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My jewelry bench setup
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items By
All the stuff I use at my workbench to create my jewelry
Sections
3
My must have tools
My Raw Materials
Polishing, Cleaning, Finishing Jewelry
My must have tools
All of my “Can't do without” bench essentials for my jewelry.
Use these for cutting wire larger than 20 gauge
2175 Maxi-Shear™ Flush Cutter
Use these for cutting wire 20 gauge and smaller.
170-II Micro-Shear® Flush Cutter
I love this hammer for creating unique textures along with my trusty ball peen hammer.
HMR-14 Raw Silk Hammer
My ball peen hammer was given to me and it's older than I am, but in general a ball peen hammer (probably a few in different sizes) is an essential tool for hammer forging and texturing metals.
Ball-Peen Hammers
If I need to saw or drill things, I put this on the tool first. It makes the job easier by reducing friction and makes the tools last longer.
BurLife® Stick Lubricant - RioGrande
Probably one of the most used things at my workbench. Drilling, sanding, buffing, small polishing jobs, widening holes, etc. It's like a handheld dremel that never needs a battery charge. Easy to control speeds with the foot pedal.
Heavy Duty Flexible Shaft Grinder/Carver HFJ14
I have an older version of this but it works like a charm. I use it for quick torch work soldering jobs or if I need to heat up a large area of a piece quickly. It refills with butane canisters widely available.
Blazer Stingray Butane Torch
Butane refill canisters for the Blazer Butane Torch. These last a while and work great.
Bernzomatic 5.6 oz Butane Gas Cylinder BF56 - Home Depot
I love this torch. It's my main bench torch and it can do plenty for it's size. It's top notch for tiny precision work. Works with refillable oxygen and propane canisters (if you have regulators) or one time use canisters you can get from the hardwar...
SMITH JEWELRY TORCH 'THE LITTLE TORCH'
I have been using these with my smith little torch for 10+ years. They last a while if you're doing light to medium duty torch work at the bench. The same company makes oxygen cylinders for the torch as well.
Bernzomatic 14.1 oz. Propane Hand Torch Cylinder TX9
These fit the smith little torch (propane & oxygen setup) and work great. I was using these for years and years before switching to a refillable oxygen tank with a regulator. They last a good while if you're doing light to medium duty torch work ...
Bernzomatic Soldering and brazing Oxygen Torch cylinder
I'm all the time using a hand saw for cutting out shapes in sheet and making nice flush cuts in ring bands and round stock. It's a must have tool at my bench.
Olson Saw 5 in. Jewelers Saw with Wood Handle SF63525
These blades are my favorite for my jeweler's hand saw. I use size 1/0 to cut through most anything under 12 gauge and I use size 3 to cut through thicker stuff. I recommend bur life lubricant to keep the blades sharp and reduce breakage.
Original Laser Blades™ Saw Blades, Pkg/12
Before I had a motorized flex shaft with a foot pedal, I had one of these for drilling and filing and buffing. It was great because it was portable and I was traveling. I still reach for it for certain tasks. Dremel bits are awesome too!
Dremel Lite 7760 N/10 4V Cordless Rotary Tool
If you're going to hammer on anything, you should have one of these under your piece. I have this in four different sizes.
SE 4"x3/4"x4" Steel Bench Block - JT34443SB
I always have one of these under my steel bench block while I'm hammering. It reduces the noise a bit and reduces the impact shock on the hammer. I also use it by itself with a rawhide mallet to work-harden pieces that need it when the metal is too s...
4"x4" Rubber Bench Block for Jewelry Making
This one is bigger than the one I have (mine has a 1" face) but it's handy to have a couple of these in different sizes. They're great for hammering pieces flat without marring the surface, getting a ring rounded and sized on a mandrel, and work-hard...
Garland 11002 Rawhide Mallet, Size-2
My Raw Materials
These are the suppliers I tend to look at first for precious metals and gemstones.
I purchase precious metals and stones from Stuller. They're trusted and their quality is top notch. They are my top pick for suppliers.
Stuller, Inc.
I recently got an account with Halstead and I can already tell they have great customer service. The prices are very reasonable for chains, findings, and raw materials and they have a good reputation for quality.
Halstead - Jewelry Supplies
Hoover & Strong has been around a long time as a manufacturer and mill, and refinery. They have a strong reputation and quality materials. I recently got an account with them for purchasing items like sheet by custom sizes and other precious meta...
Hoover & Strong
I order some of my precious metals from here including wire, sheet, chain, and findings.
Rio Grande Jewelry Supply
I've been able to source hard to find gemstones from this site when nowhere else had what I needed.
Multicolour.com
I've found some pretty neat and unusual stones on here. I like just browsing and seeing what I can find.
Gem Rock Auctions
Polishing, Cleaning, Finishing Jewelry
Cleaning and polishing is probably my least favorite thing in jewelry, but these items help make it efficient and eco friendly.
This is how I get the incredible shine on my finished pieces. It's little but mighty.
Bench Lathes | Foredom Electric Company
For a quick hand polish, these are surprisingly good! They don't use any dangerous chemicals and they get a nice shine on pieces that have minimal to moderate tarnish. I use it on silver and gold as well as gold filled.
Sunshine Polishing Cloths Bulk Pack for Metals
Safe cleaning solution for my ionic jewelry cleaner. It's non toxic and very effective.
Gem Sparkle Concentrate - Ionic Jewelry Cleaning
I cannot emphasize enough how well this thing works. You put a piece of jewelry in there for one minute or less and it comes out clean no matter how tarnished it was. It just needs a rinse or a steam afterwards. Safe for most stones too!
Ionic Jewelry Cleaners
This stuff adds an antiqued (darkened) finish to silver and copper (not gold). It smells awful (we call it fart water) but it does a great job. Lasts forever and the gel form doesn't lose it's potency in the container. Please watch tutorials on how t...
Beadsmith XL Gel Liver of Sulfur 1oz