Hi, I’m Jaco. I am a goldsmith and I have been making jewellery for almost three decades. This channel is dedicated to sharing what I have learnt over the years and the tricks of the trade that I have picked up along the way.
Thanks Damia and Jaco - I was just taught my classes about mops on Monday. I came across this while I was looking for the Martha Glenny vid on how to make sanding sticks properly (perhaps a good tip for others here) because a puffy sanding stick is a PITA and causes so many issues. I also see students switch too early in the sanding stages then the tripoly stage provides a window into the deeper scratches and the frustration hits. Anyway this was a great video to have watched thank you! PS I also use and advocate to students a 2 step compounds but I do use 3 steps for platinum....now I am tempted to try 4. I am now wanting to try the super fluffy puffy mop!
@@rachelhearne6631 thanks for great input. It’s lovely to hear about your experience and to see you share it here. That’s how we get to help each other. Thanks for watching and being a part of it all 🙏🏻
Thanks .Sure is an essential mop to have , perfect for heads and shoulder areas of rings . Plenty of compound was the advice given by the older jewellers when I was starting out .
Thanks for the detailed rundown, its great to hear how others polish, and I continue to enjoy how you desctibe your processes. I only use cotton muslin mops (I call them polishing or buffing wheels here in the US), but have been wanting to experiment more with bristle mops - only ever use smaller 1" bristle wheels in a handpiece currently. I do 3 stages for polishing; tripoli on a stiff stiched mop, then a medium compound on a looser stitched mop, then rouge on a loose unstitched mop to finish (red or white, depending on the metal). I think they are Osborn compounds, but I can't recall for certain now. I tried a sisal wheel once with a coarser cutting compound and didn't like it at all. what grit sandpaper do you use before polishing? I tend to use 320/400/600.
@@jimmyers1428 thanks for this - sharing what your workshop uses helps the whole community. Your sanding process looks very similar to mine. Usually it’s 320 to 600 and on platinum I’d run right through to 3000. But I find 600 is a good end point for gold. I switch to bench polish from here and then the bigger mops.
this was surprisingly more in depth than i expected but still lacks the most profound part of combining the coupounds with the buffs to see how they work, personally i never use a felt mop ever aside from the inside ring one because it heats up way too fast and is only useful once a month or for very simple basic flat bands or spots that can just be sanded finely and polished on anything. generally speaking its best to use finer compounds on softer mops and rougher on harder although there are exceptions ofc.
A lot of my tools and supplies have come from Cousin's, they're a great company and my first port of call. I've only used Dialux polishing compounds, so far, with no complaints. Thanks for all the mop polishing info and for sharing your method behind the madness. Take care guys and have a great week.
What I love about your videos, is that you take the time to explain not only what you are doing, but why and how you are doing it. This is the only star setting video, that I have seen, where it is explained that the securing bead is raised with a graver with a more acute angle than the one used to form the star. Thank you.
@@davidpayne3815 thanks for that David - I try and explain things the way I would understand it - we get some comments where people complain about the talking so it’s lovely to hear you say this 🙏🏻
@@jacothejeweller Please don't stop talking. I have just made a push-pull engraving machine, and purchased a Nikon SMZ1(D) off Ebay, so I can learn setting. The complainers can always turn the sound off.😁😁😁
yes please go over the tools of engraving vs stone setting tools, learning here and would love to get started and would love your tips, your videos have been very helpful and inspiring
@@rebekareebok2278 we get both sides of the argument - I literally just had a comment which said that the explanation helps them better understand - will try and work on the balance 👌🏻
I'm an amateur and have been looking for something interesting to make that will be challenging. I will attempt this soon. Thank you. I'm already dreading the delicate soldering work. 😂
@@itonjoans354 diamonds won’t scratch unless you are using a diamond file - have a look at my latest instagram post @ ‘jacothejeweller’ - we talk more about just that
Brilliant video super clear thank you, I'm learning different types of settings but am a bit intimidated by it all, you help take some of the mystery out it for me
Great video with great information as always. I’ve done talon claws with files and preshaped them before setting. I’ve also used gravers, but lately I’ve been using files combined with fine grade hard silicone wheels from Eve to shape them.
Can I plz ask you to do a video on actually making settings themselves I feel so disappointed at the moment particularly with prong settings because I feel like I get the technical aspect & I know what to do but it never comes to fruition it always goes wrong some how and a double gallery basket setting is something that I really want to learn or just any prong setting. Something that might really help to is to have some kind of recommended wire thickness for the side of the stones, so let say you have a 8mm round stones then best to use a 1.2mm wire etc like something on your insta highlights to refer to for that would be super helpful 🙏 so glad to have you guys back thanks for the vid ❤
It’s difficult to know exactly what to suggest because there are so many variables depending on the project but a few things I take into consideration is the size of the stone (of course) and then the metal (if it’s silver, I would want to scale up the claws to account for the softness of the metal) and the customer’s lifestyle (will they be wearing this ring all the time? Are they heavy handed / how do they wear their jewellery) or, if it’s a pendant / earrings vs a ring then there will be a difference in what the setting will be exposed to in terms of wear and tear, I might make adjustments but it is important that it’s proportional. I like to go fractionally thicker with my claws - to give it that extra bit of life. I will speak with Damia about editing a video highlighting the making of the setting, or a video focussing more on these things - thank you for your suggestion and please keep going, I know how frustrating it can be but it’s all worth it in the end. 🌞
@@jacothejeweller that’s very useful thank you I know with rings lifestyle is particularly important. My focus is on settings/rings because I would love to get into bridal, engagement rings etc, out of everything I’ve tried so far this is the thing that’s giving me the most hassle, for lack of a better word 😂 don’t worry tho I’m not giving up on anything, I’m like a dog with a bone with this stuff until I get it right, I was at the bench till 10pm last night filing notches 🤭 The most frustrating thing about teaching yourself is there’s no one there to say “if you used this instead of this it’s a lot easier” or “just move it over that way and it will be prefect” I think that’s the reason I was getting so frustrated that day. I feel like I’m close tho and soon hopefully I’ll have “ah ha” moment and it’ll all work out, 🙈 keep your fingers crossed for me 🥹🙏
I have a beautifull bracelet tennis and after this vidéo, it have more and more value for me !! It"s a big work . Thank you very much, you are an Artist .❤
What’s up brother long time no see. Sorry bout that I been working, figured I’d pick up cutting opal also and Australian black opal in particularly. I’ve sourced it to the hole it came out of and would you believe it I can cut some Top Gems lol
Ok im a Make-up artists so im gonna compare something here, I’ve always been told I’m a good makeup artist because I have a good eye for symmetry and every time I’m doing something new with silver I don’t wanna use my calculator or work stuff out but every tutorial I see says you need to and I would rather use my natural eye but is this something that needs to come with time? Because I swear every time I measure something it’s still not right 😅help ❤
@@emy_themua2015 don’t that’s how I do it. An have gotten to where everything I make i do by eye. I don’t even have to use my stone when turning up a collet it just turns out right lol
@@caseadillas I would recommend to polish around stones on the bench. Once you have the stone area polished, you move over to the bigger mops. Opals are very sensitive and I’d suggest treating them with care. Think about the whole process like a fine tuning in reverse. Any small or delicate areas first and then the bigger machine for the rest 👍🏻
