Beginner's Corner


The Beginner’s Corner is your introduction to jewelry techniques and terms. Get the basics on everything from equipment to proper working posture.

HomeJewelry MakingBeginner's Corner

Goldsmith Kit Basic Tools

This article lists the basic tools found in a standard Western Goldsmith's toolbox.
Read More
How to Create a Basic Link Chain

How to Create a Basic Link Chain

Making a simple or basic link chain to display your pendant designs is a great way to add further value...
Read More
Different Methods on How to Resize Rings

Different Methods on How to Resize Rings

A ring fits well when it is no longer felt on the finger. If in the course of time the...
Read More

Dealing with Fire Scale

Fire scale or fire stain is a reddish purple toned 'bloom' or 'stain' that appears on silver/copper alloys such as...
Read More
Tips & Techniques for Popular Finishing Touches

Tips & Techniques for Popular Finishing Touches

We asked a number of top jewelers to tell us their best practices, techniques, and tips for creating satin, brushed,...
Read More
Liver of Sulfur 101

Liver of Sulfur 101

Liver of sulfur, a stinky jewelry studio standby, can be used to create beautiful patinas on Silver, Silver Precious Metal...
Read More
Jeweler’s Saw Blades: All The Different Sizes And How To Choose Correctly

Jeweler’s Saw Blades: All The Different Sizes And How To Choose Correctly

Originally published under the title: Selecting the Correct Saw Blade This article provides and describes useful tips for selecting the...
Read More

Hammering and Forging Safety Guidelines

Goldsmiths and silversmiths use hammers frequently in their work, silversmiths especially. A regular trade goldsmith might use a bench hammer...
Read More
Enameling Techniques for Beginners

Enameling Techniques for Beginners

After you learn to apply enamels by sifting, wet packing, brushing on crackle and firing the base coats, you are...
Read More
3 Ways to Use 2-Part Epoxy Resins

3 Ways to Use 2-Part Epoxy Resins

Available in a wide variety of formulas, epoxy resins are used in jewelry making as adhesives, as coatings, and for...
Read More
A Metalworking Hand Tool List For Beginners In Jewelry-Making

A Metalworking Hand Tool List For Beginners In Jewelry-Making

Making jewelry is sometimes seen as a difficult or an expensive proposition. In reality a basic metal working shop can...
Read More

Pickling Notes

Jewelers treat soldered objects with dilute acid solutions to remove oxides produced from heating and soldering as well as glassy...
Read More

Basic Filing Techniques

Over the years, bad habits creep into our work procedures. Periodical review of our techniques is needed to assure us...
Read More

Jewellery Career Options

One of the most interesting things about the jewellery/metals field is that there are so many career options, so many...
Read More

Basic Polishing Technique

Many jewelers see polishing as a mundane task. However, it is one of the most important operations in the process...
Read More
Set Up Your Torch

Set Up Your Torch

OK. You have just brought home your first acetylene tank and are ready to attach your new acetylene/air torch. This...
Read More
Basic Bead Setting Techniques

Basic Bead Setting Techniques

First the stone's diameter is measured at the pavillion and a dent is made in the metal for the pilot...
Read More

The Best Jewelry Books: A Comprehensive Reading List For Craftspeople

A selected bibliography list for the jeweler - Metal working, Casting, Plating, Enamelling ,Gem Cutting, Setting, Engraving and Etching, Other...
Read More
Simple Method of Forming Jump Rings

Simple Method of Forming Jump Rings

This paper describes a simple process of forming jump rings. These jump rings were formed from 16 guage sterling silver...
Read More

How the Bracelet Got its Name

Do you know why that piece of jewelry that goes around your arm is called a bracelet? Or why a...
Read More
International Ring Sizes Chart

International Ring Sizes Chart

This page provides an international ring sizes chart you can view and/or download to be your guide in making or...
Read More
Basic Hinge Making Technique

Basic Hinge Making Technique

It is important to pick tubing with an appropriate wall thickness and material strength for the requirements of the piece....
Read More

Knowing the Difference Between Carat and Karat

Carat, karat, caret, and carrot are all pronounced the same, but each has a different meaning. Carat and karat, of...
Read More

The Costs of Learning Hand Engraving

When you've made the decision to learn hand engraving, you have basically 3 options: Spend little or no money but...
Read More

Dusts in the Jewelry Workshop

Dust is small particles of a material. There are dusts you can see in the air; these can be breathed...
Read More
A Metalsmith’s Guide to Los Angeles

A Metalsmith’s Guide to Los Angeles

This Metalsmith's Guide to Los Angeles can be useful to metalsmiths who are new to the Los Angeles area or...
Read More
Basic Sawing Techniques

Basic Sawing Techniques

In this article, we will continue our Back to Basics Series with an article on Sawing techniques.
Read More
Laser Welding Basics – Part 4

Laser Welding Basics – Part 4

I want to take what I have written in my previous articles 
and start tying it into jewelry welding applications....
Read More
Step-by-Step Guide to Upsizing Rings

Step-by-Step Guide to Upsizing Rings

When I ran a trade shop, time was money, and I often found myself sizing 50 to 60 rings in...
Read More

Jewelry Rendering Tools and Projects

These pages contain a list of recommended tools to jewelry rendering, as well as a series of projects that I...
Read More

Notes on Presto-Lite Torch

We use a method for cutting down firescale when using a Presto-Lite Torch along with an acetylene B tank. The...
Read More
105 Jewelers Bench Comments

105 Jewelers Bench Comments

In late 2006 I put together a survey on the Jewelers bench to which many Orchidians and others responded. There...
Read More

Working Posture for Craftsmen

Many craftspeople have posture and body position problems. Ramazzini, the founder of occupational medicine and author of a groundbreaking book...
Read More
Testing Precious Metals and Alloys

Testing Precious Metals and Alloys

The purpose of precious metal testing is to determine, first, whether a given sample is precious or base, and, second,...
Read More

Basic Safety Principles for Jewelers

Aim for: a well laid-out, orderly workshop, well-lit by multiple non glare light sources, well-maintained equipment, electrically and fire safe,...
Read More
Anticlastic Raising Basics

Anticlastic Raising Basics

The word synclastic describes a form in which the dominant curves both move in the same direction. When the two...
Read More

Notes on Files for Jewelry Making

When one gets a new file one traditionally dips it in alcohol and sets fire to it to burn off...
Read More

Methods of Closing Jump Rings

In high volume production operations, many jump rings need to be closed one after another. For such fast paced operations,...
Read More

CAD/CAM: The Basics

What if you could sit down at your computer, spend a little time manipulating the mouse, keyboard or electronic pencil...
Read More
How to Make an Ionic Cleaner

How to Make an Ionic Cleaner

Although ultrasonic cleaners are great for removing gunk on jewelry, they do a poor job when it comes to removing...
Read More

Chain Making Project

This project is for beginners that wish to become silversmiths, part time or full time. Keep in mind that there...
Read More

Jeweler’s Workday: Sitting and Looking at the Bench

In the Jewelers Bench Book, the MJSA/Ganoksin project published in spring 2008, there is an extensive look at what happens...
Read More
6 Basic Wire Skills to Make a Necklace

6 Basic Wire Skills to Make a Necklace

The links in this 16-in. (40.6cm) necklace are forged so they become flat and work-hardened. The pearl in the featured...
Read More
Basic Jewelry Construction and Soldering Principles

Basic Jewelry Construction and Soldering Principles

A short review of construction and soldering principles would be a good idea at this point. They're fairly basic. Principles...
Read More
Creating Equal Divisions in Stone Setting

Creating Equal Divisions in Stone Setting

Below are steps for an easy way to create equal divisions in setting stones that jewelers need to know. Dividing...
Read More

A Pain In The Neck

You start to turn and there it is again. You go to stand up from your chair and it happens...
Read More

Touchstone Method for Testing Karat Gold Purity

There are a few scientific methods for precisely determining karat gold purity, some destructive (fire assay) and others nondestructive (X-ray...
Read More
Setting a Stone with Cold Connections

Setting a Stone with Cold Connections

In the jewelry world the term cold connections usually describes mechanical joining techniques that are used to fasten together parts...
Read More
Jewelry Making Study Sheet

Jewelry Making Study Sheet

Jewelry making is a big job. That is that there is a lot to know and a lot to learn....
Read More

Full eBook: The Jewelry Maker

Full eBook.48 Pages: Jewelry and metalsmithing are hard work, and also very rewarding. There is great pleasure in creating with...
Read More
Basic Optical Principles for Gemology

Basic Optical Principles for Gemology

The optical characteristics and properties of gemstones often provide the fastest and best methods of identification. A certain amount of...
Read More

Organize Your Bench

The next time you sit down at your bench, don't think of it as just a bench. Think of it...
Read More

Noise and its Effects

Noise is so common that we don't tend to think of it in terms of exposure in the same way...
Read More

Perfect Finishing Tools and Techniques

Our castings can be flawless, our assembly precise, and our settings secure -- but let any surface go a bit...
Read More

North American Sources for Equipment, Materials, etc.

This page offers a list of some useful North American Sources for Equipment, Materials, information, etc that would be very...
Read More

Stone Setting Tips

Here are some very helpful stone setting tips provided by Gerald Lewy to help and guide you when working on...
Read More
Basic Milling Technique

Basic Milling Technique

In working on jewelry there are many tasks that seem simple - you just do it and don't think about...
Read More
Bench Tools for Jewelers

Bench Tools for Jewelers

This article lists the following useful bench tools for jewelers including contact information where they can be purchased or ordered....
Read More
Paraffin Wax Treatment

Paraffin Wax Treatment

The holiday season can be rough on jewelers. The long hours spent toiling at the bench trying to fulfill last...
Read More

Studio Lighting Considerations

How you light your shop, illuminate your working area, experience the reflection from surfaces and the paint you choose for...
Read More

Proper Studio Light

Do not get caught in the dark - make certain your shop is well lit. In the jewelry shop, two...
Read More

Craftsmanship Improvement Method

This is a method to reduce technical problems which one repeatedly experienes. We all find during the learning process that...
Read More

How to Make Sharp Corner Cuts

Sawing is an essential skill for a bench jeweler. This article will show you a technique that will increase your...
Read More

Using Acid Bath on Used Tools

Bench jewelers hate to throw out used tools. By training and by nature we try to conserve the materials we...
Read More

Ergonomics for Bench Pin Modifications

Ergonomics is the safe and effective relationship between a worker and the work environment. For the bench jeweler who spends...
Read More

Separating Work and Home

Often craftspeople start out making craft objects in their living space, a kitchen, a living room, and sometimes continue working...
Read More

Goldsmith Jewelry Finishing Trick

Every bench jeweler has experienced the frustration of trying to sand and polish a nearly inaccessible area on a piece...
Read More

Rules for Tools

While it is clearly impossible to give a set of rules for each tool and procedure that goldsmiths use, this...
Read More

Organize Your Workspace

How you set up your shop, your working procedures and workspace can affect your safety, comfort, stress level and efficiency...
Read More

Handling Stakes and Anvils

Shaping a bezel on stakes is a process of forming the metal by stretching. First the metal is bent with...
Read More

Jewelry Making Bench Tips

Jeremy Pavlow shares his common jewelry making bench tips by taking advantage of other tools and materials not normally used...
Read More

Jewellery Repair

Repairing jewellery is an extremely tricky job. Work often pretends to be something else, metal is not what it is...
Read More

Bench Tools Maintenance Schedule

Take a look around you. Chances are there is a flex-shaft or a dust collector you've neglected because you've been...
Read More

Bead Stone Setting – Bead It!

Bench Jewelers often use different methods to accomplish the same work. I believe the end results are what is important,...
Read More
Spiral Cut Technique for Rubber Molds

Spiral Cut Technique for Rubber Molds

n this installment we present a mold cutting technique called a spiral cut, which is designed to facilitate the successful...
Read More

Structuring for Efficiency in the Studio

Being more organized, and planning how you use your time will mean that you will spend less time on some...
Read More

Bench Trick Guiding Principles

What is a bench trick? A shortcut? A faster way of doing something? A better method? A tool used for...
Read More

How to Handle the Flexshaft

In the course of my 30 years in the jewelry industry, I can recall many instances of damaged equipment and...
Read More

How to Use the Conduction Soldering Technique

The soldering process, used extensively in all aspects of jewelry manufacturing and repair, joins two or more pieces of metal...
Read More

Metalsmith ’84 Spring: Health Hazards Q&A’s

This article page is from a segment of the Metalsmith Magazine (1984 Spring), “Health Hazards”, discussing questions from readers about...
Read More
How to Make Equally Sized Beads

How to Make Equally Sized Beads

In this project, I will demonstrate a clever method of making equally sized beads. These beads can be used for...
Read More

Metalsmith ’83 Summer: Health Hazards Q&A’s

This article page is from a segment of the Metalsmith Magazine (1983 Summer), "Health Hazards", discussing questions from readers and...
Read More

The All-In-One Jewelry Making Solution At Your Fingertips

When you join the Ganoksin community, you get the tools you need to take your work to the next level.

Become a Member

Trusted Jewelry Making Information & Techniques

Sign up to receive the latest articles, techniques, and inspirations with our free newsletter.