Steel Jewelry Design for Laser Cutting

There is a $20 kit fee for this course which covers a digitally transcribed file of student's drawings, that will be used for laser cutting. This process will be reviewed in class, but a special software is needed, therefore the instructor will complete the process for students using their designs. Finished files will be emailed to students to upload onto the laser cutters website for cutting.

The following supplies will be used for course demonstrations and objectives. A suggested item and/or vendor has been provided below for reference. Click the vendor name (in red) to be redirected to a page where you can find the item. The quantities needed for each item are listed first. If ordering, please be aware that some items may come in larger quantities than needed for this class. We recommend not opening an item's packaging until the day of the workshop. Student participation during or in-between class sessions is strongly encouraged but not required - observers are welcome.

Metal/raw materials (can order directly from Maia if needed):

• steel wire and sheet

• ear posts and nuts - for earring making

• tubing and pin wire - if you want to make brooch pins

Torch setup:

• 1 x fireproof area - steel sheet, tiles, etc. (Amazon or Home Depot)

• 1 x Solderite™ pad or fire brick(s) (Rio Grande)

• 1 x torch - presto, Silversmith, etc. (Rio Grande)

• 1 x #0 or #1 torch tip - if getting Silversmith (Rio Grande)

• 1 x soldering tweezers (Rio Grande)

• 1 x soldering pick (Rio Grande)

• 1 x cross lock tweezers (Rio Grande)

• 1 x paste flux (Rio Grande)

• 1 x silver solder - hard (Rio Grande)

• 1 x copper tongs - for pickle (Rio Grande)

• 1 x pickle - for non-ferrous metals (Rio Grande)

• 1 x crock pot or tempered glass container - for pickle (Amazon)

• 1 x tempered glass container or sink - for quenching and rinsing

• 1 x small brush - for flux

• fan and open window - for ventilation

Hand tools:

• 1 x round nose pliers (Rio Grande)

• 1 x chain nose pliers (Rio Grande) 

• 1 x flat nose pliers (Rio Grande)

• 1 x hand drill (Rio Grande)

• 1 x rotary tool - flex shaft, micro motor, etc. (Rio Grande)

• 1 x jewelers saw (Rio Grande)

• 1 x pack saw blades - 2/0 (Rio Grande)

• 1 x calipers (Amazon)

• 1 x dividers (Rio Grande)

• 1 x 8" mill bastard file (Home Depot)

• 1 x set of needle files - #2 cut (Rio Grande)

• 1 x center punch (Rio Grande) 

• 1 x scribe (Rio Grande)

• 1 x heavy duty wire cutters (Home Depot)

• 1 x transfer punch set (Harbor Freight) 

• 1 x bench pin (Rio Grande)

• 1 x 6" steel ruler

• hammers - to texture steel

• high speed drill bits - size #67, #60, #55 recommended 

• vise - a bigger and bolted down one works best

Other/Miscellaneous items: 

• paper/notebook

• pens/pencils/markers

• glass jar

• olive oil

• rags

• safety glasses

• Sharpie marker

• rubber cement

• circle center finder

• templates - any type/shape you prefer