Tools for finishing your fresh castings:
To make sure you are equipped with everything you need to finish your freshly cast pieces I have created a small guide on tools I use as-well as my polishing routine/steps. If you already have any of these tools then thats perfect - don’t go buying double!
If you have any questions what-so-ever please make sure to ask!
Firstly…I have created a Google Sheets checklist that you can copy so you can keep track of what you already have and what you still need. Click here to access, then please go to "File", then "create a copy" so you have your own editable checklist.
Recommended tools for finishing:
All links are Australian Based suppliers - see the bottom of the page for International supplier recommendations.
Vice - ($27.50 or $109) I have the $27.50 version or one similar but I know a lot of people use the $109 one.
Dremel - I started out with a cheapie from a local hardware store (Bunnings) $159
Round Burs. You don’t need this many to get started if you’re on a low budget, but if you plan on making gemstone rings you will need these for stone setting :) I use these all the time, and have gone through a few sets over the years.
- Busch 1 Round Bur Set of 12 - 1.5 - 2.6mm ($39)
- Busch 1 Round Bur Set of 10 - 2.7 - 4.2mm ($70)
Wooden ring holder/clamp $15
Split mandrel emerys (mounted) $4.5 each (180, 240, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 grit)
Sawblades (2.0 size) $15
Beeswax (for lubricant) ($2.50)
Bandaids $5-8?
Bench peg $18
Pre-Polish compound (Tripoli) $8
Final polish compound (Rouge) $8.5
Polishing wheels (get a few - 4 or 5) $3.95
Goats hair wheel (get a few - 4 or 5) $2
Polishing Cloth: Town Talk - Original Silver Cloth 30 x 45cm $27 (will last you AGES)
Thermoloc $69 (You dont really need this much, so if you can find a smaller pack I would reccommend, but I can’t seem to find any)
Mask $95 (Go for something cheaper if you’re on a tight budget, but I do reccommend something this heavy duty long term.)
Ring Mandrel $50
Rawhide Mallet/Plastic Mallet $25
Hammer with flat side (Chasing Hammer is ideal but Ball Pein or Cross Pein is fine and m ore affordable $11.60/$13.28)
Bezel Pusher ($9)
Burnisher (Optional) ($17) - I reccommend a slim one :)
Metal file (optional) Vallorbe Cut 4 ($97)
I have linked the Vallorbe file as this is a good quality file that will last you a long time. They have different “cuts” which determine how coarse or fine the grit is. I have said 4 as this is kind of middle ground which is good to have to start out but you can buy whichever you like. The lower the number the coarser the grit (So a ‘Cut 1’ would be very coarse.)
Ring Sizing Kit ($19 ish - you should be able to find a seller in your own country. Just search “Ring Sizing Set” on Ebay :)
Buff stick (Fine grit + Flat shape - I’d reccommend atleast one around 1000 grit but you can get a few for variation as they are cheap $2.60)
Chain Nose Pliers - These are my favourite ones: Xuron 450 Tweezernose Pliers ($49/$37)
Silicon polishing wheel (Fine/Blue) Square shape ($1.27)
Wheel Mandrel Shank (To mount your silicon wheel on) ($6.73)
Extra soft tooth brush
Gravers (Optional - I haven’t linked this as I do not have the tools to show you how to cut a graver to your needs.)
Tool Suppliers:
AJS (Australian Jewellers Supplies)
Koodaks (Australia)
CJS (Australia)
Gemcuts (Australia)
Rio grande (USA)
Cooksongold (UK + Europe)
Warburtons (NZ)
Australian Casting Companies:
Lenrose (My casting company!)
APECS
Pure Casting
Morris and Watson (NZ)
Chemgold
HS Casting Melbourne
International Casting Companies:
If you can’t find a Casting Company for your area in this list; a simple google search for “Lost Wax Casting Services” along with your area should bring up some local results. The places on this list have come as recommendations from other jewellers.
(NZ) Morris and Watson
(NZ) Regal Casting
(USA) Tinydesk in Portland
(USA) International Manufacturing Co. in Philadelphia
(USA) Silvercloud Casting in Albuquerque
(USA) Castaway PDX in Portland Oregon
(USA) ASD Casting in NYC
(USA) PAFCO Casting in NYC
(UK) Jewelcast in Birmingham
(UK) West1 in London
(UK) Weston Beamor in Birmingham
(UK) Jewellery Casting Scotland
(UK) Jon Black from Black Arts Lost Wax Casting
(Netherlands) Van den Bergh
(Netherlands) Jac de Vaal
(Belgium) Tekst Ring
(Germany) Horbach Technik
(Germany) Kalman Hafner
(Japan) Seaforce in Tokyo
(Japan) Toyo Seiko in Tokyo
Gemstone Suppliers:
Affordable Gems: (Calibrated lab and natural) OA Gems (You need an ABN)
High quality: Natural ethical faceted gems: Gem Monarchy (You need an ABN/IG) @the.gem.monarchy | @the.gem.monarchy.trade
High quality: Tatum Gems (You need an ABN/IG) @tatumgems / @tatumgems_tradeonly
High quality: Pebble Sprout on IG @pebblesprout
Sapphires: Dream Of Sapphires IG: @dreamofsapphires
Opal: Chloe Fraser IG: @FaeFolkGemstones (also on Etsy)
Opal: Annie IG: @annie_opaley
Opal: Ricci IG :@Ricci.Norrie.Opal
Opal: Clarky IG @clarkysopals
Opal: Anastasia IG: @mintabieopalsaus
Opal: ShinkoOpal IG: @shinkosydney
Opal: Signature Opal IG: @signature_opal
Chain, findings, sheet, solder: Jewellery Centre (You need an ABN)
Chain, findings, sheet, solder: Twin Plaza (You need an ABN)
I get a lot of Opals off Etsy - I set my search parameters to "Australia" only.
Terminology:
Ring Shank: This specifically refers to the band of the ring - normally this is from the sides to the underneath
Setting: This is both the name of where we “house” the gems in a ring, AND the process used to set them into the ring. For example “This stone is in a bezel setting” AND “These stones need setting”
Bezel: This is a type of stone setting that holds a stone in place. It looks like a “picture frame”, or like the metal is wrapped around the stone completely, leaving only the face of the stone exposed.
Prongs/Claws: This is a type of stone setting that holds a stone in place. They look like claws/prongs/arms which leave a lot of the stone exposed on the sides.
Cabochon: This is a style of gemstone cut. It looks like a dome/curved top and a flat back.
Faceted: This is a style of gemstone cut. It looks like your ‘traditional’ diamond cut where the gemstone comes down to a point at the bottom and has a flat face. It has lots of different facets which helps to display their colour.
Rose Cut: Similar to faceted stones, rose cuts are flat on the back like a cabocon but will feature a lot of facets on the top.
Burs: These are small tools that are used in either a pin vice or more commonly a micromotor/dremel. They look like a long polished nail (the building kind) and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, for all sorts of different uses. Mostly for working with metals; polishing, drilling, filing.
Diamond Drill/Micromotor/Flexshaft: This is a small powered machine with a handpiece that rotates the chosen bur or tool at high speeds.
Chuck: In the jewellery world its a small tool used to open the handpiece of a flexshaft (namely the “foredom” range). Its placed in a partiuclar spot and turned.
Mandrel: A mandrel is a long tool that generally tapers from one end to the other, allowing us to shape metals to fit. These come in all different sizes and use cases; ring mandrel, bezel mandrel, wooden mandrel, bangle mandrel, necklace mandrel etc.
Score (to mark): To ‘score’ the metal is to mark it with a scoring pen to indicate an area we want to work on (i.e drilling into)
Casting: This is a term used for Lost Wax Casting that refers to the actual process AND the product. So I can say, “My waxes have been sent for casting” OR “My castings are ready for collection”
Sprue: In the casting process we attach the wax pieces to a wax tree using a sprue - it is a small stick of wax that is used for connecting two pieces of wax together.
Calipers: This is a tool used for measuring small components and widths. Such as, a ring band width, stone sizes, bezel thickness