Hi there,
I need to make over 100.02ct diamond nose rings in 14kt gold. I’m
using a tapered bezel setting and 20 gauge wire as a back finding.
When the wire is placed into the hole in the back of the setting for
soldering, there is a .15mm -.20mm gap and the solder will not flow
across it. I’ve tried balling the wire, but I need a clean
connection. What is the best way to fill in the gap and have it look
crisp? Could my PUK do the job?
Thank you in advance!
Take care,
Carolyn Stutzman
AlluringBody
When the wire is placed into the hole in the back of the setting
for soldering, there is a .15mm -.20mm gap and the solder will not
flow across it.
Where’s the gap? Is it radial, as in the wire fits loosely in the
hole leaving a semi concentric gap? Or is it end to end, as in the
culet(if you’re setting the diamond first) prevents penetration of
the wire into the bezel hole?
Whether you preset or not, the culet will probably cause
interference. If this is a common commercial finding the culet will
stick out. If this is the situation you could make your own bezels.
Simply obtain heavy wall tubing of the right size and cut it long
enough to cover the culet and then some when set. If you want it
tapered use a bezel block, tricky that small but. Maybe you’d rather
make a good master and cast from there since there are a hundred.
that’d be my choice You’ll make back the casting charges in saved
labor.
If the culet is not causing the problem and it is indeed simply a
matter of bridging the gap, this size gap could be bridged. Instead
of balling up the wire end, melt a ball of solder to the wire end
instead, then trim as needed to get the fit you want, If you want a
crisp ‘machined look’ to the back…insert the assembled finding into
a pinvise and run a file or wheel into the ‘corner’ as you turn the
vise.
If you’ve got an otherwise good fit and want simply to flow the
solder …make sure you place the solder ball(not a snippet) in such
a way as to make contact with both bezel and wire and heat evenly.
Stuff this small tends to heat one part or the other more quickly,
causing the solder to jump onto the hotter piece The trick is to
start a flow simultaneously on both parts.
Another thing you could do is cut a small step in the end of the
wire and solder or weld it to the back edge of the bezel, so that the
wire is not centered. The stepcut would give you a little more
contact area and be somewhat self locating. But the wire would be off
center and that may not be the look you’re after. But would retain
the super low profile of a commercial tapered bezel.
Hopefully one of those avenues will work for you