Recommended Tools

Below are our recommended tools for those beginning to metalsmith jewelry at home. Also, if you have taken a class with us, please contact Jen for your Rio For Schools code, which gives you six months of wholesale access on the Riogrande.com website. 

Each tool has the Rio Grande item code and a hyperlink so that you can easily find what you need:

Hand Tools: 

• Safety Glasses: 210049
• P100 disposable mask or P100 Respirator with filters
• Saw frame: 110042
• Saw blades (I prefer the Laser Gold. They are more spendy but work much better)
• Bench pin (clamp): 110010
  
• Steel ruler: 116086
• Divider: 116331
• Tweezers: 115013
• Cross-locking tweezers: 115206
• Ring clamp: 113105
• Center punch: 118117
• Beeswax: 110022
• Bur life: 117003
• Ball peen hammer: 119335
• Riveting Hammer: 112195
• Chasing Hammer: 112227
• Nylon Mallet: 112229
• Brass hammer, 1 lb.: 112137
• Needle file set: 114257
• Half Round Hand file, cut 2: 114929
• Hand file handle (optional): 114152
• Plier set:
  • Low end: 111909 (if you buy this I would still invest in a separate pair of the precision flush cutters as noted below)
  • High end: 111170 (if you get these, skip the flush cutters below as those are included in this set)
• Flush cutters:
  • low end: Precision flush cutters: 111265
  • High end: Lindstrom 111291
• Joyce Chen hand shears (good for cutting thin metal and sheet solder)
• Sanding stick: 337450
• 3M Wet/dry sand paper: grits 220, 320, 400, 600 
• Polishing block 2-sided: 337373
• Steel bench block with rubber base
• Vise
• C-clamps for vise or bolts to bolt vise into table
• Soft jaws for vise

Soldering:

Torches: If soldering at home, please check with your home or renter's insurance to make sure the torch/fuel source is covered. Many of our students have had success with the Blazer Butane Micro Torch for small to medium jobs.  If you need a larger torch, join us for one of our free monthly Community Open Studio days (available only to those who have taken a Silver Peak jewelry class and have passed our safety check.)

Ventilation. this is THE BEST resource about ventilation and why you need it (sorry-not-sorry: box fans, open garage door,  overhead kitchen exhaust fan, and charcoal filter bench fume extractors won't cut it).: Nancy Hamilton on Ventilation

Soldering tools:

Once you have your torch and ventilation set up, you'll need: 

• Soldering Brick from Esslinger (I recommend getting two so that you can turn on sides and head piece underneath)
• Charcoal block, hard: 502027
• Paste Flux: Dandix (fluoride-free)
• Liquid flux/fire scale preventer: Griffith Prips Flux
• Solder: 
  • Wire: Hard, Medium, Easy, Extra Easy (I usually buy 3 ft each and it lasts while)
  • Sheet: Hard, Medium, Easy, Extra Easy (I buy a 2" x 4" square and it lasts awhile)  
• Third Hand: 502068
• Sewing T-pins (for pinning metal into brick)
• Soldering pick: 503019 or 503030
• Copper tongs: 501017  (Remember not to put steel tweezers into pickle as a chemical reaction will occur and copper-plate your silver pieces!)
• Light for torch (if not using butane torch that has a light button. NEVER use a cigarette butane lighter): 
  • Low end: 50302515
  • High end: 503048
• Quench bowls for right after soldering and to rinse off pieces for taking out of pickle
• Shop towels
• Have a separate pair of tweezers and cross-locking tweezers just for soldering, see above for codes
• Pickle pot: any crock pot, I prefer the one with a rubber seal on lid, helps prevent corrosion. Note: if left on when not in use (i.e. overnight), this will be the one thing that burns your house down, so unplug after each metalsmithing session! 
• Pickle: Citric acid or Sodium bisulfate.  I prefer the Nature's Touch citric acid pickle because it less toxic.  
• Baking soda (to neutralize pickle when changing).  NOTE: this MUST be put in a separate container (I use a 1 gallon water jug) and take it to the Hazardous water center in your city or county.  While citric acid is not toxic, its the copper sulfides  that are extremely toxic for our ground water.

Forming Tools:

• Dapping Set: metal
• Wood dapping set: 111371
• Ring Mandrel: 112137 (get steel, not aluminum)
• Graduated round mandrel: 112384
• Step oval mandrel (cuff bracelets): 112383
• Graduated oval mandrel (oval bangle bracelets): 812361
• Bezel mandrel set 112839
• Wire Wrapping Mandrels: 111628
• Anvil (search online to see what is best for you)
• Anvil stump or tree stump on wheel base (handmade)

Other Equipment:

• Flex shaft: 117534
• Pepe guillotine shear 4"
• Pepe guillotine shear 6"
  
• NEW! Hobby 80 flat Durston Rolling Mill
• Rolling Mill texture plates: Santa Fe Jewelers Supply