Beading Essential: Tool Edition (Part 2 of 2)

We talked about looping and cutter tools in our Beading Essential: Tool Edition Part 1 blog post. In this second part of our Beading Essential: Tool Edition, we’ve selected a few metal working and hammer tools as well as other tools to make your jewelry making easier.

 

Hammers

These are not your average hammers you have lying around your house to hammer nails. These special hammers are extra sturdy, like steel hammers, and have versatile uses for jewelry making.

These two are metal stamping hammers that have sturdy brass heads ideal for striking metal stamps. Their short handles have comfortable grips to give the user a precise strike.

The Chasing Hammer is a great tool to use for metal working. The two-part hammer has a round side that is great for adding textures such as a hammered look (small dents) to metal. While the other side is flat and good for flattening wire and hammering rivets.

Texture hammers provide patterned texture on metal. Each hammer has a double head that has two different texture heads to create a different impression in your metal. Try turning your hammer when you strike, for a variation in your impression. Create unique impressions by changing up the angle and power of your strikes.

A rubber mallet will allow you to change a half-hard or dead-soft jewelry wire into hard wire. After you’ve shaped your own wire pendants, ear wires or clasps, for instance, you’ll want to use a rubber mallet to make them stronger, harder and to help them maintain their shape. Because of its soft head, it is also best to use a rubber mallet on color coated wire as each strike does not disturb the colored surface.

With this tool, you get three tools in one. There is a convex steel head for flattening wire, an interchangeable nylon flat head for hardening wire or straightening colored wire, and a steel dapping head for creating dents or texture on metal.

 

Other Metal Working Tools

ImpressArt® Bracelet Bending Bar is used to bend wide, rectangle stamping blanks into bracelet cuffs.

First, stamp your designs onto the stamping blank and sand the edges of your blank to smooth out the edges with Sanding Sponge Grit. Then, take one end of the blank and insert into the loop of the bar. Bend the blank around the curve of the bending bar. Repeat to the other side of the blank. Use Nylon Jaw Bending Pliers if you need to create a more curved look.

TL00199 – 1 Step Earwire Maker

Use the Earwire Maker to make ear wires with 20-, 22-, or 24-Gauge wire in one step. Also use the Bur Tool to smooth rough and sharp ends of the ear wire and/or harden the ear wire by hammering it with a rubber mallet or nylon whammer tool.

Note, after you have squeezed the pliers to make the ear wire, do not release the pliers. Remove ear wire while you have the pliers squeezed. Cut excess wire if you need to shorten the length of the end.

Wire is easier to use when it is flat. This wire straightener from Artistic Wire can help with straightening your curved, kinked, or bent wires.

Put your piece of wire in the middle of the three bars. Clasp the bars enclosing the wire on the inside. Pull your wire out and you should have a straighter wire. You may need to run the wire through a few times for more prominent kinks.