About Silver Jewelry Making Supplies

You can create your own silver jewelry.

Some silver jewelry making supplies can be collected from your basic garage tools, but much of it is dedicated equipment just for silver jewelry making. Start out with the basics and add to your collection as you advance in skills and expertise.

Your Workroom

You'll need a place that is out of the wind and elements to create your jewelry. A studio in your garage or a workshop is ideal. You should have a comfortable workbench, anvils, clamps and tool chests to keep your supplies.

Basic Supplies

Your basic supplies are like ingredients for a cook. The best place to start in making silver jewelry is with sterling silver sheet, various gauges and shapes of silver wire and silver solder. Silver solder comes in hard, medium and easy grades that melt at different temperatures. Collect gemstones if you would like to set them in your pieces.

Tools

You will need a jeweler's saw to cut the silver sheet. An assortment of specially designed jeweler's pliers will allow you to bend wire into links and other useful shapes. Files will help shape pieces. A ring gauge stick is important if you plan on making rings. An acetylene torch is the most common and useful of the torches for silver jewelry making. Be sure to also have safety goggles or glasses.

Chemicals

Chemicals are used in the soldering process and to give rich patinas to metals. You will need silver flux to solder and then pickling to remove the oxidation and flux afterward. Be sure to get copper tongs to handle your jewelry pieces in the pickle. You may also want to get chemicals for patination, like liver of sulfur.

Polishing Equipment

Polishing finishes a piece of jewelry and is a step in the process that you cannot skip. You'll need a polishing wheel with a chamois disk, polishing compounds like red rouge, polishing cloths and a chrome stick to polish in tiny areas.

Advanced Silver Jewelry Making

For more advanced silver jewelry making, you may want to try wax casting and mold making. Comprehensive kits are available that will provide all you need to get started in these advanced techniques.

References

• Rio Grande Jewelry Making Supplies
• The Complete Metalsmith; Tim McCreight; 1991

Resources

• Rio Grande Jewelry Making Supplies