Tool Talk: The 3rd Hand Tool

Happy Friday everyone!

This week I want to talk about why I have a 3rd hand tool in my studio and what I use it for.

The video above is a great illustration of what a 3rd hand tool is and how you can manipulate the tweezers to hold the piece of jewelry you are working on.

I use my 3rd hand tool for two things primarily.  When I need to solder on posts to the backs of earrings, I use my charcoal block to place the earring back on, then I place the earring post in the tweezers and place the post where I need to solder it onto the earring.  The tweezers hold the post steady while I heat up the metal and drop a ball of solder where the post and the metal meet. Easy-peasy way to make post earrings.

The second thing I use this tool for is to hold my stirrup connectors when I ball up the other end of the connector pin.  I write about how to do this in more detail in the October issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine. 

This tool has been a wonderful edition to my studio, enabling me to stretch my creative muscles with the aid of an extra hand.

What other uses have you discovered for this tool? Please share in the comments!