Jewelry Making with Brad Simon

Soldering

Always make certain you have a tight fit before soldering.  Although solder can fill a gap; that is not what it is made for.  Filling a gap in a poorly made seam will result in a weak solder joint.  In addition, solder may “pull” out of the seam while polishing, leaving a line where the seam is or pits may show up in the seam.  When practical, before you solder hold the jewelry up to a light to see if any light is coming through the seam.  If you can see any light, cut through the seam with your saw.  By cutting precisely through the seam, the saw blade will trim any high spots from the sides of the seam.

Brad

soldering jewelry,ring sizings,jewelry making,jewelry fabrication

Soldering Gold & Silver

Always apply solder to one side of the joint, and then pull the solder through the joint by heating from the other side.  If you apply solder all around the joint, a weak joint may result from the solder only flowing at the surface and not completely through the joint.  This is referred to as a “cold solder joint”.  It is particularly important to watch for this when soldering thicker prices of metal together, such as heavy men’s ring shanks.

Brad

Soldering,Jewelry Fabrication,Jewelry Making,Sizing Rings

Jewelry Making Soldering Crown

jewelry making,custom design,bench tips,goldsmith,bench jeweler,tools,findings,fabrication

Jeweler's Saw

When using a jeweler’s saw, ALWAYS saw on the waste side of the line.  Cut as close to the line as possible without cutting into it.  It is always better to leave too much metal, which can be removed latter, than to cut away too much metal.  With experience, you will be able to cut right along the line with no additional clean up needed when finished.

Brad

jewelry fabrication,jewelry making,jeweler's saw,tools

Jewelers Polishing Wheels

Increase the size of your polishing wheels from the standard 4” wheel to a 6” wheel.  This will cut polishing time by over 1/3.  Changing to a 6” wheel from an old wheel worn down to 2 ½” or 3” will cut polishing time too less than 1/2.  This is due to the surface area of the wheels.  Although spinning at the same speed, more surface area moves over the jewelry in the same amount of time thereby polishing faster.

Brad

jewelry making,jewelry polishing,jewelers tools

Jewelry Making Textured Finishes

jewelry making,custom design,bench tips,goldsmith,bench jeweler,tools,findings,fabrication

Jewelers Hand Files

Always mount hand files into handles.  Handles offer far more control and safety than just holding onto the un-mounted tang of a file.  Needle files have a smooth round tang that doubles as a handle.  However, they can be awkward to hold for more than brief periods.  It is helpful to fit the file into a larger and more comfortable handle.

Brad

jewelry making,jewelry fabrication,jewelers tools,hand files

Ultrasonic Cleaner

Change the cleaning solution in your Ultrasonic cleaner often.  Trying to clean jewelry in dirty solution is like trying to take a bath in a muddy creek.

Brad

jewelry making,cleaning jewelry,bench tip,ultrasonic cleaner,jewelers tools

Jewelry Making Cleaning

jewelry making,bench tips,goldsmith,bench jeweler,tools,findings

Recycle Hard Wax Scraps

You can use your rubber mold vulcanizer to recycle hard wax scraps.  Place a mold frame on a mold frame plate and fill the mold with clean scraps of wax.  Make certain all the scraps are the same type of wax.  Then place the frame with the wax scraps in your vulcanizer and set the temperature to the melting temperature of the wax.  When melted carefully remove the frame and allow it to cool.  Once cooled pop the wax from the frame, and you have a new sheet of carving wax.  The wax sheet will be thicker on the edges, but that can be easily trimmed if you want an even sheet.  Be certain to remove all traces of wax from the frame before making a rubber mold.

Brad

wax carving,jewelry making,jewelers tools,jewelry casting