daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Dec 28, 2013 16:11:18 GMT -5
I haven't been around in quite some time. I've been busy with my other crafting hobbies, and mothering (that second one takes a LOT of time sometimes.). Recently my sister got engaged and asked me to be her Matron of Honor and to dye and sew the bridesmaids dresses, and the table runners, and my daughter's flower girl dress, ... You get the picture? Anyway, I've been able to stay quite on top of all of that so far, so I think I'm doing pretty well. Then they come for Christmas and offer to purchase all of the equipment I'll need if I'll make her wedding jewelry. She wants bezel set stones with a sort of filigree connecting them. How can I turn that down? The only reason I don't already do bezel setting is because the purchase of equipment was never high enough on the list of things that take money to do. So, of course, I said "Heck yeah!" and promised to send a list of the things I will need with links. So I toodle around YouTube for a while, trying to figure out what stuff I'll need and it dawns on me. I might be in a little over my head on this one. I think I understand the basic idea, but I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming. I'm guessing this is going to be one of those things that makes more sense once I get my hands on the equipment and start playing around a little bit. Then I remembered the forums. I learned how to tumble here, and how to wire wrap here, so now I'm back trying to figure out this new aspect of showing the world how pretty rocks can be.
So, to the point, I am hoping you good people can help point me towards the tools I will need to make this happen. I'm not looking for top of the line stuff. Good enough to do the most "things" with less equipment, but nothing ridiculously fancy. KWIM? I also prefer smaller tools, as I have small hands. I would be eternally grateful for a list of everything I will need to bezel set and attach wire components to those bezels. TIA
I knew being her Matron of Honor was going to be a lot of work, but I didn't realise it was going to be this kind of work. Rofl
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Post by 1dave on Dec 28, 2013 17:20:19 GMT -5
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Post by talkingstones on Dec 28, 2013 22:25:11 GMT -5
HA!!! Hi Dave and thanks.... LOL!!! Hi Daisy. My first advice is "Don't Panic!" but it is a little more involved than the photo above.... I'm just starting but this is what I've figured out so far...
1) sheet silver of whatever metal you are using for the base
2) Bezel wire
3) Fire proof base... I assume that's the garnet block above... I'm using a ceramic tile I picked up from Home Depot.
4) A charcoal block
5) Pickle.... It can be home made 1 tbsp salt to 1 cup vinegar, but I ordered some as well
6) A torch that is adjustable
7) Solder... Silver solder from Home Depot is a bear to work with... I've ordered some chip solder and am hoping it will be better
8) Picks to manipulate the solder with
9) Bezel roller
10) Burnisher
11) Tin snips
12) A jeweler's saw
13) Pliers, some of your wire wrapping pliers will be useful for filigree work
14) Optivisor
15) Flux
16) You're also going to need some fine files for sanding around where your solder runs over and sandpaper boards for cleaning up a bit.
If you're going to mess with filigree, Lapidary Journal and Jewelry Artist has a devilish little bead in the latest issue that can be made with scrap wire while you're waiting for your tools... I've been working on it for two days now.... still haven't gotten it right... :/ What I've learned so far is that metal working is very different from wrapping or grinding... challenging is the word that describes it best but fun too! Good luck and give me a yell if you need any help! Don't know much but am more than willing to share what I've learned to date!
Thanks,
Cathy
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Post by talkingstones on Dec 29, 2013 7:18:10 GMT -5
Oh... augmenting that list... a pickle pot is really helpful to have. I priced around online. Cheapest one I could find was about $23 so I went to Walmart and picked up a little Rival simmer pot for $4.50. It is not preset to 140 degrees so I have to keep an eye on the temp with a thermometer which is another $2 but I'm still ahead. Another thing is that you will be needing hammers. Some you might be able to find at a local hardware store but you might want to invest a little in these as they really make a difference. Also an anvil is nice but a good steel block is more versatile. Finally cross lock tweezers and copper tweezers. The copper are for the pickle. The cross lock are for holding while soldering. You might want to get a third hand as well but to start, you may not need it.
Spending some time at this point messing around with a little micro torch... just to get the feel of how solder flows and learning how to control a torch is a good idea. That, more than anything else, seems to be the most difficult thing for me to get a handle on and it does take a while to figure it out. At this point, I'm really looking forward to my order arriving primarily for the solder chips! Cutting the solder and getting it onto the right spots is really difficult for me and I'm hoping those help!
Also, some of this stuff you can pick up locally for pretty cheap, tiles, pickle pot, sandpaper and the like, but plan on ordering a lot of it. I went with Rio Grande as I've been working with them for a while and get most of my metal stuff from them. Fire Mountain Gems I think carries a lot of this stuff too and there's always ebay. Biggest thing to remember is Don't Panic! Enjoy the process. It's a lot different from wrapping but is a lot of fun and the more versatile you are with all of this, the more options you have for creating the best projects with your stones!
Enjoy!
Cathy
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daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Dec 29, 2013 14:15:58 GMT -5
Thank you both of you! I have most of the tools on that list in a cart at Rio. I still need to price hunt a little. I don't think my sister has a full understanding of what she's paying for with jewelry. I think she thought it would be cheaper to buy the tools and stones than to buy jewelry. Since I've been interested in stepping up from wire wrapping for a while now I suggested going halfsies with her. That will have to wait until tax time though. In addition to the list you provided, I've been looking at getting a rotary tool with a flex shaft on it. I have very little patience for sandpaper for more than a minute or two. Plus I've been wanting to try manually shaping stones for a while now. I suppose I would need to find a waterproof one for that... Does anyone do this stuff inside their house? I don't have an outdoor space I can work in. Once a year I haul the tile saw out to the deck to slice stones for tumbling, but that's about it.
Is there a listing somewhere of suppliers for all of this stuff? Having a little time might be a good thing. I've got too much in my brain right now to google properly. lol
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Post by johnjsgems on Dec 30, 2013 9:30:32 GMT -5
Try Otto Frei. They have great prices on Foredom and everything jewelry tool related.
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X - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's rocks
- O Henry
