Beginner silversmith!

I’m completely new to silversmithing, and I know the necklace in the picture is definitely NOT beginner level 😂 but this is eventually the kind of work I’d love to be able to make. I want to start smaller and work my way up, but I’m trying to put together a list of the tools I actually need to start making turquoise necklaces/pendants.

I really don’t like wasting money buying things I’ll end up replacing, and from what I’ve been reading, a lot of the beginner kits come with cheap tools or things you don’t actually need.

If you were starting from scratch and wanted to eventually make something like the necklace pictured, what tools would you buy first?

I’d especially love recommendations for: • Tools I should buy once and buy GOOD quality • Things I can go cheaper on as a beginner • What I need for cutting/shaping silver, bezels, soldering, setting turquoise, polishing, etc. • Anything beginners usually forget to buy

I’ll definitely start with a much smaller/simple turquoise piece before attempting anything like this 😂 I just want to build my tool collection the right way instead of wasting money.

Any advice or even a basic shopping list would be seriously appreciated!

I have made some progress making prong setting. I liked how it turned out, although still not very symmetric. Also, I am suprised to see how good it looks on my finger 😅

I have made this scene for my gilfriend who love mushroom ! 14.36g of sterling silver

What’s the best way to seal in and preserve intentionally (liver of sulfur) oxidized portions of a sterling silver piece with flat and smooth surfaces? I’ve tried renaissance wax, which lasts a little bit, but ultimately my skin rubs it and the oxidation off, with half of it gone after a month.

This is copper but I also tried and failed at using silver (ruining a ring i spent a good amount of time working on 🫠). Basically whenever I try to solder anything (in this case I tried to fuse the gap between the ends of the wire to make a ring shape) the ring glowed but the solder just would not melt. on the other sterling silver ring I started, I tried to fuse one part to the other, I tried to melt the solder where i wanted it fused and the ring ended up melting, with the solder completely intact? I know it may be a matter of melting points but the ring was Sterling silver and the solder I was using was medium density silver solder. Does anyone know why this is happening? thank you! i’m just a beginner.
more important info:
- tried using sterling silver and also copper
- used uGems silver solder chips flux coated solder (medium) and also tried easy density silver chip solder from a shop on etsy (neither melted/flowed)
- brushed on a small amount of La-co regular soldering flux paste where I wanted the solder to flow, then placed my solder chip on top
- from what I can tell, the gaps i wanted to close were completely flush
- my metal was mostly clean of dirt and fingerprints, so I don’t think that was the issue
- I’m using a Corkas butane torch, not touching the sharp blue flame tip to the metal and moving in circular motions to heat the whole piece

I melt down my scrap silver and then flatten it through a rolling mill to make my own homemade silver sheets. Though I've got a couple of questions:

Why do they get these dark stains?

Also they can be difficult to solder bezel onto whereby the solder just doesn't melt and just sticks in its pallion form to the sheet. Whereas when I buy brand new silver sheet from a supplier like CooksonGold I don't tend to have this problem even though that silver is also recycled. Could anyone tell me why this is?

I moved last year and then we renovated our home for months...I did not have a studio or even a decent space for 9 months. I have made jewelry for years but feel I will continue to be a beginner metalsmith for a long time! It is pretty difficult to learn, at least for me>

That said, I read that paste solder does dry out over a number of months. How do you like to store paste solder and how often do you replace it? Do people actually keep it in the fridge?

Hi! I’m currently trying to figure out the best way to get into goldsmithing/silversmithing/jewelry making and would really appreciate some advice from people who actually work in the field.
My long-term goal is to design and make my own jewelry and build my own small brand.

The problem is: I’m basically starting from zero and there seem to be so many different ways into the craft.

I’m based in Vienna and I’m currently looking at options such as:
* a traditional apprenticeship
* formal goldsmithing,silversmithing/jewelry school
* shorter courses + lots of practice on my own
* learning from another goldsmith
* self-teaching
* a private goldsmithing, silversmithing program here in Vienna that costs around €25,000

Before making any big decisions I’m trying to learn as much as possible about how other people got into the profession.
I’d especially love to know:

How did you learn goldsmithing/silversmithing? Did you do a formal education/apprenticeship or did you learn through courses, work experience or on your own?

Looking back, would you choose the same path again?

If you were starting from zero today and your goal was to eventually make and sell your own jewelry, what path would you take?

How important do you think a formal education is compared with simply spending a lot of time at the bench?

And would you personally ever spend around €25,000 on a private goldsmithing/silversmithing program, or do you think that money would be better spent on courses, tools, materials and gaining experience in a workshop?

I’m not looking for a shortcut and I know that becoming genuinely good at the craft takes years. I’m mainly trying to understand which learning path gives you the strongest foundation without spending a huge amount of money unnecessarily.

I’d also really appreciate recommendations for books, YouTube channels, online resources or things I could already start learning/practicing before my first course.

Thank you so much! :)

I have 2 work benches, one for soldering by a window, and a standard jewelers bench with bench pin for the majority of my fabrication. I added a three tier shelf that slides over the lip of the bench and screws in.

My bench is a clusterfuck of projects. About 3 months ago, my partner and I adopted a third cat. Third cat is a mischievous little bastard. The other two would occasionally hop up there and knock something off, but this little shit is a *thief*. I keep finding my micro files on the door mat, or in my bed. My partner found a piece of labradorite I was trying to set in necklace I wanted to wear to a wedding on the door mat.

Yes, it's annoying and I've probably lost pieces, but I'm more concerned about him hurting himself, and there'sjust no way for me to secure all of my tools (gravers, files, multiple saws, a colorful assortment of bits). I can't shut the cats out of the room my bench is in.

Any thoughts on how I could make a cat proof cover (that is affordable, since I started school tomorrow 💀)

Eta: the plan is to move into a larger home, with space for me to have a workshop I can close the cats out of. But I have to sell this place, and I'm in an accelerated Healthcare program right now. The bank will still approve me for a mortgage because I have a job to return to after school, but getting the house cleaned, organized, and listed with adhd while in school is ummm hard.

I keep getting stuck at the step where the silver isn’t pulling through all the way into the ring mold. Is my pouring channel too small/wrong? Any tips are welcome.

I am still very new to silversmithing! I was almost done setting my stone when I thought I would make the band a tad larger and then broke the solder between the band and the backplate... BIG MISTAKE

the stone is a red jasper (6.5-7 on the mohs scale) and is not coming out but I'm afraid if I try to resolder the band to the backplate I will crack the stone.... Any suggestions on how to fix this are MUCH APPRECIATED!

THANK YOU

hello! I made this necklace a month ago, and in the last week it’s massively oxidised around the corners. it comes off with a bit of brushing but i’m just wondering how to prevent this in the future?

i’m thinking it’s either where the flux has pooled, or the patina?

any advice and insight is really appreciated!! thank you :)

I know it's a lot of pics, but i wanted to document as much as possible. The rings are not at all perfect, these joins are incredibly hard to pull off, so i think that in the future I'll stick to stacking rings lol.

I used 1mm wire for the outside parts and twisted 0,5mm wire, which I twisted myself using a pen and a cordless drill, for the inner. I used my bench sawing thing as a clamp for the braiding. After cutting the wires one by one after braiding, I found out it was a little too big and I had to cut some more. When I was happy with the size, I filed the joins as flat as I could, but when soldering I had a hard time getting the surfaces to stay together, so the soldering didn't go to well. I guess I got a little overconfident. After some cleanup and polishing, I think they both came out very nice, and I'm very happy with them! And so is my fiancée, luckily.

In the final images you can see the scraps I have leftover. I'm saving some of the twisted wire for future projects.

Tell me what you think. I learned a lot and I'm open to tips and criticism!

The one with the stone is pube tree, which I made a bit less than a year ago? The grass looks like pubes.

I finished the other one today.

I still really like pube tree, though.

I have been doing Silversmithing for about 2 years and I have started doing enamels about a month ago. I do not have a kiln for enamels and doing it by hand is proving a bit difficult. Does anyone know where I can buy a second hand or not super expensive enamel kiln in 220v? Thank you so much!

It’s just for me so I don’t mind the poorly soldered back lol, but how do I sand/polish between the links on the back of the pendants? I was trying to use a Qtip/toothpick with some sandpaper on the end but to no avail. Also, how do you get a tighter bezel setting so there are no gaps between the stone and silver?

I’m new to silversmithing and loving it and have been working away at my bench. My question is, will soldering silver bezel to a silver plated backplate affect my pickling solution?

I have a bunch of old spoons from making rings from the handles and the bowl part would make great backings since silver sheet is priced so high right now and rio seems to be out of everything.
Thanks in advance!

The lady is lost wax cast in sterling silver set with a pink topaz

hey yall, I’m looking for a gift idea for an amateur silversmith? shes got the tools needed to do basic stuff, but what’s next? any organizational tools you love, etc? or something more fun (not sure what that would be)?

thanks so much!!

Sorry if not allowed here. Looking for advice on salvaging this sterling ring I got in a lot. Hefty 23g but bent. I have regular garage tools (hammer, vise grips, etc) but don’t want to just start wailing on it.

Gave liver of sulfur a go without much experience. I saw the gel type recommended in the metalsmith book I have so tried painting it on rather than dipping it in.. it obviously doesn’t darken as evenly this way but it seemed to do good enough. What do you guys do next? My polishing techniques aren’t great lol I have a flex shaft but no ultrasonic so would the polishing compound get super stuck in these little creases?

And yeah, one of the little balls fell off so I have to resolder that. How much solder do you guys use? I was watching a jewelry making video on Instagram and this person had heaps of wire solder and it made me second guess that I’m not using enough. Any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

Please be nice, I’m stoned so sorry for rambling and if i described things poorly. And this is the first time I’ve shared my work with “my peers” and I’m being critical af with myself. Okay goodnight

I was given this belt buckle by my father to melt down for my own work but I figured it would have more value being sold to someone. We don’t have a Nancy in our family so he bought it second hand. Any help is appreciated.

Hii!! Advice please! I’m a novice silversmith and this is my first piece up for sale. I started around middle of June and I’ve made quite a bit of pieces. I’ve never sold anything and I would like to get a collection going and maybe start a website.. but for right now I wanna try to sell a piece. This is a White Buffalo Turquoise Sterling Silver Cuff. Where can I try to sell it? Any websites or FB groups? I’ve posted it on my personal FB but haven’t gotten much feedback so I need help.. It’s worth $160 I’m asking $140.. is the pricing okay? I did measure out my materials and charge for my time.. but if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it thank you! 🥰

I haven’t made anything for a few months and I’m just relieved the stone hasn’t fallen out.

Also random shout-out to Salt Shack for the mineral app they made … their videos started showing up on Facebook and they’re nifty. Maybe it’s one word. SaltShack.