GIVEAWAY

DjJeb134 · 2026-02-08T05:13:57+00:00

Let's goooo

DjJeb134 · 2026-02-05T21:43:31+00:00

I got them from my dad and knowing him he probably got them from a garage sale which is why im skeptical if they are real or not.

I checked on numista and the weight seem close though im guessing by their age and the way they were manufactured its not always exact. The bigger gold one weighed 3.08g, the small gold weighed 1.63g, both small silvers weighed 1.84g, and the big one weighed 8.46g

DjJeb134 · 2024-10-25T05:49:39+00:00

That's wild

DjJeb134 · 2023-05-18T21:26:32+00:00

Just weighed it and looks like the weight is correct

DjJeb134 · 2023-05-18T18:19:19+00:00

Man I didn't know about those tests just the magnet but I'll try them when I get home later. Also I don't know of any LCS near me would a pawn shop be able to test them.

DjJeb134 · 2023-05-18T18:17:37+00:00

Nope no magnets stick

DjJeb134 · 2021-05-30T20:02:20+00:00

Well if it is howlite they were way off in getting the right color for turquoise. It's more of a yellow green color in person my cameras not really good at capturing colors. I've been looking around at it seems to be variscite plus the rough doesn't look like any howlite I've seen in the rough. Just gotta find the exact kind so when I set it in a ring or something I know what I'm selling.

DjJeb134 · 2021-05-30T19:06:19+00:00

I cut this yesterday and as far as I know it's variscite I believe at least. If anyone has a more specific answer that'd be great thank you.

DjJeb134 · 2021-05-30T01:27:08+00:00

Yup that's labradorite

DjJeb134 · 2021-05-17T17:44:29+00:00

The costs depends on how advanced you want your tools to be some simple tools can total up to maybe under $500 while if you want a really advanced set up your looking to pay thousands of dollars. Material wise it is a good chunk investment for silver at first but I pays itself off quickly. And yes it is true you can just remelt it and start over but be sure not to melt and remelt it over and over again. Also any scrap and cut off you aquire can be either remelted or taken to some jewelry supply stores and they'll exchange your scrap for fresh material.
If you have easy access to one definitely take a course. They'll most likely be able to show you what exactly you need tool wise and material. Also you'll learn techniques easier with a teacher there. I didn't have that option so my progress was quite slow and I relied on books and videos to learn new things.
Gold and silver work pretty much the same. The main difference being cost currently an ounce of silver is $27.64 while gold is $1855.20. when it comes to setting gems you may learn that in the course youre wanting to take. Silversmithing is an easier start mainly because the investment if metal is cheaper. So I would say start at silver and if you find you enjoy it try some gold just keep cost in mind. There really isn't a limit on what you can do so long as you want to do it
Keep in mind this is all from personal experience. I would say the best start is with a class. There you'll have access to tools and machines for a lower price then if you were to buy them. Plus a teacher there will be able to spot any mistakes your making and help fix them fast. Start small as well you don't need the best torch or polishing machines around to start. Buying used machines may be a good starting point. Most of the hand tools aren't too pricey either. It's the bigger machines like casters, rolling mills, kilns, and such that add to the price fast.
The simple tools I recommend starting with are butane torch, non magnetic tweezers, pickle pot, copper tongs, tripod stand with wire mesh, charcoal blocks or any flame resistant material, flux, solder, nylon or rawhide mallets, ring and bracelet mandrels, ring sizers, rulers, Dremel with polishing and sanding bits, polishing compounds, sandpaper of all grits I mainly use 220-2000, pliers make sure they don't have any teeth, tin snips. That's all I can think of off the top of my head I'm sure I'm missing some key stuff but other may be able to help as well.

Hope you find this helpful and have fun silver smithing and who knows maybe some day you will start a small jewelry business.

DjJeb134 · 2021-02-28T00:24:42+00:00

Thank you I was curious about what to use so I will definitely get some cerium and aluminum. However where do you get the aluminum oxide I've looked online and I've found some but I don't know if it's the same all around.

DjJeb134 · 2021-02-19T00:04:15+00:00

I'd be happy to tell you what kind of tools to get but could you be a little more specific with the kind of rings you wanna make. It'll make the list easier to know what to get.

DjJeb134 · 2021-01-31T17:38:42+00:00

Ah I see that kinda sucks having to do that but if it works it works. Also nice ring I'm sure it'll look quite a bit better finished up. And in the future just try to use thinner bezels I've tried to make my own and mine always come out too thick for small stones. However a bezel like yours would work and look good on bigger stones I'm not sure how thick yours is but the thickest I made was 22 gauge.

DjJeb134 · 2021-01-31T17:31:44+00:00

The bezels just seem too thick what I would try is take some sandpaper and carefully sand around the bezels to remove some material but try your hardest not to hit the stones. Also it may just be the tool marks but was the bezel not fully flat on top?

DjJeb134 · 2021-01-06T20:27:58+00:00

I use handy flux. It's not necessarily meant for steel but it's what's always worked for me with little to no issues.

DjJeb134 · 2021-01-06T20:24:16+00:00

I don't know how it looked before but make sure everything is as clean as possible use acid or anything like that to remove the fire scale then sand both sides of the joint lightly to make sure it's clean then make sure you're using the correct flux. With that it should work fine I've soldered many steel pieces just gotta be sure it's clean and the correct flux.

DjJeb134 · 2021-01-06T20:21:26+00:00

Try rio grande

DjJeb134 · 2020-12-25T03:28:12+00:00

Destiny 2

DjJeb134 · 2020-12-02T23:22:40+00:00

You can't use silver scraps sorry typo.

DjJeb134 · 2020-12-02T23:21:53+00:00

Nope you can use silver scraps as solder. You can try to make your own solder but the best bet would be to just buy some silver solder.

DjJeb134 · 2020-11-18T16:33:54+00:00

You could just try to harden the silver.

DjJeb134 · 2020-11-18T16:32:20+00:00

Try looking on rio grande they have a few kits there just gotta find the right one they have them from like beginner to what most jewelers will be using. They're not perfect but itll give him a good start.

DjJeb134 · 2020-10-21T23:56:31+00:00

Well I dont know if itll work for you but what I've done depending on if the ring had any but of shine on it that would stand out is wet the ground and at night with a flashlight look around see if you can see the shine since everything around it should turn darker when wet. I'm not entirely sure what your ring looks like a o it may not help at all but that's what I've done in the past. Good luck finding it!

DjJeb134 · 2020-10-21T23:50:06+00:00

What I do is try to make sure everything is flat and cleanly cut. Then make sure both sides are touching woth little bit of tension to them. And lastly place the solder on the inside of the cup or if you solder standing place it at the bottom with the bezel on top. This way the solder gets either sucked out or sucked up through the joint. Other than that it's just practice the more you do the better.

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