ww

w.a You f
r t je o u n
we d t h
lr y m i s c
ag . har t
co m a t
/re
f er
e nce

Metal piercing
chart gauge, saw blade, and drill bit size

B&S metal Ideal Blade Drill bit #

gauge size
Saw blades
26 (0.4 mm) 8/0 80 come in sizes
Smallest

ranging from 8/0

24–26 (0.5–0.4 mm) 7/0 80 (smallest) to 8
(largest). The
24–26 (0.5–0.4 mm) 6/0 79 blade should be
inserted into the
22–24 (0.6–0.5 mm) 5/0 78 saw frame with
the teeth pointing
22–24 (0.6–0.5 mm) 4/0 77 downward and
away from the
22 (0.6 mm) 3/0 76 frame.

20–22 (0.8–0.6 mm) 2/0 75

20–22 (0.8–0.6 mm) 1/0 73

18–20 (1.0–0.8 mm) 1 71

18–20 (1.0–0.8 mm) 2 70

16–18 (1.3–1.0 mm) 3 68

16–18 (1.3–1.0 mm) 4 67

14–16 (1.6–1.3 mm) 5 65

The best saw
12–16 (2.1–1.3 mm) 6 58 blade for a given
Drill bit size gauge will have
Largest

12–14 (2.1–1.6 mm) 7 57 at least three

teeth touching
12 (2.1 mm) 8 55 the metal at all
times.
B&S gauge
Use this chart to find the ideal saw blade and
drill bit to use for piercing a given thickness
of metal. First determine the metal’s thickness,
or B&S gauge. (B&S stands for Brown and
Sharpe, a company that established standard
gauge sizes.) Keep in mind that a thicker piece
of metal (lower gauge number) requires a
larger saw blade. The corresponding drill bit
number will create the smallest hole that that
saw blade can be threaded through. See the
“Drill Bit Sizes” chart at www.artjewelrymag.
com/reference for more information.

© 2009 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.
 Make it
No matter what kind of jewelry you’d like
to make — or what technique you’d like to
master — you’ll get all the inspiration and advice
you need from leading jewelry artisans in every
issue of Art Jewelry magazine.

Plus, subscribers gain exclusive online access!

Post photos of your work in the Subscriber
Gallery, read reviews of products tested by the
editors, and download free projects.

Art Jewelry covers:

■ Metals ■ Chain mail
■ Metal clay ■ Polymer clay
■ Stones and gems ■ Enamel
■ Wire ■ And more!

Subscribe today to
learn new techniques!
Order online at
www.ArtJewelryMag.com/promo
Enter promotional code: IK87Z
Or call 1-800-533-6644
Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. –5:00 p.m. Central Time.
Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 262-796-8776, ext. 661.
CIR-ADH-08X1876RH