In Praise of Pliers - Advice For the Novice Jeweler

I started to make simple jewelry 8 years ago - an elastic beaded bracelets, then strung beads on a string, which is held in place with metal crimps. At that time, helped me be a fairly simple, beads, cord, and a pair of pliers. Ah, pliers! Who knew there could be so much to say about these tools.

Actually, before I talk about the forceps, I have a generalization of that:

Above all, when you embark on your jewelry making adventure, make sure you buy the absolute best tools you can afford. Or even the best tools you can afford. Nothing will make your life easier, but a great tool, and nothing will make you more miserable than an inadequate one.

Of course I have read this advice - and even heard first hand from others - when I began to make jewelry so many months ago. But I, thinking he knew best, it shrugged off. My tools seem perfectly fixed in time, why would I spent 3 times the cost for something I could see it was better

?

First, a great tool that works the way a bad tool simply can not. It is comfortable in the hand, wrists, or moving parts to open smoothly, the metal is tempered, even without a pit, and you can use those tools until they become an extension of their own hands and not to crump out [. [/ P>

For comparison, even I could see that my poor tools su.Kliješta awkwardly, with his jaw too heavy, it is almost impossible to use for delicate wirework. They were made by some to appoint a pot metal, rusted and pitted, and within a few months of my buying them. Their very rudeness made ​​my own rough work.

Finally, I upgraded my basic pliers for a better grade, made in Germany, but later I made ​​the leap and bought a whole set of first-rate tools developed in Sweden and Lindstrom Swanstrom. These tools have become very epicenter of my jewelry making life, and without them I could not work.

This brings me to my second piece of advice, a little more specific. There are three types of pliers I want to draw attention to that will greatly enhance your ability to fine-workwork, and I highly recommend you invest in them without delay. These are:

metal forming pliers
bent-nose pliers, a
long chain-nose pliers

If you work with sterling or gold wire, metal shaping pliers will help you to bend without crimping, dinging or denting the places that matter . One jaw is round and the other is flat and slightly concave, so that when the moment is made, or pressure inside the metal jaws do not deform. I found this especially valuable when bending 20-gauge wire and thicker.

I can not live without the bent-nose pliers, mainly for all the wire-packing work we činiti.Savijena tips allow me to bend and wrap wire without putting pressure on my wrist, and that in some strange areas, without damaging the existing business.

And finally, if you were stranded on a deserted island, a long chain, pliers would they want to be with me. Long chain-nose pliers tips are long and tapered, so that they can work in tiny, hard to reach places in the hardest of the wire-work challenges. They are essential for maintenance while the tiny loop wrap it close to the bent-nose pliers. For comparison, a regular chain pliers jaws are too stocky and thick and almost useless for this kind of work.

I keep all my calipers clean and dry, wiping them down every six months or so, and spritzing the joints with WD-40 from time to time to keep the hinges lubricated. They are a joy to work with every day. Even on my crankiest days, I can not use tools as an excuse not to work. My tools are my friends.