Reddit mentions: The best jewelry & beadwork crafts books

You can find books and videos on working with wire to make fancy links or simple jump rings to make a variety of different kinds of chains. There are also books on wire wrapping to make settings for stones and bands for rings, etc.

I don't have my jewelry books handy at the moment, but I recall this one being a good book for beginners - and you can get a used copy on Amazon right now for around three bucks plus shipping. This book is a really good one on chain making. It's apparently out of print but still available new through Amazon affiliates for less than half its original price. I don't own this book, but it looks like it has a few different interesting techniques for wire working.

I'd HIGHLY recommend practicing with plated or filled/layered wires to begin, because of the expense. I picked up a roll of bare aluminum wire at Home Depot really cheaply a few years ago, to try new techniques. If I remember correctly it was used for electrical fences, which is why it was uninsulated. I've also used heavy copper wire to make stuff, after stripping off the insulation.

When you buy wire, the smaller the gauge number the fatter the wire. Really thin wire is often too flimsy for jewelry - unless you're doing something special, and really heavy wire is usually too clunky - though if it's fat enough you can file and hammer it to get some interesting textures.

Ultimately it would be really good to learn to solder with a torch, to close up all of the links in your chains and join pieces together, etc., but leaving links unsoldered when you're first starting out is usually OK, as long as they don't snag on stuff.

Good luck.

If there is a horology school anywhere near you, that's your best bet to actually making something that can keep time. I know a guy who attended horology school, and his entire career is watch repair.

It is very unlikely that you're going to go machining your own gears, so horology is all about the fine tuning of those pieces. This may sound disappointing, but just getting the balance wheel and spring tuned right, everything properly lubricated, the innards cleaner than clean, making sure the escape's jewel has just the right amount of wobble, all of that can take a lifetime to master, so you'll have plenty to learn. The slightest kink in the balance spring is the difference between a useful timepiece, and a rather pretty pile of gears that tells you it's 4 when it's really 6.

There's a reason you've never seen the phrase "hobby watchmaker" before. It's a specialized, endangered, dedicated craft with tons of specialized equipment.

Edit: evidently there's some kind of online school for this, though it looks kind of dubious http://www.timezonewatchschool.com/WatchSchool/

This article includes a short list of watchmaking schools http://watchmakingblog.com/2009/02/13/so-you-want-to-be-a-watchmaker/

Finally, there is this book: http://www.amazon.com/Beginner-Watchmaking-Build-First-Watch/dp/1456451650
Honestly, I'd be pretty surprised if this book alone led you to creating a function accurate timepiece, but it sounds like it could be fun

Edit: I'm also realizing that I completely assumed you mean a watch with a mechanical movement. If you just want to make your own watch using an existing quartz movement, that would be considerably easier.

Hello and welcome! Thank you so much for doing an intro - this sub is slowly but surely growing! :) You sound like you have a fun job!

I wish I had soldering skills - I remember being blown away at a craft vendor who had mad soldering and welding skills. She had these amazing rings and necklaces that had a steampunk theme with moveable gears taken out of watches. The detail was amazing.

I currently just ordered this book and wait for it to be delivered. Is there any other reading material you'd recommend? This is such a hands-on craft, it's tough to figure out what to look up and work on!

TIG welding is... kinda like riding a unicycle on a basketball. Steepest learning curve of the lot and frustrating/fatiguing due to lots of stopping and fieldstripping the gun to re-grind the tip of your tungsten. Unless you are going to be doing bike frame or aircraft welding or plan on doing really thin wall work or titanium and what not (and are buying a spensive machine) you'd probably be better served with MIG.

There are flux-core wires that don't use gas, though shielding gas makes less noxious fumes but nothing worse than comes off stick. I was self taught and even picked up a few semesters at a community college but honestly though until I took one good (highly structured, blend of academic and hand on with really experienced instructor) welding class I never realized how much I didn't know :p

There's an awful lot you can pick up from Youtube videos once you find people with good practices. One thing I can highly recommend is this book. It's well organized by category, has great visual aids, condensed reference charts and covers the entire gamut of basic welding. How to Weld



https://www.amazon.com/Weld-Motorbooks-Workshop-Todd-Bridigum/dp/076033174X

The Vargas 'Faceting for Amateurs' is kind of dated now. A much better and up-to-date book is Amateur Gemstone Faceting It not only tells how to faccet, but there is a lot of info on what to look for in a machine, what tolls are needed, etc.

The Vargas 'Diagrams for Faceting', however are very good. I recently found all three for about $60, but they are very hard to find for a fair price.

An excellent source for modern designs is The United States Faceters Guild site.

The Gemology Project Has photos of the finished gems as well as diagrams.

More designs - Click on 'details' not 'Quick link'

Harold over at yobokies has got near everything for 5 mods. Another user mentioned him already but didn't really link to his site or mention that he sells parts for your own mods in addition to custom watches.

Before my first tinkering I picked up this book from amazon and found it to be really helpful in getting the language down, amassing a tool kit, and listing parts suppliers. It was somewhat limited though and really gives you a pretty chop-shop approach to several things so I stopped referencing it shortly after that... Was easy to find guides online after understanding the basic steps/jargon though.

Chicken or beef tacos with black bean mango salsa, fresh tomatoes, and baby spinach. For dessert croissant rolls with 3caramel dove candies stuffed in each then drizzled with chocolate after baking. For your beverage I say have your favorite soda. I can send recipes for everything, lol.

I would love this book. Thank you for the contest.

1. I have bought good rough on Ebay, but I've also been shafted. I do not recommend Ebay. There are a few good shops online, like TMSgems.com that sell quality rough. I usually pick up my rough at gem/rock shows. I bring along a gem light and a hand loupe to check the rough. You can also buy some Refractol, it's a liquid that has a high RI that will make the stone translucent and you can see any internal inclusions.
   
2. There isn't really a kit, per say. But I would recommend taking a faceting class at a local rock/gem club.
   
3. Quartz , it can be a pain in the ass as it has a tendency to scratch, but it's dirt cheap and comes in some nice colors.
   
4. I would recommend buying this book: https://www.amazon.com/Amateur-Gemstone-Faceting-1-Essentials/dp/3000474749

Not to add to the pointless debate that's ensued, "rosary" is a word associated with a specific religion. The term "prayer beads" is more commonly used in regards to all and non-Christian religions. It's an umbrella term, the rosary is one type of prayer beads. Just like the mala (used in Hindu & Buddhist practices) is another type. There is no universal format, each style of prayer beads differs from one religion/culture to the next. Personally, I think it is better not to use the term "rosary" as it is most closely associated with Catholicism/Christianity and Neopaganism already has enough borrowed baggage due to Christianity's general influence on society. "Prayer beads" conveys what the object is and without confusion or debate.

If you're not adhering to a tradition, then the number and layout of prayer beads would be whatever is significant to you. A couple of books that could help you get some ideas are "Mindful Beads" by Alice Peck and "Pagan Prayer Beads" by John Michael Greer & Clare Vaughn. A search on any bookseller site, Amazon or otherwise, will likely produce several other titles.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

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If you ever do want to do boxes then I highly recommend the book Little Bead Boxes by Julia S. Pretl. It's an awesome book!

I bought this book back in highschool when I was really into making hemp necklaces. It has a lot of cool knots that I haven't ever seen anywhere else. If I remember right, the directions were pretty easy to follow too.

Professional Jewelry Making is the best book on jewelry-making that I've come across, and I pretty much have them all. Just reading through the projects will teach you much about what to do (and why you're doing it). I make all my private students buy it and do some of the projects. Can't recommend it enough.

When I was in college, I got in trouble a bunch of times for candle and incense in my room (then lead this whole calvary because the school was non-denominational and had candles at the Catholic mass every Sunday, but I digress). I went to a Wiccan event in the area, and a woman made me an awesome set of prayer beads. The whole thing was like an esbat in about 18 inches of cord. I have a book on Pagan Prayer Beads (by John Michael Greer and Clare Vaughn). If you want to PM me, Ill send it to you, seeing as I have never opened it until just now, or you can buy it on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Prayer-Beads-Meditation-Rosaries/dp/1578633842/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373851595&sr=1-1&keywords=pagan+prayer+beads

This is from a fantastic book actually, I cannot recommend it enough. It goes through every step of cutting as well as info on machines and tools and then more in depth chapters into getting good polishes and other technical issues.
https://www.amazon.com/Amateur-Gemstone-Faceting-1-Essentials/dp/3000474749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466220696&sr=8-1&keywords=tom+herbst

Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains is the best (if not only) book for loop-in-loop chains. You might find a tutorial online, but this book provides many variations and charts of ring diameter-to-wire gauge ratios so you don't have to experiment much to get nice tight weaves.

I found this book a great intro to welding. It's a good read and gave me the basics to where I had a foundational understanding of the different types of welding and felt confident buying a decent mig welder and doing some projects.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076033174X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=076033174X&linkCode=as2&tag=sg09-20

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/3000474749/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_kqhozbCPS3E9J

That book was how I started finding out about faceting: Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1: The Essentials Paperback – Nov 23 2014
by Tom Herbst (Author)

Then I bought this machine eventually: http://facetron.com/

And I bought some laps and other supplies from here: https://www.kingsleynorth.com/

I live near an amethyst mine so i get some amethyst to practice on when i get time.

Good luck

These two books are pretty much the most complete and up-to-date books on faceting, highly recommended by myself and everyone I've seen here:

Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1: The Essentials
by Tom Herbst

Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 2: Expanding Your Horizons
by Tom Herbst

I just bought a guide to beginner watch making, I want to make my own pickles and hot sauce, I get happy every time I look at my potted mangroves, I have more than one bonsai, I yell at the kids in my apartment building for blasting their bass, I am interested in making my own terrarium, I am going to King Richard's Fair, I am going to the Highland Games, I'm moving in with my girlfriend (no pic for you!), my knees ache everyday, and the majority of my paycheck goes towards buying books.

Edit: I exclusively listen to talk radio in the car.

I am 24 going on 65.

Edit 2: Hemorrhoids. They happened cause I had surgery and didn't shit for a week I think... but come on!

omg dice...I love them because I'm an old school D&D geek and they make me happy...and sometimes kill me.

I love Kevin!

Crafting books make me happy

I got this for my birthday and I've made a few pieces in it already, she shows the steampunk version of the jewellery and then an alternative version.

Most of the bits you can probably get at Michael's or Joanne's. It would cost you under $40 to make a few of the items like necklace, earrings and bracelet. (One bracelet only cost me $5 to make)

I read this book before I started. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076033174X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For only about $20 it's a good start. I'm in welding 101 and feel like I'm able to understand where I went wrong faster then others because I read ahead of time.

Do you mean making the movement, otherwise, these guys sell one you disassemble and re-assemble. I'm sure you could use the movement in a pocket watch.

This is the book I read to learn the basics.. The rest is just practice.

Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1: The Essentials https://www.amazon.com/dp/3000474749/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7O.RCbVCJ7KJ1

I haven't read it myself, but judging from the reviews, this may be the sort of thing you're after:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1456451650/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1483203754&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=watchmaking+book&dpPl=1&dpID=41aIcUE%2BAoL&ref=plSrch

In addition to the Tim McGreight book, get this book and make a handmade chain.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Silver-Chains-Techniques-Beautiful/dp/1579901832

By the time you are finished you will be excellent at soldering. Also, spend the extra few dollars to work with silver. No point in punishing yourself.