nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 5, 2008 16:16:09 GMT -5
Not exactly sure what the best place for this post would be, but since wraps are kinda like settings, and these are settings, this is where I ended up. Two group pictures of six tumbled stones and three cabs set in sterling & fine silver bezel settings. I'm disappointed that a few didn't come out as good as the rest, but I'm still learning. I find it difficult to get the fine silver bezel to lay well on the stones sometimes - plus on a few the bezels are too high. L to R: (top row) Jade; Pet Wood; Agate; (middle) Woodward Ranch Plume Agate (by stoner); lapis (by stoner) and chrysocolla (eBay) double setting; jade (with vulcan coloring); (bottom) two serpentines. All but the WRP and lapis/chrysocolla are tumbled stones I found on Moonstone Beach, CA. (Images updated after reworking bezels some) The one shaped like a claw is a Woodward Ranch Plume by Ed (stoner) as well as the blue lapis trillion cab (top in double setting with the larger chrysocolla). The double setting and Ed's WRP cab have hidden bails. Nancy
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Post by sitnwrap on Nov 5, 2008 18:03:12 GMT -5
Nancy, those settings are really lovely. I know the amount of time it takes to make them because my sister tried to teach me how, once. I love that double with the Chrysicola and the Lapis. It is very stunning.
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Post by docone31 on Nov 5, 2008 18:03:57 GMT -5
I know how hard it is to make simple settings like those. Every detail shows up. They look good. I use my hammer handpiece to make the bezels flush up. With that, plain silver is a snap. I also wire wheel the intersection between the plate and bezel, I then polish. That blends stuff. I like them.
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 5, 2008 18:06:18 GMT -5
Thank you Sit... I appreciate it! I was 2 days at the shop where I can do my soldering with these... the first day I didn't have the torch hot enough and a dozen other things went wrong too (you know those kinda days). There are a lot of mistakes but I'll keep at it. Nancy
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 5, 2008 18:12:06 GMT -5
I know how hard it is to make simple settings like those. Every detail shows up. They look good. I use my hammer handpiece to make the bezels flush up. With that, plain silver is a snap. I also wire wheel the intersection between the plate and bezel, I then polish. That blends stuff. I like them. Every detail sure does show up - I'll try the wire wheel as you suggested - that intersection is one of the not-so-great looking areas! PM coming your way - thank you for your suggestions! Nancy
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Post by Bejewelme on Nov 5, 2008 22:18:47 GMT -5
I would love to learn to make those settings, how beautiful, I love them, I love big chunky jewelry, very nice work, I love the double setting with the lapis. Very nice, lovely.
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thomtap
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 237
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Post by thomtap on Nov 6, 2008 9:05:30 GMT -5
How about doing a tutorial? I would love to see how you do that!
Thom
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Post by sitnwrap on Nov 6, 2008 9:53:45 GMT -5
nan, what I couldn't get was holding the tourch and constantly moving it so it kept a uniform temp while the right hand was working also. My sister was constantly moving my hand holding the torch so I wouldn't cause firescale. lol
You do great work.
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Gem'n I
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 980
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Post by Gem'n I on Nov 6, 2008 11:40:08 GMT -5
Nan, Very nice work...couple easy fixes other than the obvious one of sanding a too high bezel is to use sawdust to move the stone up higher if you have a closed back...or an inner ring of silver if there is an open back. Also where there is a point meet on the bezel, you can file it down just a bit because the stone will always be lower than the bezel on those sharp edges..Larry
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,786
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Post by adrian65 on Nov 6, 2008 13:01:46 GMT -5
That blue stones combo is a beauty. It has a hidden bail I suppose. The best idea to keep clean such a great shape.
Adrian
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 6, 2008 13:07:51 GMT -5
Everyone - thank you for your comments and info!! Larry (gemni) I worked some more on seating the bezels last night and they look a lot better - including the points / sharp edges and closing the gaps on spots that were left open. I got brave and used my bezel pusher & light taps of my hammer and the bezel finally went down against the stone - no stone fractures either. LOL Sawdust - check, thank you!! Sit - I use the torch in my right hand (I'm right handed) - I use the titanium pick in my left hand but only if the solder pallion has moved (then I move the torch away momentarily). I'm getting better at using my left hand with the pick - I guess it just takes practice. I feel much better with the torch in my right hand, though. Thanks again for your compliments - you guys make my day! Thom - I'm pretty sure someone has already posted a tutorial on silver bezels - I'll go look for it and edit this post with a link if I can find it. I'm still very much in "student mode" and really don't feel qualified to teach anything! ;-) *** EDIT *** I FOUND IT!! Here's the link to the (really really good) tutorial on making a silver bezel-set pendant. This is not the exact technique I was taught but the differences are only minor, really. Bejewelme - thank you!! I love big chunky silver stuff too!! The bead shop where I go to solder has three cases of gorgeous silver pendants, etc. and I really have to work hard not to take something home out of there each time I visit! (of course 7 months of unemployment helps this resolve) You all are awesome. Nancy
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 6, 2008 15:09:59 GMT -5
That blue stones combo is a beauty. It has a hidden bail I suppose. The best idea to keep clean such a great shape. Adrian Adrian - yes, the lapis & chrysocolla has a hidden bail. I'm new at making bails too... lol Nancy
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Post by frane on Nov 12, 2008 20:41:38 GMT -5
Oh, I think I need to learn how to do that! Your work looks great! The picture above looks so clean and pretty! Fran
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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 12, 2008 22:59:02 GMT -5
I need to learn that stuff as well, those look great!!
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Post by sitnwrap on Nov 13, 2008 23:55:32 GMT -5
Nancy, your title indicates that these stones are tumbled, not cabbed. Did you grind the back to make a flat surface on the tumble and if so, did you do it before or after you tumbled?
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 14, 2008 12:33:20 GMT -5
Nancy, your title indicates that these stones are tumbled, not cabbed. Did you grind the back to make a flat surface on the tumble and if so, did you do it before or after you tumbled? I didn't grind the backs - I set them as they were, with their natural shapes. This narrowed the possibilities of stones I could use based on shape, though. I used E6000 adhesive to keep them oriented in place against the silver backing and then the turned over bezel holds all that in place. However, I do have some favorite stones (one blue jade) that I'm sending to stoner to have the backs ground flat for setting (after tumbling) - the larger, fatter stones are too fat to sit as well as the others. Nancy
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Post by sitnwrap on Nov 14, 2008 14:40:50 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. If you don't mind, I would like to copy and send it to my sister who silversmiths as she was under the impression that you can't set a tumble without a flat back.
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mirkaba
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 321
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Post by mirkaba on Nov 14, 2008 15:51:56 GMT -5
I think your doing a great job!!! Consistantly better than me any way. ;D What guage is your bezel strip? Have you tried 30 ga.? I am not sure but does the fine silver bezel strip work harden? Should it be annealed after everything is soldered up? Thanks.......Bob
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 14, 2008 15:54:10 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. If you don't mind, I would like to copy and send it to my sister who silversmiths as she was under the impression that you can't set a tumble without a flat back. Sure, go ahead. The E6000 adhesive is my preference because it's slightly flexible and doesn't get brittle. You do need to more carefully select the stone to be set - it needs to be a generally appropriate shape to begin with. Nancy
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Nov 14, 2008 15:59:01 GMT -5
I think your doing a great job!!! Consistantly better than me any way. ;D What guage is your bezel strip? Have you tried 30 ga.? I am not sure but does the fine silver bezel strip work harden? Should it be annealed after everything is soldered up? Thanks.......Bob Hey Bob - Thank you very much. I think the bezel wire I used was 28 gauge. The fine silver definitely stiffens up - I tumbled (with stainless steel pins & shot) the settings before placing the stones and the fine silver is much more difficult to work into place afterwards. I actually use a hammer & bezel pusher sometimes (very carefully, mind you!). I don't anneal after it's all soldered together - I just file, sand and get the surface as close to decent looking as I can (I'm not terribly good at polishing yet) and then tumble the setting in the steel shot before I set the stone. After I set the stone I touch up the bezel strip if it has any marks on it from the setting procedue. HTH... Nancy
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