The 'cut' of a file is a term that refers to how fine the cutting teeth are. Running in order of roughest to smoothest, they are: ro...
Monday, 15 October 2012
Friday, 12 October 2012
How to use a File
Accurate filing is an essential skill for final shaping and removing imperfections or fire scale prior to finishing a piece of work. When fi...
Caring for Files
High quality files are a real investment, and should be treated with respect equal to any other tool. If the files are stored together or si...
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Buying Files
In a general metal workshop, newer files are reserved for quality work; whereas older dulled files will be used for rough work. This is due ...
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Shapes of File
Equalling This rectangular file is intended for filing slots and interior corners; the wide, flat cutting surface also makes it ideal as a g...
Types of File
Full Size (Engineer's) These coarsest files have a cutting length of about 8", and are useful for the initial shaping of larger pie...
Monday, 8 October 2012
The Bench Peg
A bench peg is a wedge shaped block of wood that is mounted on the front edge of the jeweller's workbench. It is a multi functional rest...
Silver Soldering - Assembling the Components
When all components are cleaned and fluxed, they can then be soldered. All the pieces need to be arranged in such a way that they will not m...
Silver Soldering - Heating
Preheating Using a soft blue flame, move the torch evenly across the surface of the entire article. Work broadly and keep the flame moving, ...
Silver Soldering - Types of Flux
Borax cone The traditional jeweller’s flux, borax is usually supplied as a hard cone. This is ground with a little water on a slate tile or ...
Silver Soldering - Applying Flux
Flux is a chemical solution that is applied to the area of an article to be soldered prior to heating. An even coating of flux will protect ...
Filing Tips
Select the right size file for the job. A file has to be large enough to give an even finish, but if it is too large it could easily remove ...
Burs
Burs come in a multitude of different shapes. When starting out, try to buy just a few of the basic shapes as it is easy to buy too many and...
Drilling
A standard power drill has too much power and is too large for delicate jewellery work. Instead, specialist drills such as hand drills, pin ...
Using a Piercing Saw
Accurate sawing is one of the core skills of a good jeweller. Given sufficient practice, designs can be reproduced rapidly as the amount of ...
Friday, 5 October 2012
Silver Soldering - Cleaning
Impurities such as grease from fingers can ruin the integrity of a solder joint. Make sure that the components are clean at every stage of t...
Silver Soldering - Joint Design
Silver solder flows via capillary action, unlike soft lead solder it cannot be used to fill gaps. Careful measuring and placement has to be ...
Silver Soldering - Choosing the Correct grade of Solder
Hard, medium and soft are all relative terms; and the precise definition of the melting point will vary between manufacturers. If in any dou...
Silver Soldering - Planning
When joining multiple pieces of silver, it is crucial to plan out the sequence in which the pieces will be joined. If several joints need to...
Silver Soldering - An Introduction
Silver soldering is a process where two or more pieces of silver are joined together permanently with an alloy of silver. To fuse the compon...
Removing Firestain
Pickling Mild surface fire stain can be removed during pickling. Even a stubborn fire stain can often be removed by repeatedly pickling. How...
Fire Safety
General guidelines Do not smoke in the workshop. Wear fire resistant clothing, natural fibres such as cotton or wool are preferable...
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Solder - Recommended uses
Silver Solder Extra Easy - The lowest melting point of all solders, only used where there are a lot of closely spaced solder joins. Easy - ...
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Glossary of Terms - W
White spirit A flammable liquid used as a thinner for stop out varnish and cleaning off pitch. Work hardening Work hardening is the strength...
Glossary of Terms - U
Ultrasonic cleaning This is a cleaning device that uses ultrasound, together with a solution of cleaning solvent to clean jewellery componen...
Friday, 28 September 2012
Glossary of Terms - T
Table The largest facet on the top of a cut gemstone. Tang The slender prong at the back end of a file, intended as a means of attaching a h...
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Making sanding sticks
Although commercially produced sanding sticks are readily available, it is both cheaper and more flexible to make them at home. Any fine-gra...
Polishing metal with a buffing wheel
Polishing, buffing and finishing are all terms for the same process, namely the removal of scratches from a surface to create the desired le...
Polishing metal with a buffing stick
Chamois leather and felt covered buff sticks are traditional hand tools for polishing an item to a professional standard. Leather buff stick...
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Mohs scale of hardness
The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was created in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. The Mohs scale rates the scr...
Glossary of Terms - S
Sandbag A leather bag filled with sand used to support work during sinking or raising. Scorper A kind of fine chisel used in engraving. Scri...
Glossary of Terms- R
Repoussé A cold working process where punches and hammers are used to work on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design on the front....
Glossary of Terms - P
Paillons Small chips of solder Patina A tarnish that forms on the surface of copper, bronze, sterling silver and similar metals. This can be...
Glossary of Terms - N
Needle files Small, fine files; useful where preserving the surface quality is of a greater importance than rapidly removing material. Nicke...
Glossary of Terms - M
Malleability A material's ability to deform under compression, such as forming a thin sheet by using a rolling mill. Mallet A hammer wit...
Monday, 24 September 2012
Glossary of Terms - L
Lathe A machine that rotates a piece of work rapdidly around 1 axis. Cutting or deforming tools are applied to the object as it spins, produ...
Glossary of Terms - K
Kerf The width of material removed vy a saw cut. Kiln An enclosed furnace, commonly used to fire enamels or Precious Metal Clay (PMC).
Glossary of Terms - I
Imperial A popular British system of units first defined in the Weights and Measures Act of 1824. For weights, troy ounces are used for pre...
Glossary of Terms - H
Hallmark A hallmark is a series of marks struck by an Assay office onto precious metal items to indicate origin and purity. Hyfin A brand na...
Glossary of Terms - G
Gauge A system to measure the thickness of metal wire or sheet. Many different gauges are in use, so care must be taken to understand which ...
Glossary of Terms - F
Facet A flat surface on a cut gemstone, these are cut in order to increase the reflected light. Ferrous A term used to indicate the presence...
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Glossary of Terms - E
Electroplating A plating process in which metal in a solution is moved by an electric current to cover a piece of metal acting as an electro...
Glossary of Terms - D
Dapping block See Doming block Die A tool used to shape or cut metal using a press. Dividers A pair of callipers with sharpened points that ...
Glossary of Terms - C
Cabochon A stone with a convex top and flat bottom. Cabochon shapes are usually used for opaque stones, or softer stones that would easily s...
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Glossary of Terms - B
Barrel polisher Used for cleaning and polishing metal or gemstones. Base metal A common and cheap metal, as opposed to precious metals such ...
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Glossary of Terms - A
Acetone A flammable liquid used as a thinner for setter's wax and to clean off pitch. Alloy A mixture of 2 or more metals. Aluminium A l...
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Tools etc.
Basic Tools Piercing saw Pliers - flat nose round nose Needle files Small vice Hammer Bench with pin Tin snips Safety goggles Useful...
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Mohs scale of hardness - extended
Mohs scale of hardness - extended Material Hardness Plastic 1 Graphite ...
Mohs scale of hardness - metals
Mohs scale of hardness - metals Metal Hardness Lead 1½ Tin 1...
Friday, 11 May 2012
Comparative weights chart
Comparative weights chart - Copper Sterling Silver 9 ct Gold 14 ct Gold 1...
Birmingham metal gauge conversion chart
Birmingham metal gauge conversion chart BMG mm Inch 1 0.22 0.0085 ...
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Hardness of silver
Silver sheet is usually supplied ½ hard, and will become fully hardened as it is worked using cold forming processes. Silver can be easily a...
Simplified maths for metalwork
Area of a circle = πr² ≈ 3.1416 × radius × radius Circumference of a circle = πd ≈ 3.1416 × diameter Diameter of a circle = c ÷ π ≈ circum...
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Wire gauge conversion chart
American wire gauge (AWG) The gauge determines the thickness of a wire, and in a geometrical system it may relate to either the diameter or ...
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Emery paper grades
Emery paper grades FEPA [1] Average particle diameter (µm) Historic British size P2000 9.6 4/0 P1500 12.3 3/0 P1200 15.8...
Tool safety
All tools and workshop machinery are designed for a specific purpose. Misuse of a tool or machine could damage it, and could also cause an i...
Piercing saw blade sizes
Piercing saw blade sizes Blade size Blade thickness (mm) Blade depth (mm) Teeth per mm Recom...
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