The right tool for the job

I finally had the chance to read the September newsletter from the Art Jewelry Magazine this afternoon - well, better late than never! I found a link to this great list of the tools needed for different types of jewellery making, from wirework to enamelling to metal clay. It's got photos of all the different tools too, which is great for when you've been told the name of a tool but have no idea what it looks like. It's also been useful in helping me identify a couple of tools that I'd inherited!

I love the sun!

It has been lovely and sunny here today, and most of yesterday too. It's amazing how much that has lifted my mood! It's not that I've been feeling down, just that this summer has been such a disappointment weather-wise. I know that it rarely gets really hot here in the UK, but, well, put it this way, I don't think that we're going to have to worry about hose pipe bans for a while!

I feel a lot more productive when it's sunny, so I was really pleased to be able to have some time in the shed this afternoon. B has more or less stopped having naps in the afternoon now, so I'm having to get used to doing without my hour or so work time each afternoon. Today, however, B fell asleep in the car on the way home (we'd been to see Laura and then to see Nicky during her lunch break at work) and slept in his bed for a couple of hours. A perfect length of time to do some housework and then hammer some silver, and even more perfect as it was unexpected!

I thought that I'd show you what I got up to - the photo shows a couple of rings and what will eventually be a necklace sitting on my desk. You can also see some of my favourite tools, some new and some older than me! The older ones are my two favourite hammers, both given to me by a friend whos parents were goldsmiths. The metal hammer is pitted with age and gives a beautiful texture to the silver. My newest toy, erm, tool is my Pepe disc cutter. I've used it to cut the discs that you can see - I've domed them using a doming block. The cutter arrived last month, a couple of months earlier than I hoped, after being on back order for a few months. I'd decided to buy a decent one rather than an Indian made one that would only last me a few years, and the wait has definitely been worthwhile! In the background you can also see the silver tubing I bought from Laura this morning - she'd decided not to use it to make silver cores inside her beads, and I've got a few designs sketched out that can use it - some of those experiments I mentioned a while back that I promise to show you soon!

By the way, B is still sleeping well in his new bed. He loves it, and stays in it all night until we go into him in the morning. I'm sure this honeymoon period will come to an end soon though! He's got his first pre-school session tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes!

Basic Tool Kit

This is for the girls from my Thursday night class at Spice Art Studios! We use a fair few different tools during our weekly sessions, and it's difficult sometimes to give lots of up-to-date information about the best places I've found to buy tools and findings etc (i.e. information about what I've found this particular week!) when what everyone really wants to do is play with beads, so I thought that I'd keep this post updated with new sources of tools. I won't put prices as they are bound to change over time, but I will only put links to sites that I know are reliable and offer good value.

The main tools that I use during the wirework classes are (clockwise from the top in the picture above):

Round nosed pliers - used to make loops and bends in wire and to help open jump rings.

Nylon-jaw pliers (two pairs of these shown) - ideal for holding your wire without scratching it. I use these for holding coils as I'm forming them, for straightening kinks out of wire and for helping to flatten down small loops. They come in different sizes. The nylon pads do wear out over time (as you can see from the purple pair!) but it is possible to buy replacement pads.

Flush cutters (2 pairs shown) - These are sometimes called side cutters. I find flush cutters the best for giving a close cut as possible. They are usually the first tool to wear out. The exception to this are my lovely Lindstrom cutters that I bought from Cookson Gold which are engineering grade cutters and so sharp! They have a lifetime guarantee, but you do pay for the privilege.

Crimping pliers (2 pairs shown) - used for closing crimp beads when working with beadalon. I prefer the black nosed pair of pliers shown in the picture as these have a wider working area, but they are also more expensive. I have recently found a good site for them - http://www.justbeads.co.uk/. The other type can be found at PJ Beads.

Flat nosed pliers - very good for gripping your work and findings, these are useful for helping to open and close jump rings and also for squashing closed necklace endings such as box crimps.

If I haven't mentioned a specific supplier for the tools listed above, than they can be found at the following suppliers. A couple of reliable retailers that I use stock tool sets that contain most of these tools plus a couple more. Jules Gems supply several different kits (in different colours!) at a good price, and the Nottingham Bead Shop and JillyBeads also do reasonably priced sets. The Nottingham Bead Shop in particular have a wide range of tools in 2 main price ranges - hobby and professional. PJ Beads (previously known as PJ minerals) also stock a good range.

These are by no means the only UK tools suppliers, but hopefully this will give you a good start in helping to build up your own basic tool kit!