If you have a small piece or want a precise join without a lot of solder flowing, learn to pick solder. Pick soldering minimizes solder messes and heat on your jewelry piece to prevent melting disasters. Add this skill to your bench resume today.
Soldered wire accents allow you to create geometric designs with a line drawing feel. But, soldering thin wires onto sheet metal is a challenge. How do you achieve a complete solder join along the entire length without cumbersome clean-up and polishing? Our very own Studio Coordinator, Erica Stice, has some tips.
Use 14kt gold solder ornaments on sterling silver jewelry blanks to create unique mixed metal jewelry pieces. Erica Stice is breaking down the sweat soldering process so you can add this great technique to your jewelry making skills.
We are proud to present Julie Sanford as the 2019 Halstead Catalog featured metalsmith. Learn more about Julie, check out her tips for using the jeweler’s saw, and watch her demo video in this article.
Many jewelers remember falling in love with metalsmithing at their first torch soldering experience. That mercurial silver flash when solder starts to flow is magical. But, what is actually happening at that moment? What is the science behind soldering? Learning more about solder can improve your workmanship and help you to choose that right materials for each job.
Rolling mills and jewelry studios go hand in hand. Some jewelers use their rolling mills to imprint patterns on an annealed metal sheet. Others use a rolling mill as the raw material workhorse of their studios. I personally have always seen it as a luxury. As a texture and patterning tool to run brass pattern sheets through or fun found objects. It sort of just sat in studios that I visited, used but not too often. That all changed. Read on to see how the rolling mill can become indispensable in your studio practice.
A quick FAQ guide on how to buy metal sheet for your jewelry business. Learn the lingo and how to navigate the typical units of measure used for sheet sales.
Setting geodes and slabs can be challenging at times but this blog will cover the two basic settings to get you started. Both require basic soldering skills.
We love to make silver rings in the Halstead Studio. These simple stackers are a low price-point crowd pleaser. If you’re preparing for a…
The annual Halstead Design Challenge encourages participants to create a brooch revolving around a theme using the same kit of materials. This year’s competition inspired unique pieces with hidden objects and impressive mechanisms. Click through to the individual entry listings to see videos that unveil the surprise element of each piece.