Hi Orchid family, I’ve seen pictures of rivet setting using two
opposing concave punches to make a nice rounded rivet- I can’t find
any in the catalogs. I like the look of the rounded rivet and can use
a concave burr but it wastes the gold. Thanks!
Blanche Gregory in Houston
where it’s getting hot & sticky
for small rivits, you can use commercially made beading tools. The
largest sizes work OK. I usually use only one tool, while the
opposing side of the rivit is supported in a depression cut into a
steel bench block (many commercial bench blocks are soft enough that
you can burr into them with a small ball burr. If not, use any other
scrap of steel, heavy enough to give you support while riveting.) For
larger rivets than that, take a bit of tool steel rod, anneal it, and
with a ball bur, make the desired depression in the end. Shape
appropriately, then reharden. Short of bits of steel? Use a nail.
It won’t harden much, but it will still work well enough for a while.
Or take a trashed beading too, grind the pointed end off, with it’s
trashed depression, anneal it, and as above, cut a new depression.
Or another appreach is to use a really really DULL cup burr. Maybe
even one you’ve polished the cup part on… then it only burnishes,
not cuts. Be sure to use with some lubricant, or it will tear the
metal.
Peter Rowe
Peter Rowe suggests using a cup bur to make a beading tool:
Or another appreach is to use a really really DULL cup burr. Maybe even one you've polished the cup part on... then it only burnishes, not cuts."
Blaine Lewis uses this idea in his technique for pave setting. He
takes a perfectly good cup burr and pushes the end into abrasive stone
or papers until the inside is polished smooth. The outer edge of the
cup is cut down some as well to leave a bit of an edge there.
This tool is then pushed into the metal just outside the stone’s edge
and metal is lifted from there, with the edge of the burr, and
burnished up and over the stone’s girdle. You can’t believe how
effective and easy this is until you try it.
By all means, get Blaine Lewis’ videos when they come out. He is
truly an innovative master.
Riccardo Accurso
Ricco Gallery of Contemporary Art Jewelry
125 W German St /PO Box 883
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-0883
How to make your own concave punch.
I bought a set of diamond coated burrs From the Contenti Co. (800 343
3364) for $13.50 …about 12 different style burrs… then i took a
cement nail , ground the tip flat on a grinding wheel. Afterwards, I
put the nail in a flex shaft machine and held a round diamond coated
burr against the flat , Ground Area. In a short while, a depression
was formed and I continued to hold the burr against the nail until
the deppression was deep enough for my purposes.Getting the burr on
center is the most important part, then grind the outer edge of the
nail down until you have the correct exterior taper so it will clear
other parts of your design. Presto, you now have a concave punch.
It is not neccessary to harden the cement nail as it is already
hardened and this will work for a quite longtime.I have made a few
different punches , some that are mounted in a drill press and used
to rivet hinges and others that I use to set bezel and prong set
stones( not always in a drill press) .I have also used carbide burrs
Instead of diamond burrs to do the same thing .
The Diamond burrs are also quite handy to have around as they can be
used to Grind and shape other metal parts made of steel and you can
sharpen your small rubber wheels on them without loosing their
shape.Diamond files are also very useful for shaping your rubber
wheels … and they never wear out like regular files do.
Daniel Grandi
http://www.racecarjewelry.com visit the workshop on the web for some
ideas. We do mold making,Casting /finishing in gold,
silver , bronze and pewter for the Trade.
following what Daniel wrote re cement nails as punches, they are hard
and have twist which makes them easy to hold. Mine aren’t as
sophisticated as Daniel’s, but they seem to last forever. In my case,
I did “detempered” (help with the correct word) the nails, created the
shape and retempered them.
On intriguing thing happened. I filed my nails and in doing so,
seemed to induce magnetism in them.
David