How to use a Dapping Block

What are these things anyways???

You might need this

If your going to make and sell Sterling Silver jewelry you are going to need one of these. This is a pocket size jewelry scale, they come in all sizes with different weight measurements. Mine has the ability to weigh in grams, oz, dwt & ozt. I like having the ozt because when you buy sterling at a show they are weighing in troy ozt. (ozt) and when I weigh out my sterling pieces to sell I weigh in grams and when you buy sterling wire it is weighed in oz. It's great to have if you sell your scrap silver back to know how much you are trading in.


Okay so lets say you have a scale .... how do you know if it is reading correctly? you want to calibrate it every once in a while and for that you will need a calibration weight. My weight is 200g, turn on your scale and place the weight in the middle of the scale and make sure it reads 200 exactly ... if it doesn't you run a calibration test according to your scale directions.

You can purchase a scale like this at Rio Grande or any place that sells jewelry making supplies. If you live in the Las Vegas area our local Bead Store GBM carries them at a great price.

Gotta Have this too - Lilly Punch

This is the coolest little punch ever. It works just like a regular paper punch except it is used for metals. It works like a dream on the Silver Art Clay and I couldn't be without it when working with light weight copper sheet. This little punch is only $12.95, it comes in two sizes, you can find it on Metal Clay Supply website, click on the link on the right hand side of this page under; Cool Vendors.

Gotta Get One

Okay so you know how many of us have the same tools and its hard to tell who's is who's?? Well we first started identifying them by gluing on the Swarorski crystal flatbacks on each one of them, mine all had pink crystals. Just a few weeks ago a pair of my Lindstrom's went missing, I figured someone in class picked them up by accident and I was right. They found their way back to me and since then I bought this cool little pencil type engraver at Harbor Freight for $8.00 and now have put my name on all my tools. This engraver is really nice and feels just like you are writing with a pencil so you have lots of control, how cool is that??

How to use a Jewelers saw