Frank,
Your optimism is inspiring and puzzling. I do know how pave is done,
but I am far from being able to do it with my meager skill set. From
what you say in your last post, you don’t really understand the
process. You will need a flex shaft machine and some burrs, but you
will make beads (the l’il prongs you speak of) with gravers
(engraving tools). I found some pretty good videos explaining the
process on Youtube, but they weren’t very clear. You can get books
such as Robt. Wooding’s which will have an introductory chapter on
tools you might need for setting, how to sharpen gravers, etc.
and a later chapter on pave setting. Bench Jewelry Television will
have numerous videos on all types of stone setting and their one year
subscription is discounted right now. Instead of just talking about
this stuff, you will need to really understand the steps and then try
them.
It would make sense to get a copper plate and some small CZ and the
required tools and try to pave set some before you start ruining
large beads trying to pave set diamonds in them. You could try
setting some larger CZ at first and then, if that works, you could
try some smaller pave setting in the flat before you attempt doing it
in the round. Just the layout skills necessary to drill equally
spaced holes in the bead are formidable.
Maybe some of the professional bench jewelers here can share
personal experience of how long it took them before they were able to
pave set things like a 12mm encrusted bead. While I think it’s
wonderful that you are wanting to attempt this stuff, I don’t think
you quite know what you are getting into. You will need at least $150
to $200 worth of tools to start (flex shaft, burrs, gravers,
sharpeners, wax and wax stick, buffing sticks, beading tool,
magnifiers, dividers) along with the silver or gold bead and $100 to
$200 worth of diamonds. If this works at all, I would suspect you’d
need at least 50 hours of practice before you start setting the large
bead with pave.
If your girlfriend is the kind of person you want to keep, I’m sure
she’d be ecstatic to get jewelry made by you and that could include
simpler stuff done with wire and beads or simple to elaborate
pendants and earrings made in silver with cabochon stones which you
can purchase or learn to polish yourself. Then you could work up to
the kinds of things you’ve been showing us. This kind of thing is
do-able with a couple of weekend workshops or some self-taught time
at your bench listening to a couple of your favorite CDs twice
through.
If you’ve just gotta do the pave bead project, why don’t you go do
your research on how it is done, buy the tools and supplies you’ll
need and come back and tell us how you are doing. Just laying out the
holes in a copper plate for nine pave CZ of 2mm each and getting the
seats ready will start to tell you how hard this is going to be. If
you get that far, you can see how you do with raising beads…