Archive for the 'Jewelry Making' Category

Watch This

Friday, April 25th, 2008
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If you’ve ever spent 20 minutes fiddling with a watch band, trying to seat the spring pin before throwing it against the wall, then check out this little watch-band spring tool. It belongs to that class of tool that’s pretty useless 99% of the time — and totally worth the few bucks you paid for it 1% of the time.

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Posted in Amazon, Jewelry Making | 1 Comment »

File Under Useful

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
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Microlux, maker of miniature tools, has come out with a filing machine. It won’t help with your taxes, but it’ll take the tedium out of filing metal, resin, plastic, or wood.

Though filing machines are usually heavy dudes, Microlux has made one for the serious hobbyist. The tool works like an inverted jigsaw, but with a file instead of a blade. The machine cuts only on the pull stroke and only on stock up to 3/8″ thick.   Just clamp it to the edge of your bench and begin filing.

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Posted in Metalworking, Crafts, Jewelry Making, Unusual Tools, Micro-Mark | 5 Comments »

Cheap-Ass Tools: A Ring Sizing Stick

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

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Evan writes: “I don’t really want to submit this as a good tool, but I think it’s time for another installment of ‘Why the hell is this at the tool store?’ from Harbor Freight.  I found this in the ‘miscellaneous hand tools’ section on the website.”

While I’d agree that HF sells their share of weird crap — their frog family statue comes to mind — a ring sizer can be handy, and even essentialy for jewelry makers.  Truthfully, this is the kind of tool that I’d imagine hanging out in the shop of a real toolaholic – the kind of guy who has a tool for everything, leaving nothing to chance.

And at $4, I might just pick me one up the next time I’m in the store.

Ring Sizing Stick [Harbor Freight]

Posted in Harbor Freight, Jewelry Making, Cheap-Ass Tools | 5 Comments »

More Homemade Tools: A Permanent Third Hand

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006
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Lee of BenchNews — whose three-prong earring earring holder we linked yesterday — send along this pic and link to another tool mod he performed to simplify jewelry making.  It’s kinda hard to see in the pic, but essentially he took an articulated “third hand” and permanently mounted it to his bench.

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Posted in Homemade Tools, Jewelry Making | No Comments »

Reader Find: A Three-Prong Earring Holder

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
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I’ve always been a bit interested in jewelry making — who wouldn’t love to be able to weld, braze, and otherwise work with such valuable materials on such a small scale? — but it’s something I know almost nothing about.  On the subject of homemade tools,  reader Lee wrote in with this cool jewelry-related find: a custom made tool to hold three-prong earrings.

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Posted in Hand Tools, Homemade Tools, Jewelry Making | 2 Comments »