community college (2 yr colleges) and universities. Check on what is known as ‘auditing’ a class at the colleges. It costs less than a regular enrollment, because you don’t take tests or worry about a grade, but you still get to learn. You want to ask about ‘metal design’ classes in their visual arts studio department, also known as Fine Arts department.

If all else fails, and you can’t find any of this locally, check at the local crafts supply stores for local artists and put up a notice asking for a teacher/classes, if they have a open bulletin board.

Leigh

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like this: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24017681

I have always been curious. I don’t suppose its PMC or crafters aluminum?

What do you need to make sterling silver jewelry? How do you make it?

Hello there,

I started making handcrafted sterling jewelry to make money while I was in college many years ago. I no longer do the art show circuit, but I still make some pieces. Would be glad to answer any questions you have. I started working the kitchen in my apartment back at school.

There are several basic techniques to making jewelry. You can cast the piece. You can construct it (soldering). You can forge the piece (hammering). I have done very little casting because I do not enjoy it. Most of the pieces I made and sold were either constructed or forged (or a combination of both). I especially enjoy doing forged pieces. I have always liked to hammer on things.

For construction. The fundamental tools you need include:
Wire cutting pliers
Round nose pliers
Flat billed pliers
Some fine files
A pair of metal shears
A torch for soldering
A pickle tank.

The supplies you need include
Flux
Pickle
Silver solder (easy medium and hard)
Silver wire in various gauges
Silver sheet
Fine silver bezel wire
A few cabochon cut gens

A few notes, The pliers are not standard pliers in that the jaws are smooth. Common pliers have serrated jaws to grip. Those will mark the silver. The pickle process is to clean the fire scale from the silver after you solder it. Generally the pickle is an acid. Use only flux designed for silver work and the same goes for the solder. Any gas torch will work, but you need as fine a tip as possible. You do not have to have an oxygen torch. A simple butane torch like you find in hardware stores is good enough for most work. However, you will need to find a finer tip for the torch. The common soldering tip on those torches give too broad a flame.

For forging you use a variety of hammers and an anvil. Those are the most basic tools. You take silver wire and hammer it into the shape you desire.

I used to work mostly in turquoise back in the 70s. It was very popular back then. I like fire agates, but it is hard to find good quality cabs. I like the looks of opals, but they are fragile to work with.

I have done a lot of small pieces, like earrings and necklaces using some beads or drilled turquoise nuggets. Other than the clasp for the necklace, those require no soldering. And you can always buy pre-made clasps if you want. I have also done some work with liquid silver and shell heishi. I have done some interesting designs in addition to the common string them on a thread necklace. Did a some interesting cuff bracelets that incorporated shell and turquoise heishi strands in the cuff.

Not sure what else to say. As I said before, I would be glad to answer your questions if you have more. Either post additional information or feel free to contact me directly (link in profile).

The of the more common places I have bought supplies for ,many years are Fire Mountain and Rio Grande Jewelry Supply.

Fire Mountain

http://www.firemountaingems.com/

Rio Grande

http://www.riogrande.com/default.aspx

Later,

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I make silver Jewelry and I am looking for a factory in Mexico to manufacture these for me. Where do I start?

hi, I don’t know in Mexico, but you can try http://www.alibaba.com/
You can find some factories all over the world, and talk with them.

By the way, if you find factory, they need 1000 or up, but you can talk to them first.

I’m from hong kong, if you really want a hand to help, i think maybe i can help you.

what kind of silver jewerly? you own design? or just what to add a Logo?

maybe you also can email me at: denise_ycwong@yahoo.com.hk

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There is a course local to me but its full…I’d really love to learn this skill. Does anyone know if there’s a central body I can contact for local courses or workshops, or perhaps know of anywhere in Edinburgh I could learn this skill?

There’s a lady called Norma Devlin who teaches. I haven’t found a college in Edinburgh which does it, although she may know more. Her blogspot goes under the name of maidinedinburgh.

http://maidinedinburgh.blogspot.com/2009/08/creative-jewellery-making-course-is.html

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I´d like to start making silver jewellery at home. I understand I will need a selection of pliers, a soldering torch, saw etc. but where can I buy a good quality, but reasonably priced, kit (maybe online)? I live in Barcelona… Thanks!
I´d like to start making silver jewellery at home. I understand I will need a selection of pliers, a soldering torch, saw etc. but where can I buy a good quality, but reasonably priced, kit (maybe online)? I live in Barcelona… Thanks!
p.s. I only speak beginners Spanish so a jewellery course here would be impossibe. I also have an educational background in art & craft up to degree level so feel confident I can master jewellrey design at home without the aid of a course… hopefully…

Do you already have a background in jewellery making? If not then I would recommend doing a basic course first so you can get a taste of different techniques and the tools which you need for it. That’s what I did.

Standard tools like basic pliers, calipers, jeweller’s saw, plastic hamers, rulers, sandpaper, files, polishing tools, cuters, etc. can all be bought through standard hardware stores.

Specialised tools like ring gauges, silver solder (note, this is not the silver solder sold in hardware stores), heat resistant pliers, casting pans, mould sand, shaped wire bending pliers can be bought through stores which cater to jewellery makers. If you join a course you should be able to arrange such orders through your teacher. He’ll also be able to give advise. You will also need to get you silver there. Another source of silver is you local silversmith. That is, if he’s willing to part with it.

I just saw that there will be a jewellery fair in Barcelona at the end of the year. You could go there and talk to silversmiths and ask them for local tool and material sources:
http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/barcelona-jewellery-fair.html

Edit: to react to your additions: I’m sure you can find a course in Barcelone itself in Spanish. There will probably be leaflets on the show. With your background you should be able to design jewellery but I think that a basic course will be usefull to learn how to actually use silver and to make contacts. One tip: you can work with Brass to practise the techniques before using silver. Brass is much easier to find.

By the way, what kind of jewellery do you want to make? Your toolset will depend on that.

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I just started a home base jewelry making business and wanted to know the cheapest place to purchase sterliing silver findings and unfinished chain….

You can buy it from http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=sterling%20silver%20chain&tag=dencar-20&index=garden&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

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I want to start making jewelry. I want to put a small (very small) charm on every item I make as my signature. I cannot find many small charms on websites. Any suggestions?

You could always use a "metal clay" and make your own charm anyway you want.
For more info on metal clays, look here:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/Characteristics.htm
…click on the category near bottom of list called METAL CLAYS

Or you could use a polymer clay (Premo, Fimo, Sculpey, etc), then do one of the things to it that makes it look like metal.
For a summary of those ways, check out this page on making fauxs with polymer clay:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/Faux–many.htm
…click on the category called METALS

If you also want info on creating lettering and/or stamping into polymer clay (or often metal clay too) charms, from the alphabetical navigation bar on the left click on the pages called:
LETTERS-INKS > Lettering
STAMPING
And if you want info on how to hang the charms from things, or thread them onto cording, etc., check out the pages called for various ways:
PENDANTS > Loops & Holes
BEAD HOLES

HTH,

Diane B.

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i will be making my own jewelry and would like to know where i can buy the large interlocking links in silver, you know the ones you see on the long necklaces in between stones. I am trying to find out has much has i can, any advice will help thank you

You can buy them from http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=large%20silver%20chains%20&tag=189-20&index=garden&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

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I have seen it in the shapes of hearts, flowers, etc. on earrings and necklaces. Not stamped but a hole all the way through.

There are countless dies available, sometimes even available as sets. They are generally on small handles or have an interchangeable handle and are used with a block and mallet to force the die through the metal. The piece with which you're working is placed on the block, I prefer rubber blocks, then the die is placed and the mallet used to apply the force needed to cut the piece.

Most any jewelry supply will have them, online or brick and mortar! I believe Michael's even carries a small selection.

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It would be worth whatever silver was selling for that day per ounce and have no artistic value since its a chunk and not a medallion or something.

rio grande jewelry supply (riogrande.com) or fire mountain gems (firemountaingems.com). They both sell several different grades in quite a few mediums (i.e. chunks, sheets, wire, etc).

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