An old adage goes this way…“Impossible things are performed at my
setting bench once in a while, miracles are done each day!”.
Now I gotta set.080mm diamonds in 3-claw settings, the other
measurement is a 1/3 > point diamond. Even a microscope wouldn’t make
any stone easier to set, yes I could see each stone better…but I
still gotta execute the mini-undercutting bur on each claw.
Gerry!
Hello Gerry, you must be talking about 0.8 mm… 0.080 mm is thin as
a human hair.
I don’t quite follow you. You say a microscope will not make it
"easier" to set. Have you worked with a microscope(what type?) ?
Perhaps you didn’t get used to it, (takes a little time)and just
skipped the idea about working under the scope? I dot know.
With the magnification you get from a microscope, quality of work
will improve a lot(my opinion). Doesn’t matter if it’s stone setting,
electronics or surgery. If you can see the workpiece/area and tool,
20 times better that means you will have much better ability to
maneuver the tool with higher precision.
Also the microscope is very useful in quality inspection. The things
you can observe with a microscope can not be compared to a loupe or
optivisor.
Gerry- Whew!
I can’t believe that you’re cutting seats into prongs that small. I
am sooooo over micro pave. Did De Beers suddenly end up with a glut
of micro melle? And Who the heck cuts this stuff?! We cringe when
asked to make it or work on it.
We can do it, but don’t like it.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com
Following per’s comment, a microscope is as important as the boom
stand or flexible arm it’s mounted on, and the bench peg needs to be
lowered so that the eyes remain at a comfortable height for working
through a microscope right there on your bench while sitting in the
same chair.
The wider the field of view through the lenses the better. The depth
of field and the working distance are in proportion to the
magnification.
A good microscope set somewhere between 5x and 10x magnification (a
zoom microscope is the ultimate), mounted on a flexible arm, combined
with a bench peg that is easily adjustable in height; there will be
no going back!
The microscope is half the answer. The other half is setting it up
so that you have room for your hands and tools while looking through
the lenses, and sitting comfortably in your normal position at your
favourite bench peg…which is lowered or raised as needed.
Regards, Alastair
Jo, you know what I’m sick of making are the halo, micro pave
engagement rings. I can’t imagine that the young brides will be happy
with those for a lifetime. No doubt that in 10 years there will be a
wave of halo’s being broken up to make replacement engagement/wedding
rings. The up-side is we never run out of work!
Mark
I know you will get all the advice you can handle about microscopes
and other wonderful tools.
The best advice I’ve heard came from my helper while walking past my
bench when I had a couple hundred of those little %$#*s in a
container getting ready to set. OMG!! DON’T SNEESE!!!
Hope this helps:
Chris