micellular
has rocks in the head
Rock fever is curable with more rocks.
Member since September 2015
Posts: 640
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Post by micellular on Mar 2, 2017 16:09:46 GMT -5
I cut a nice little pink garnet in a square cushion and tried to set the corners in a 4-prong pre-notched cast sterling setting. I used a square and tapered needle file to define the seats (don't have a dremel or foredom), and had to hand-hold the shank (don't have a clamp...yet).
However, no matter how I held it, once I started tightening the prongs, the points of the stone would slip off the prong seat. After two hours and major hand-cramps, I just gave up and set it on the sides, which gives the impression of a diamond shape instead of a square.
How do you keep the stone in the seats and level while tightening the prongs? I was contemplating glueing or epoxying the stone in place, tightening the prongs, then soaking in acetone or attack.
And yeah, the answer is probably "get real tools". I'll do so eventually, but it's not in the cards for the next few months.
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fireforged
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 215
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Post by fireforged on Mar 2, 2017 18:07:01 GMT -5
I don't have the answer but think we could all use a couple of pictures to help us define the problem. (Really I just want to see more of your work)
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Post by Pat on Mar 2, 2017 18:28:25 GMT -5
Go around the prongs twice. Go north south east west. Gently. Repeat. Gently. Check for tightness and uniformity.
Does your stone have four sides or does it have eight sides? Frequently the corners are cut off, resulting in the four additional ssided.
Do you have parallel prong setting pliers?
Pictures good!
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micellular
has rocks in the head
Rock fever is curable with more rocks.
Member since September 2015
Posts: 640
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Post by micellular on Mar 2, 2017 19:52:06 GMT -5
Go around the prongs twice. Go north south east west. Gently. Repeat. Gently. Check for tightness and uniformity. Does your stone have four sides or does it have eight sides? Frequently the corners are cut off, resulting in the four additional ssided. Do you have parallel prong setting pliers? Pictures good! Hi Pat, I have been closing prongs that way, a little bit at a time. It worked fine on round stones, but when I try to tighten the prong around a corner, the stone tends to slip. I don't have parallel pliers; I was just using chain nose. Pic - after I gave up and oriented it with the prong on a side. Even still, since it's a cushion cut with curved sides, the stone rotated so it's a few degrees off-axis. This is how I wanted it oriented.
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Post by Pat on Mar 2, 2017 20:03:04 GMT -5
Nice!
Did you go north south east west? That helps.
Stone setting Parallel pliers a must. Will find a photo.
I think I just put a finger on top, but will have to go set one to see if I can offer more help.
One more thing--- don't hold the shank. Hold the stone setting mainly.
You are welcome to come use my tools.
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Post by Pat on Mar 2, 2017 20:05:56 GMT -5
Rio grande catalog 111280.
Called gem set pliers. You need this boxy style.
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Post by toiv0 on Mar 2, 2017 20:33:10 GMT -5
Is this a store bought setting that is sterling? Is it gold? Did you aneal it first, it might be work hard. Here is a great video on a square, I am not sure about cushion. You will will notice he cuts a small hole in the corner to accomadate the sharp corner to it doesn't cleave the stone when the prongs are set. He takes a small plier and does opposite corners at once. Hope this helps.
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micellular
has rocks in the head
Rock fever is curable with more rocks.
Member since September 2015
Posts: 640
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Post by micellular on Mar 2, 2017 21:14:50 GMT -5
Yes, this is store bought sterling. I didn't anneal it, but the prongs were fairly pliable at first.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,732
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 2, 2017 21:50:58 GMT -5
micellular , first make a "Stone Magnet." Just knead a little beeswax until it's pliable and form it into a cone shape. The narrow end will grab onto the table of a stone pretty securely and allows you to hold it inside the prongs while making prong adjustments with pliers. Get a small bench vise, cheap at Harbor Freight, with a folded piece of leather in the jaws to hold the ring securely while making adjustments. The leather prevents marring of the ring shank. You'll then have both hands free to adjust the stone and prongs. As someone has suggested, pliers like these from Otto Frei are really helpful: www.ottofrei.com/Store/Stone-Setting-Pliers/Wes-Gem-Brand-Gem-Set-Pliers.html You can pre-set the distance he jaws travel so you have lots of fine control and don't break stones.
You can move your pre-notched prongs slowly (with a little dexterous manipulation) until the stone is held in the position you want. Then remove it from the vise and apply both horizontal pressure (to firmly "grab" the stone in the prongs) and then vertical pressure (to push the prongs down over the girdle). No prong drilling is necessary unless you're setting a stone with sharp corners like a Princess, a pear shape or similar.
Sometimes when a stone is really "slippery" I use a little dab of beeswax in each prong notch to temporarily stabilize the stone while I push the prongs. It steams or boils off easily, leaving no traces.
With practice you won't need the bench vise. You'll learn how to hold the stone in a hand-held ring clamp pushed against your bench block for stability. Practice, practice...
Hope this helps.
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Post by Pat on Mar 2, 2017 22:31:24 GMT -5
If you are fresh out of beeswax, you can use a well-worn piece of tape to pick up the stone by the table and tenderly place it in the setting. If all you have is fresh tape, dab it on some fabric a few times, so it won't be too sticky. You want to be able to remove the tape from the table facet.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,732
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 2, 2017 22:47:21 GMT -5
Beeswax isn't hard to find. Most stores that sell sewing supplies have it as well as most jeweler's supply houses.
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icatz
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2015
Posts: 453
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Post by icatz on Mar 3, 2017 8:26:44 GMT -5
Going out on a limb here, but I find when that happens to me, the setting is slightly too small for the stone. That is why it works when done at an angle (which happens to look on purpose and really beautiful!).
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TRG
starting to shine!
Member since October 2016
Posts: 31
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Post by TRG on Mar 3, 2017 8:56:14 GMT -5
You probably need to remove a small amount of metal inside the prongs and seating so that the square corners are within a square slot. If they are rounded on the inside it will make the stone slide around it. Carving out the seat or the inside prongs with a Foredom/Dremel would probably be easiest unless you have a hand engraver to carve out the same slot so that the square corners fit a square slot. Everything else with the north south east west as mentioned by others is correct after you get the seat and prongs cut.
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