Frequently Asked Questions

You should start with this kit here: JOOLTOOL "Francesca Watson" MetalSmithing Kit.

It's a good start for common jewelry applications such as grinding sprues, scratch-removal, texturing and some polishing of metals like silver, brass, copper, aluminum, etc.

HARD STONES
If you work on Hard Stones, like emerald, sapphire, agate, amethyst, and other stones in the Corundum family (above 7.5 on the Mohs scale), you need the DELUXE LAPIDARY & GLASS KIT because it contains the complete assortment of Diamond Abrasives to ensure you can grind, shape and polish using Premium Polishing Diamond Abrasives all the way to a showcase shine (approximately 100,000 grit finish). As its name implies, you can also grind, shape and polish glass with this kit.  

SOFT STONES
These are usually of a Mohs Hardness Scale rating below 7.5; similar or lower in hardness than turquoise, rhodochrosite, opal, apatite, fluorite, etc.
The Kit you need for working on these is the SOFT STONE LAPIDARY & GLASS KIT. You can also work on glass with this kit. The reason it's only meant for Soft Stones is because your polish is achieved with the FELT DISC and Compound; this kit does not contain the Polishing Diamond Abrasives necessary to get a great shine on Hard Stones.

If you purchase only the SOFT-STONE Kit and eventually would like to work on HARD STONES. Then you can later purchase the LAPIDARY UPGRADE KIT to complete your set of abrasives and enable it to polish stones up to 9.5 on the Mohs scale.

Keep in mind that there exist far too many stones to list here and you can likely come across some stones with varying degrees of hardness within the same stone piece.

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1. READ THE USER GUIDE
Start by consulting your JOOLTOOL User Guide; the one that came with your machine. We put a lot of effort into making it as comprehensive and informative as possible. It features step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and based on the contents of a specific kit. For Example, the page on Polishing Stones will show you all the Diamond Abrasives you need to follow to shape and polish your stone. Same for Metals, Polymer Clay, etc. + it looks like a cool magazine!

Lost your User Guide? No problem, download a free PDF copy here: JOOLTOOL USER GUIDE (2022) 

2. WATCH ANIE'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS and past LIVE SHOWS
There is a plethora of Instructional Videos on our JOOLTOOLUSA Youtube Channel.

You can search for a specific term in the Channel's search box and find the specific project you want. Ex: type "SILVER" and all videos related to working on silver will be displayed.

Some of the longer LIVE shows can be accelerated up to 2x normal speed using Youtube's playback speed function; this is useful for getting to the most informative parts of the video.

3. JOIN THE JOOLTOOL COMMUNITY FACEBOOK GROUP
Anie truly values her customers and has built great relationships with them. We created the JOOLTOOL COMMUNITY Facebook Group so that experienced JOOLTOOLers can help newcomers. You can also share the amazing work you do and get all the praise you deserve! It's friendly and fun!