Cool Tools & Hip Tips
The Line on Good Design
Never underestimate the power of a perfect metal scribe. I used to avoid scribing my metal
because I honestly never understood the point of creating a mark I would later have to
remove in the fussy fi nishing phase. It seemed counterproductive to purposely make a
scratch in metal I was trying very hard to keep pristine. After a few years of fabrication prac-
tice, though, I realized the awesomeness of a scribed sawing or folding line.
If you scribe a sawing line, you can cut like Luke Skywalker making his Death Star
Trench run: that shining little groove is just a beacon for your blade to follow. Trust
me, once you scribe and saw, you’ll never go back to just a plain old Sharpie
line again. If you need a great scribe, I wholeheartedly recommend Rio’s
Double-Ended Scribes Set of 3 (118458). You get six diff erent scribe
profi les to mark all sorts of handy lines in all sorts of situations for
fabrication tasks, making folds, positioning cold-connections,
and marking elements for T-joins.
More at https://www.riogrande.compg
phase. It seemed counterprodductive to purposely make a
very hard to keep pristine. After a few years of fabrication prac-
wesomeness of a scribed sawing or folding line.
you can cut like Luke Skywalker making his Death Star
e groove is just a beacon for your blade to follow. Trust
w, you’ll never go back to just a plain old Sharpie
at scribe, I wholehhheartedly recommendnnnnn Rio’s
of 3(118458). You get six diff erent scribe
handy lines in all sorts of situations for
lds, positioning cold-connections,
-joins.
rande.comSet It and Forget It
There seems to be a rhinestone
renaissance brewing in beadland,
and several specialty tools have
come on the market to make setting
those perennially popular, pointed-
back pretties not only easier but
also more secure. I know something’s up in
blingville because I found two versions of the
same tool concept at about the same time
from two diff erent vendors — which tells me it’s
a trend. These are designed to compress thin
brass “prongs” around a round stone setting,
but clever tool junkies take note: you can also
use them for tasks other than their primary
purpose.
Smart Setter Pliers by BeadSmith (360-389)
are not only parallel action, they feature fi ve
interchangeable tips compatible with 10mm,
12mm, and 14mm stones. If you’re old school,
you’ll be happy to know that there are also tips
for 29ss (6mm) 39ss (8.5mm), and 47-48ss
(11mm). What’s “ss”? It stands for stone size,
and it’s a term that was used in mid-century
costume jewelry manufacturing — the last
time rhinestone bling was a thing.
More at https://contenti.com
This brass 8-piece Prong Pusher Set
(4897TL) features a selection of interchange-
able heads compatible with popular stone
sizes: 1mm, 2mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm,
and 10mm. Simply place a chaton or rhine-
stone in the cup of the setting, position the
tool over the prongs, and press down evenly.
This prong pusher even works with cup chain.
More at https://www.fi remountaingems.comit’so89),
ips16 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST