A FINE FINISH
WHEN I BEGAN TO MAKE JEWELRY, I used metal and stone just like
paint, paper, and ink — as mediums of artistic expression. Focused
on getting an idea out of my head and into my hands, I often worked
without finishing just to expand my skill set. Nowadays, I find myself
fussing over edges, surfaces, and contours way more than I used to.
I want my work to express ideas — and function, appeal to my design
sense, and feel good to touch or wear. Now that I’m concerned with
finish, too, I’ve become inordinately fond of abrasive papers, files,
polishing compounds, and professional stone setting tools.
Cool Tools & Hip Tips
A design idea is only the start
By Helen Driggs, Photos by Jim Lawson
Abrasives
There is nothing like a studio purge to get your juices fl owing. Last
year, I promised myself that I would use up all the bronze, cop-
per, and brass in my personal stash and graduate to using only
fi ne metals for creating non-curriculum work. Then I got myself a
new batch of abrasive papers for silver-only use. Contenti Tools’
fabulous new German Matador polishing and abrasive papers
(210-170-180 through 7000) are available in an exhaustive range of
grits. That’s 180, 220, 240, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200, 1,500,
2,000, 2,500, 3,000, 5,000, and 7,000 to be precise — and when
you’re talking fi ne fi nish, you do want to be precise! These sturdy
abrasive papers are waterproof silicon carbide and just a delight
to use, so I got the entire range and spent a rainy Sunday making a
brand-new set of sanding sticks with them.new set of sanding sticks with them.In untrained hands, fl exible abrasives can be dan-
gerous to metal — something I learned the hard
way. After I’d unintentionally cut a bunch of ruts in
a ring, I shied away from them until I learned how
to better control my fl ex shaft. Now, I can’t work
without them. Swifty rubberized abrasives (4 42-
700) starter kit comes with 44 wheels including
knife edge, square, and taper, as well as mini
points for detail work. There are three color-coded
grits in the line and mandrels are included with
the starter set. Waiting for when you fall in love,
the clever package insert includes color, grit, and
catalog numbers for bulk ordering! Do yourself
a favor and add in a set of Swifty large cylinder
attachments and a large mandrel (210-197) just
for refi ning the insides of rings.SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 15