Today we are going to talk about one of the most useful tools on our jeweler's bench... Calipers! These are the calipers we use at the studio:  6" digital calipers Uses: Depth and diameter of stones. Checking bur sizes. Inside diameter of rings. (you need to be able to create the correct size ring. Scribe for straight lines. Know the thickness of your metal. Know if you filed your metal straight by holding them in. Drawbacks: Convert to inches and can easily hit the convert button. Easy to accidentally hit the zero out button ...

You saw a pair of earrings a friend made at a local design studio and felt inspired to try your hand at it, too. However, you’d like to do it first at home because you want to mess up a few times without any curious onlookers and to see if you like the process in general. You can find supplies online, in specific tool-focused groups on social media, thrift stores, and flea markets at reasonable and or discounted prices. Your shopping list for tools needed to make metal jewelry is as follows (most of the items on this list, minus the Dremel® drill and flex shaft and can be found for $25 or less). Jewelry Tools for Cutting, Piercing, Rough Finishing  • A jeweler’s saw frame. • Saw blades #03, 02, 01, 0, and 1. • A wooden bench pin. Or you if you’re particularly handy, you can cut a piece of 1” board with a “V” cut into it to clamp onto a table with a C-clamp. • A set of needle files.  • Sandpapers with a variety of fine and medium grits.   • A r...