Introduction
Where to buy the tools, supplies and equipment needed for a studio can be a bit daunting. Many metal smiths I have met fall into the trap of “I will just buy it from Rio Grande.”
Shopping from the Rio Grande Catalog is extremely convenient and easy to use. At the same Rio Grande often does not have the best deals, especially once you include the cost of shipping. Then it can also be said hunting for a good deal takes a fair amount of time. Every hour spent pouring over websites or visiting local shops is an hour that could be used making new material.
Below is a brief overview of venues where you can obtain the necessary materials to run your studio. The summaries include some of the pros and cons of the different shopping methods catalogs, online, art stores and hardware stores.
Catalogs
Rio Grande Catalog
Catalogs for most of the recent history of jewelers has been the main source of tools. Yes in major cities there are art shops that will sell mandrels and flex shafts but in most locations your lucky to find a place that sells sheet and saw blades.
The main catalog for all kind of jewelers is Rio Grande, called Rio for short. Rio has a website but it is not user friendly and your required to get a membership to purchase items from Rio it is easy just easier to use the phon. This is how REI used to be in the 1970s and 1980s.
The big perk of Rio is that they have everything you will ever need for your studio. If you need to order jump rings, a tumbler, hammers and books you can order it from Rio easily with one phone call. Then Rio will pack it up and ship it to you that day.
What makes this even easier is that the sales representatives are friendly. And the sales representatives are metal workers themselves so they can answer lots of questions. An added since of security also comes with buying from Rio because they have been around sine 1944.
There are some drawbacks with Rio. First there are never any worthwhile sales. When Rio put merchandise on sale they tend to be items that no one would ever want to use or they are highly specialized. I have never seen a rawhide mallet for sale or other basic tools.
The second drawback is that shipping cost can get very high with Rio. Once you add together the weight of all the items you ordered it gets expensive fast, especially if your order cast iron mandrels. A nice feature is if you want something that is back ordered Rio will cover the cost of shipping those items
Online
When I speak of online shopping for jewelry tools and equipment I mainly mean shopping over Ebay, Amazon or something like Etsy. The draw of this version of shopping is you can save money. I have saved over a $100 on certain items by purchasing them off of Ebay or Amazon. Also if you buy off of Etsy it can help improve your shops rating score.
At the same time this took a lot of time to find these deals. When I was unemployed it was a good use of my time to hunt down good deals. Now that I am a full time student and working around 15 hours a week spending hours hunting down deals doesn’t make sense.
Also be careful about good deals online. Many vendors sell refabricated equipment, which can have a lot of problems. Some vendors might take a long time to ship. With venues like Amazon most people selling jewelry tools are not included in the over $50 free shipping deal. Therefore shipping costs can be high.
Art Stores
Many modern shoppers forget there are still local art stores. The first plus of local art stores is you get to see and hold the product before you use it. Second, because it is a brick and motor store it easy to return. Third, usually the people at art stores are pretty well informed and they can help answer questions easier then emails with an online vendor.
Fourth, art stores have great sales! At Pygmalion’s Art Supplies in Bloomington Indiana they had a sale last January where they gave 25% off on everything including sterling silver sheet. This was an amazing deal and I bought lots of sheet silver.
There are many downsides for art stores. Art stores usually don’t have most of the tools you need. If an art store run out of something they don’t replace it quickly. For things like silver sheet or silver wire art stores usually won’t have a large selection of different gauges and quantity either.
Hardware Stores
Kleindorfer's Front Door
Artists have a habit of forgetting how useful hardware stores are. Example I always buy my gas tanks from hardware stores. The gas tanks are much cheaper from a hardware store then Rio and easier to get. Now many hardware stores might not have exactly what an artist will want. At the same time if you can find something similar enough and make it work this is a good way to save money.
Things like drill bits, files, sandpaper and clamps are items that can be found in hardware stores for cheap. I saved over $40 by purchasing firebrick from Kliendorfer’s Hardware & Variety Store, in Bloomington Indiana, instead of from Amazon. Like art stores hardware stores save on shipping costs. You also can hold the item before you buy it. Then if you need to return what you bought it is very easy to do.
The downsides are that hardware stores might not have exactly what you want. They are hardware stores and are meant for people doing home repair or construction. Although hardware stores in general are much cheaper then online shopping, art stores or catalogs. It is always useful to check with hardware stores if it is an option.
Conclusions
I am big believer that there is no one solution from where you should buy. An example is that I bought my work apron on Etsy in order to participate in the Etsy community and save money. It might have been cheaper to buy one off of Ebay but the added feedback score to my Etsy shop also has a value.
In general for larger purchases, like a torch, I will check with Ebay or Amazon. If I can save over $50 it is worth purchasing from an online vendor. For cheaper items, and if I have to do a big order of cheaper items, Rio is the best bet. If I need something on short notice, like 3 inches of 12 gauge wire to complete a piece, then I will hit up the local art store. For things that might have a costly shipping bill or can double as a general tool I will contact a locale hardware store.
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