Cool Tools For Jewelry Making

I’m not really a gadget gal, but when it comes to making jewelry I’ve found that there are a few little jewlry making tools and accessories that I’ve acquired over the years that I can’t live without. Sure, I have my favorite pair of pliers and a bead board that I use for laying out almost all of my bead jewelry designs, but there are also some clever little things I’ve picked up and started using that tend to make my jewelry making time so much more enjoyable.

Bead Stoppers keep the beads on your jewelry and not on the floor!

Bead Stoppers – I wrote about these clever little devices years ago and I still use them today. How many times have you almost been done stringing a piece of jewelry and either been distracted (or just plain clumsy) and dropped the whole thing, resulting in beads and baubles flying all over the table and floor? These little springs simply attach to any piece of wire and they provide enough tension to hold most beads together for any drop or quick accident. They’re cheap, easy to take on and off a wire and you can use them over and over again. I’ve even toyed with the idea of making jewelry out of them, but haven’t come up with the right design yet

Wire Guardians – When I first started making jewelry I was mostly selling (or giving away) beaded bracelets and necklaces to friends and family. Within about three months of making any piece of jewelry I would almost inevitably be contacted by the person I had given something to and they would ask me if I could remake their gift. In almost every case the wire had snapped or worn out on the ends where the clasps were connected. I have since learned two valuable lessons: try not to have much (if any) play when looping wire and use wire guardians when possible. They’re just little metal sleeves, but they protect the wire and keep it from wearing through, making your jewelry creations stronger and able to last much longer.

Tacky Bead Mats

Tacky Bead Mat – Back in the “old days” I would sometimes try to make bead jewelry while leaning over an old cafeteria tray to keep piles of beads from rolling all over the table and floors. I’ve long since lost the tray, but that’s okay because now I use Beadalon’s Tacky Mat to keep most of my round beads from rolling too far away at any given time. This mat is really nothing more than a little piece of rubber that has some “stick” to it and keeps things from rolling around freely. It does pick up dust and lint, but like most rubber mats it can be rinsed with water and used again and again. I tend to use tacky mats for larger beads and I’ll still use a little bead sorting tray for seed beads when I’m making a complex jewelry piece.

There are, of course, lots of other cool jewelry making tools and gadgets that are out there, but these are my old standbys. Some jewelry tools, like the jewelry wire bending Wigjig have entire books written about them while some tools are very, very specialized.

What cool jewelry making tools can you recommend for a beginner or expert jewelry artist?

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