The Jeweler's Saw - Tools Tuesday

My humble little Jeweler's saw is the most used of all my tools. Most of the jewelry I make starts out as a sheet of metal. I transform it into jewelry forms with the Jeweler's saw.

First, I either measure out a design or print it and glue to the sheet.

Sometimes, I then need to drill starting holes, so I can thread the saw blade through and cut out an inner space.

You can see in this example of a copper cuff with a Celtic knot design, most of the work is the sawing.

It takes time and patience to do this. There are a lot of jeweler tools and techniques that attempt to minimize the amount of sawing. I don't use most of them.

Sawing is my favorite part of the day. It forces me to slow down a bit and think about what I'm creating. This is when I send good thoughts to who ever will wear the piece. Time seems to stand still. I watch the grains of metal flow up as the blade moves down. I am aware that jewelers before me, for thousands of years, have used a similar tool in the same way. I feel a wonderful connection. There is a peace and satisfaction that comes in the process of creating. For me, I most often experience peace while using my humble Jeweler's saw.

I hope some of that peace flows to you, when you wear a piece I've created.

I'll tell you more about the cuff in these pictures in my next blog post.