Recommended Basic Tools and Supplies
Here are some recommended tools and supplies you may need for your studio.
The links below will take you to RioGrande.com or other suppliers. To see prices for precious metal items, you need a free Rio Grande account. Registered Little Metal Foxes students can access the Rio for Schools program for significant savings (discounts and flat-rate shipping). This site may contain Amazon and other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, at no cost to you, we may receive a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Basic Soldering Supplies
- Copper tongs - 501017
- Flux
- Flux brush - 115141 or small cheap paint brush with natural bristles
- Pickle - 5010233 - OR sodium bisulfate for pools from hardware store
- Pickle pot - 501021 - OR small crock pot; OR glass jar & plastic lid on a mug warmer
- Solder Easy, medium, and hard, minimum 3" each
- Solder pick, Solder pick (made from 6"-10" of a wire coat hanger with a point on one end)
- Solderite pad 6" x 6" - 505063, 502064, or other fireproof soldering surface (a fire brick or scrap of cement board, i.e. HardieBacker(r) tile board)
- Torch lighter - 114.205 (Otto Frei)
- Bernzomatic Propane Torch - includes built-in lighter (Home Depot)
- Blazer Butane Torch (Amazon)
- Orca EZ Torch - 114.250, for disposable propane tanks (Otto Frei)
- Smith Little Torch - Contact us for our recommendations
- Soft charcoal block
Basic Tools
- 6" half round file
- Beeswax or bur life
- Bench block
- Bench pin
- Bench pin & anvil - 110014
- Bench vise
- Brass sliding gauge - 116075
- Burnishing tool
- Center punch - 118117
- Chain-nose pliers - 111911
- Chasing hammer - 112225
- Cross-lock tweezers - 115051
- Dividers - 116224
- Drill - pendant drill, flex-shaft, hand drill
- Emery board or sapphire nail file (Amazon)
- Flat hand file #2 cut - 114925 (get a handle as well)
- Flat-nose pliers - 111912
- Flat/half round forming pliers - 111180
- Flush wire cutters
- Forming pliers
- Half round hand file #2 - 114931
- Jewelers saw blades 4/0 or 2/0
- Jewelers saw frame -110039
- Joyce Chen shears (Amazon)
- Large craft needles or tapestry needle
- Little paint brush for flux (without metal)
- Loupe (magnifying eyepiece) - 113780
- Magnifiers/Optivisor
- Metal ruler - 116493
- Needle file set
- Nylon mallet - 112013
- Small ball pein hammer - 119333
- Pair chain-nose pliers – 111911
- Pair flat-nose pliers – 111912
- Paste solder
- Patina - Liver of Sulfur gel - 331033
- Pin vise - 113146 & sewing needle (creates a scribe)
- Polishing cloth - 337039
- Ring clamp - 113106 or Ring clamp - 113969
- Ring mandrel - 112575
- Riveting hammer - 112087 (optional, if you have a chasing hammer)
- Round-nose pliers - 111913
- Safety glasses
- Sanding sticks (DIY - popsicle sticks &+ masking tape)
- Sandpaper (800, 600, 400, 220 grits)
- Scribe
- Set 6 needle files (cut #2) - 114797
- Set of small drill bits
- Side cutters - 111931
- Small ball-peen hammer
- Small rawhide mallet
- Small tweezers
- Tweezers (for solder placement) - 115018