11 Sep Jewellery Making Tools-Hammers!
Most people dont know the utter complexity of what goes into the making of jewellery. Ignoring the many layers of complex design and focusing and the more relatable tools heres the first part in a synopsis of the kind of tools that can be used. While this varies wildly from piece to piece. This can only highlight the variety of tools that can be used in creating what in outward appearances appears to be a simple and refined piece of jewellery….. So where to start,
HOW ABOUT HAMMERS?
So many varieties of all the below hammers, but here’s a quick overview…….
Rawhide mallet – soft than plastic, shaping without marring.
Brass hammer- heavy weight for stamping and brass so it doesnt damage the steel tools
Texturing hammer… exactly as it sounds, leaves a texture on metal
Plastic mallet -forming without marking the metal
Repoussé hammer- used in repoussé and chasing work, specially shaped handle for repetitive use
Planishing hammer- used for smoothing out other hammer marks on metal surface
Rivetting hammer – for reveting
raising hammer – for raising flat metal into bowls etc
embossing hammer- doming metal from the inside
goldsmiths hammer- the workhorse
flat and cross pein- general forging of jewellery and hollowware
And just to be clear…NONE of the above hammers are used on Diamonds!