Tools For Jewelry Making

There are many people who make jewelry and give it as gifts, sell it at craft shows or on Etsy and eBay. It’s a great hobby that can grow into a small side business with enough practice and the right materials. Part of having the right materials is having the right tools. To make jewelry you need tools that let you work small and make things that look nice and that people want to buy and wear. Like with big “manly” tool jobs, you need tools that are high quality and won’t break on you. You also want to make sure that when you’re cutting things for example, that the cutter you’re using is a good one to give you the smoothest edge possible. Here’s just a few tools used for making jewelry, and many if not all can come from manufacturers with a great reputation.

Probably some of the most useful tools for making jewelry are pliers and cutters. Different kinds of pliers will help you get different bends and twists. A lot of jewelers use these tools to make spirals and other circular patterns. Needle nose and round nose pliers are probably good options to employ. Knipex is a brand we love for pliers, their ends are great for twisting and they have a good cutter to make sure your wire has a nice, smooth tip. You might also want to get some crimping pliers and regular wire cutters or shears if you’re doing a lot of dedicated cutting. One of the things that makes Knipex a great brand is their dedication to quality workmanship and materials.

Once you’re done cutting, you’re going to want to make sure your jewelry is put together and won’t fall apart. There’s a number of ways you can do this. Superglue is an obvious choice and it will do the job, but if you’re looking for something a little tougher, you can use a soldering iron. If you go that route, make sure to use lead-free solder, because the last thing you want on something people wear and touch is lead. Another option for connecting your jewelry is to use a heat gun with some kind of high temperature adhesive like special high temperature glue. Or if you want to get really fancy, a butane torch can be used to melt the connecting metal pieces of your jewelry together. Each option has plusses and minuses in each situation so be sure to plan out your method before you start and follow proper safety precautions.

Some other odds and ends to consider are some miscellaneous tools. Tweezers and calipers are excellent for really detailed work. The calipers will help you get really precise and ensure consistency even across different pieces of jewelry. For calipers, we carry several different versions made by Wiha that are sure to make you happy and more importantly give you precise measurements. Last but not least, several types of hammer can be of use as well. We carry several ball peen hammers that work great for working on and shaping metal and rivet hammers can be used for helping to secure rivets for connecting purposes.

While most of us don’t think of jewelry making when we think of tools, it’s obvious to see that making jewelry does require specialized precision tools. Here at Haus of Tools we carry tools that work great for making jewelry and they’re very high quality so you can rely on them for years and years.