Firing PMC with garnet beads

Hi,

It’s not a bad idea to use PMC to set your stones, but you don’t
have to set them before firing the metal clay. You can form your
bezel from metal clay, taking into account the shrinkage of the metal
clay, fire the piece and then set the stones after the piece is
polished, etc.

May I recommend a book…Jeannette Landenwitch’s book, Setting
Stones in Metal Clay. This is a source for that is really
not found elsewhere. Also, good info in PMC Technic. I believe both
are available on Amazon.com, both published by Brynmorgen Press.

Hope this helps,
Linda Kaye-Moses

Just an addendum to firing stones in metal clay…there is an
excellent list of stones that will survive firing, researched by
Kevin Whitmore at RioGrande

There’s also Natural Gemstones in Metal Clay. A Bench Resource
Manual. by Deric Metzger, available on Amazon.com. Metzger is very
thorough, as is Kevin.

http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books/us/product/B0025UMFH4.htm

I prefer to set stones after firing, because I always fire at 1650
degrees F (900 C) for two hours, for strength and density, no matter
which type of clay I use. I either use fine silver bezel wire or
cups or use the clay itself to form the bezel. There are hardly any
stones that will survive my firing schedule or temperature.

Hope this is helpful,
Linda Kaye-Moses
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1435713591/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1435713591&linkCode=as2&tag=ganoksincom-20&linkId=ec5c76e7b7bc73a3aa621047434276fc