How to Make a Needle Burnisher

In this article

How to Make a Needle Burnisher

In this article

If you want to get started with flush setting, you're definitely going to want to make one of these. Needle burnishers are by far the best burnisher for flush setting!

For a needle burnisher to do its job correctly, the shape very important. It should be a rounded bullet shape. It shouldn't be a round blob, nor an aggressive stabbing implement, but a graceful balance between the two. Unfortunately you can't buy these ready made. But, fortunately they're exceptionally easy to make yourself in a few easy steps following along with the video above.

Needle Burnisher Size

You'll want to have needle burnishers in different sizes for different sized stones. The smaller the stone, the smaller the tip of your burnisher will be.

It will take a little trial and error to find that perfect size, but using the right sized burnisher will mean a lot less slippage when setting - so it is absolutely worth taking the time to make several and experiment with them all.

Tools for stone setting

You'll also want to make these from both tool steel for harder stones, and stainless steel for softer stones. You can of course use the stainless steel version on hard stones too, I just find I get a better finish, and work faster with my harder, tool steel needle burnisher. An excellent option for tool steel is to use broken burs. For stainless steel, you can use a crochet needle or large sewing needle...... basically go steal stuff from your nan, you'll usually find you can cut through these quite easily with a jewelers saw

Create the perfect shape for your burnisher

You'll want to do this with 100 grit sandpaper. Using a sandpaper stick is perfect for this (we show you how to make these here).

You'll want to pop your old broken bur (or crochet needle) into the flex shaft for this, and simply set the flex shaft running at a medium speed as you run it against your 100 grit sandpaper. As well as moving your flex shaft back and forth along the sandpaper stick, you'll also want to lift it up and down to get that perfect bullet shaped tip to your needle burnisher - the correct shape is imperative!

The perfect needle burnisher 01

Bring your burnisher up to a bright polished finish

This is the simple part. All we need to do repeat the process used to shape the needle burnisher with finer and finer sandpaper. I'll generally use 240 grit, followed by 600, 800 and 1200 grit. For a final polish, which we really want if we want a bright shiny finish to our setting, just charge a little leather with polishing compound, and then repeat as if it were just another sandpaper stick.

Add a handle and jobs a good one

I love to use a tool handle with a chuck for my burnishing tools as it's super easy to take the burnisher out again and give it a quick polish from time to time.

And that really is all there is to it! If you have any questions at all, just pop them in the comments below.

Lucy x

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About The Author

Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker is the Founder of Lucy Walker Jewelry & the Metalsmith Academy, she’s a self-proclaimed crossfit box champ, dog mum, and wearer of a bunch of other hats. With over 17 years in the jewelry industry and 7 years empowering jewelry makers globally, Lucy has created world-class online training designed to take you from absolute beginner to jewelry-making pro! Whether you’re looking to build a business, or create beautiful pieces to wear and share with loved ones, Lucy has created the best community to help you do it.

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