Is it possible to use these to make five prong settings at all? I have these five-pointed star shaped stones in a couple of different sizes that I haven't seen setting for anywhere. The settings I saw in finished jewelry had the prongs on the points, which just made the stones look round & I'd rather have the prongs on the sides, to emphasize the star shape.
Sharon, Sharon, I have not used that tool or technique being
discussed here, but the angle for constructing a 4 prong setting is
different from what they are for your 5 point star.
I use a different method, and no special tools to create an odd size
or shape setting. If I were presented with this project one
possibility that I would consider would be this:
First I would make a “Tepee” of 5 long prong wires soldering them
together at the point. After the 5 wires are soldered, I then would
turn this tepee upspoint down, and gently work the wires until I had
the spacing of theprongs, and the angle where I wanted them, so my
stone set level and fairly high within this frame, with plenty of
open space between the culetof the stone and the junction where the
wires come to a point.
I would then make two star shaped “under-galleries”, one just
slightly smaller than the “girdle” of your star, and one smaller
than that, so my smaller star sits in my 5 wire frame just slightly
deeper below my first gallery than the depth of the gemstone.
I would determine where these under-galleries would meet the pongs,
file very slight grooves in the prongs at this level so that the
galleriy wires sit securely in place, then I would insert my
under-galleries, assuringthat they are even and level, and then
solder these under-galleries in place.
After both of these gallery wires are done, I would cut away the
"point"of the 5 wire ‘tepee’ at the bottom of the lower gallery
wire. Clean and polish this new setting, and it is ready to set.
This entire process is pretty much doing the same type of setting
construction as the tool being described, but I can use a variation
of this technique, without having to have a different tool for every
shape gemstone I need settings for.