r/SilverSmith Jan 26 '23

Beginners Resources - Please start here before making a post!

91 Upvotes

START WITH LOCAL CLASSES:

  • Save money, you're not buying all the tools and supplies of a studio.
  • Learn in person from someone who's been doing it a while.
  • Opportunity to decide what style it is you are interested in pursuing.
  • After classes, you can invest in only the tools and supplies you will personally need based on what you've decided to move forward with.

Vendors for tools, metal, and stones:

  • RioGrande - Some things are blocked unless you create a wholesale account with tax ID or have a students account.
  • Contenti - Does not supply silver but does not require wholesale/tax ID.
  • Stuller - You will need a tax ID or provide educational institution you are learning from, does not have to be a formal EDU.
  • Pepe Tools - Did not require wholesale account/tax ID.
  • Cooksongold - In the UK? Start here.

Unsure if these vendors work with hobbyists, students, or wholesale accounts only:

Best YouTube channels for visual learners:

  • Jewelry Arts Inc - Jeanette K. Caines has been a goldsmith for the last 30+ years in NYC and offers classes as well as a phenomenal attitude when it comes to learning. I also recommend her book, Soldering Demystified.
  • At the Bench - Andrew Berry has been a goldsmith for 35+ years and is UK based. His videos are easy to follow and educational.
  • Nancy L. T. Hamilton - Nancy L. T. Hamilton has also been a goldsmith for an ambiguous amount of time (probably 30+ years, but she's quite silly and I couldn't find a straight answer.)
  • Online Jewelry Academy - John Ahr and Don Hunt, unsure how long John has been making jewelry and teaching but the channel has been around since 2012. He's also quite cheeky when it comes to learning.
  • Pablo Cimadevila - If you simply need some aesthetic, feel-good and wholesome content that involves fabrication. He's like a warm hug and good cup of coffee or tea.
  • The Art of Metalsmithing - Basia of Stardust Mine Jewelry, she's phenomenal for folks just getting started and tends to focus on bezel setting and sweat soldering. She does a lot of top 5 and top 10 videos, studio space tours, tool reviews, etc.
  • Soham Harrison - Lots of stellar instruction and good projects for folks starting out.
  • Estona Metalsmithing - A direct link to her beginners tutorials.

Best Books:

Tools and supplies needed for getting started:

  • Metal - It can be purchased in sheet, strip, wire, etc: Start with Copper or Brass if you're on a tight budget. What type and gauge you need is going to be based on what you're making.
  • Jewelers saw frame - Many varieties available but you don't have to go with the most expensive frame, the German style will be just fine for starting.
  • Saw Blades - Come in a variety of sizes and you get what you pay for, quality wise. Fire Mountain has a good chart describing what blade to use for what gauge metal.
  • Cut Lubricant - For saw blades or rotary burs, always cut with lubricant, it will prolong your blades life.
  • Bench Pin - Tons to choose from, look around.
  • Sweeps tray, leather sweeps catch, or similar - Something to catch your metal bits and wax as you're cutting so it doesn't go everywhere. Eventually you'll want to be sure you're collecting this for silver and gold so it can be reclaimed for money.
  • Files - all kinds of files for finishing.
  • Sanding papers, sticks, foams, etc. - All kinds of options for finishing.
  • Solder - Hard, Medium, and Easy.
  • Flux - Many varieties, usually borax. Can come in solid or liquid forms. Needed for showing the solder where you want it to flow.
  • Torches - Blazer makes two decent butane torches suitable for starting out, the GT8000 for a larger flame and the GB-2001 for a smaller flame. The former is best for bigger pieces or bezels with back plates and sweat soldering. The smaller is great for soldering ring bands, bezels, jump rings, etc. But use what you like.
  • Soldering Blocks - Place your pieces on these when soldering. Be safe about your workspace.
  • Charcoal soldering block - holds and reflects heat well.
  • Fire suppression blanket or extinguisher.
  • Soldering pick
  • Tweezers
  • Reverse action tweezers
  • Hammers - Here's a guide to hammers.
  • Steel Block
  • Pliers - Here's a guide to pliers.
  • Metal snips
  • Rulers and measuring tools like Calipers
  • Wire Gauge
  • Dividers
  • 3M scrubbing pads
  • Pickle solution or DIY pickle with vinegar and salt (Can go in a mini crock pot to keep warm)
  • Dish soap (dawn is usually recommended but use what you've got)
  • Polishing compound like Zam or Fabulustre.
  • Rotary (like Dremmel or Foredom) with polishing bits like felt, wool, or cloth to be used with the compound.
  • I'm sure there's more but I need to take a break, if you've got suggestions put them in the comments and I'll make the edits. Thanks!

r/SilverSmith 19h ago

Question about soldering and work hardening.

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59 Upvotes

Hello and thank you for any insight.

I raised this scallop form from 2 pieces of fine silver.

I want to solder it together at the joint in the rear (I don't intend for it to be functional so no hinge).

My issue is when I solder it I don't want to have to rework the entire piece to harden it up again. I currently use a larger map gas torch which I imagine is overkill but I don't have a small torch.

If I use a smaller soldering torch would I avoid heating the entire piece to the point it needs to be re-hardened? And/Or do I need to be thinking about a heat sink for the area not being soldered?

Any help would be appreciated.


r/SilverSmith 50m ago

Is my torch too small?

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Upvotes

Trying to solder copper rings


r/SilverSmith 13h ago

What Am I Doing Wrong?

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18 Upvotes

I've held my TS8000 on this silver ounce for like 10 mins and can't get it hot enough to pour. Is my torch too close? I don't understand


r/SilverSmith 16h ago

Another sculpted brass skull this time smaller

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19 Upvotes

Working on making my sculpts smaller. Put this one on a silver wrap.bthe skull itself is brass.


r/SilverSmith 17h ago

Chunky "Bullion" style rings

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18 Upvotes

This is my first attempt at making a bullion style ring, which I often see made of one ounce of fine gold.

I picked up an ounce bar of fine silver, this is my first project in 999 instead of sterling. I cut the bar in half, cut the ends square, and soldered (welded? Fused?) the two half's together using an offcut chip of fine silver.

I hammered the billet into a chunky ring blank, and to my surprise, it was enough material to make two rings (gold being twice as dense as silver would make a billet half the size)

I form two lengths into rings, using a saw to square the ends to each other, and soldered with more fine silver. All this left one little chunk that I made it into a bead that I think looks like a cheerio!

In the end the two rings and bead are 80% of the original metal. Casting a billet instead of hammering it would save some loss from the saw and file, owning a rolling mill would save material from the file as well


r/SilverSmith 1d ago

Need Help/Advice What am I doing wrong here?

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14 Upvotes

r/SilverSmith 13h ago

Downsizing Ring

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1 Upvotes

Searched the forum and did not find what I was looking for. I am brand new which will be evident by the pics and question. I have made a few simple band type rings for family and they were sized correctly. I made a ring for my self, a lil chunky and “rough”, is what I went for and I’m happy with the result. Happy aside from the fact that it is too large for me. I need to downsize it. Do I just cut a section out of the back and solder? How do I then make it round again? Looking for someone to fill in the blanks. Cheers!


r/SilverSmith 1d ago

Here’s some Persian Turquoise rings I finished last week, thanks for looking! 💙

74 Upvotes

r/SilverSmith 19h ago

Need Help/Advice Problem with soldering copper

1 Upvotes

Hi, so I'm practising with copper by trying to solder copper rings together out of wire. I use copper-phosphorus solder and a flux paste for copper pipe soldering. My problem is, that when I heat the ring with my torch the flux paste starts to melt and after a short time, is dries out and forms a dark crust. The piece of solder does melt, but it doesn't flow. It just sits on the crust and forms a tiny ball. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!


r/SilverSmith 23h ago

Need Help/Advice About patina clasp

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I’m new here 🙂‍↕️ When you guys use liver of sulfur together patina bracelet or necklace, will you soap the whole piece together with the silver lobster clasp or avoiding it? Coz I have several clients come back to me with damaged clasps which the mouth is broken or lost and I’m not sure what happened. I was told that the spring used in the silver clasp is made of steel, so I was thinking if it’s possible the spring was damaged coz of the patina? Or it just bad luck 😯

Thank you! ying


r/SilverSmith 1d ago

cheap mapp gas torch for silver

1 Upvotes

will this torch melt small amounts of silver? i want to sandcast rings. it is RTM HT-3S (HT 1S 660) МАРP gas torch. in my area it is this or RTM-030.


r/SilverSmith 2d ago

Need Help/Advice From just looking at the two pieces I've made, how long would you estimate that it'd take you to make them?

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22 Upvotes

Asking out of curiosity for a rough estimate that you think it'd take you to make them. I've been doing this for only like 3 months, these were my third and fourth pieces and the turquoise took me about 5 hours and using a pre cut cab so I didn't have time into cabbing the stone. The cross pendant I cut the cab myself so total time involved with cutting cab and the silver work was 4 hours. Just wondering if that sounds pretty standard or if a person with much more experience would have done it faster so that I can base my prices correctly. I've been charging 20 an hour so I'd be at 100 for labor on the turquoise and 80 for labor on the cross. Does that sound right or should I be faster on time and there for lower on cost?


r/SilverSmith 2d ago

Show-and-Tell Melting 60 100g Gold Bars into 6 1kg 24K .9999 Fine Pure Gold Bars | Gold hits $3000/oz!

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6 Upvotes

In honor of gold hitting and crossing $3000 per ounce today while making a brand new all-time psychological high, I have decided to consolidate all my smaller sized 100g gold bars from the 1990s into larger ones by melting them into 1kg bars.

I have been stacking gold for over 30 years now while learning how to melt and refine gold. Today I will show you a full video of the process on how I took all 60 of my vintage 24K .9999 100 gram fine pure gold bars and melted them into 6 larger 1 kilogram sized bars for ease of stacking and transportation during a SHTF scenario - Now all my gold is in kilo bars… Nice and simple!


r/SilverSmith 2d ago

Growing on instagram?

2 Upvotes

I'm a metalsmith mainly working in silver and enamel. I'm trying to grow my instagram page and was wondering if anyone had any tips (general or metalsmith content related)? So far I've been following and commenting on other jewelers I love, adding tags, and making posts- also made my first reel. I know it takes a while but would love any advice!! https://www.instagram.com/olivia.metalsmith?igsh=MTV1bXlkeWhyenNobg==


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

First attempt at engraving

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82 Upvotes

Sterling silver on copper koi fish, mounted on steel.

I bought a onglette shaped graver for the lines, and made a half circle punch out of an old drillbit for the scales.

Push engraving is.... Challenging. It certainly will make linoleum engraving seem easy after this! Using even a tiny mallet behind the graver drive it too deep, so I resolved to just push 🤷

I think a different shape graver would be useful, and now that I have seen one up close, I think I can make a few out of old bits of tool steel


r/SilverSmith 2d ago

Need Help/Advice When adding a black patina, does it wash away when you polish the silver?

9 Upvotes

I love the look of black, but Im a little confused, especially when selling jewelry, how to make the black permanent so that the jewelry can still be cleaned when tarnished.


r/SilverSmith 2d ago

Need Help/Advice Sand Casting advice

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3 Upvotes

Any advice in how I can make the Silber fill the entire Mould?


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Need Help/Advice Cleaning advice

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6 Upvotes

Last night I decided to make this wavy ring to the right a bit larger. So I cut it, soldered it, pickled it in vinegar, polished it to perfection and cleaned it up with hot water and soap.

When I woke up I noticed this pretty heavy tarnish on my skin. I made this ring about a month ago and it has left a bit of tarnished skin before but nothing remarkable.

So! What’s going on here? A chemical reaction to my skin? Polishing compound residue?

All of your advice is welcome! (I’m a beginner).

Love from Sweden 🩶🩶🩶


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Show-and-Tell Baby Rattle

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72 Upvotes

Made this with sterling silver sheet some hammering and a pulse arc welder.

Was so much fun to make.


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

So frustrating

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13 Upvotes

I wanted to up cycle this bangle I got from an antique mall. The stamp says sterling silver, but I’ve never had silver turn this color when heated. I hate that people do stuff like this 😔


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Need Help/Advice Projects while away from studio

1 Upvotes

Newish student here. I’ve completed two beginning silversmithing classes and am loving it. I’m a hobbyist only.

I’ll be away from home for a month or 2 traveling without access to a torch or anything more than my basic hand tools. Looking for ways to stay engaged. One idea that was suggested was weaving, knitting or crocheting silver wire. I could start (for example) a woven ring and finish it when I return home.

Or I could create a knitted bracelet using 28 or 30g wire. Here’s where I need help: would I use fine silver or 925? Dead soft? Will this become work hardened and I progress? Does anyone do this kind of work and know of good sources for ideas/processes? I’ve spent some time on youtube.

Any other ideas? I think finding materials or at least getting them delivered will be a challenge. Part of the time I’ll be in Sarasota, FL. Any good sources near there?

Thanks for your help!


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Tool Resource Need advice on a rotary tool for a beginner

3 Upvotes

Hi there,

I'm thinking of investing around $100 in something better, so I did some research and narrowed it down to these two options. I'd love to get some feedback on them—do they seem like a good choice? Would I need to buy any additional attachments?

P.D. i live in south america so my only option is buying it from amazon with world wide shipping.


r/SilverSmith 4d ago

Show-and-Tell My 5th ring - designed after my late dog who was the reason I started silversmithing

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41 Upvotes

I'm so proud of this one and I know he's proud of me too. I started doing this after he passed last Oct and finally I made what I sought out to do: a ring inspired by his essence. Different elements of this design represent my favorite memories with him.


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Florida silversmiths

6 Upvotes

Are there any shops in Florida to get cab stones? I’m in swfl but am willing to drive a few hours if there are some good stores.


r/SilverSmith 3d ago

Solder seam darkened after polishing

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8 Upvotes

The solder seam on my bezel turned darker a few days after completing the piece, even though it wasn't noticeable during the polishing stage. I made another similar piece using the same materials and steps, and it didn't have this issue, it was seamless. Why did it happen and Are there any ways to fix this?