The beginning stages of any jewellery are always the easiest to tell. New jewellery fresh off the saw, doesn’t have a lot going for it. The surface will be full of tool marks and the edges will be quite sharp to the touch. This is what filing and finishing does for your jewellery, it allows you to change a rather rough shape into something with clean intent. This is where I personally learned the most about patience in jewellery.
Not only do you remove metal with a file, you train your hands to file in a specific manner. One way to help you learn this motion is by filing a small square of either brass or copper. I suggest clamping the square and holding the file with two hands. Push the file with a smooth motion, while keeping the file flat. Do a few strokes, take a look at the metal, and repeat the process. You aren’t looking to remove a lot of metal, you just want the surface to be flat.
As you hold to a steady stroke, the strokes will eventually begin to move in the same direction. When you can control the amount of pressure, you have a cleaner result. Most often, this is the step where beginners get most frustrated. They will scrub back and forth with the file until they remove a lot of metal. This is only going to dull your file and scratch your piece. I suggest you lift the file as you bring it back, and only apply pressure as you go forward. If you find you have a lot of deep scratches, I would suggest not going to sandpaper right away.
Take the file, and try to gently file the piece until the surface is a little more even. Then you can continue to sandpaper, but move gradually to finer grits. The best way to practice is to take a few small shapes (say, a few circles or rectangles) from scrap sheet, and use them for your daily practice. File the edges for a few minutes (about 15) a day. Take a single edge, and try to straighten it. Flip the piece around frequently and compare the edge to the other side to make sure that they are even.
This daily motion will help train your hands to recognize the pressure and angle of the file, and the rhythm you’re using to stroke. Eventually, after a few days, you will start to see improvement in how you hold the file. The file will no longer feel like you have to push it across the metal. There is a lot to be said about finishing. It can make or break a piece of jewellery. Once you can properly file, sanding will become much easier, and polishing will require less time. What once seemed like tedious motion, you will soon realize is something that is quite necessary.
Each stroke of the file is a controlled motion that gives the metal a new form. Over time, you will start to notice the forms become cleaner and the surfaces smoother, due to the time you took to file and finish your jewellery.