Jett Sett, Shellac & Pitch - Preferences?

Hello Orchids, I’m wondering how many of you are using Jett Sett
instead of/in addition to shellac or pitch for stone setting. Can we
start a bitty thread on what you prefer/dislike and why? I’ve
ordered some Jett Sett to try for reasons of convenience and
cleanliness. Has anyone tried and not liked it? Is it really
re-usable as they claim? Thanks all!

Mardel

    Hello Orchids, I'm wondering how many of you are using Jett
Sett instead of/in addition to shellac or pitch for stone setting.
Can we start a bitty thread on what you prefer/dislike and why?
Mardel 

Hi Mardel - great idea for a thread. Yes, I got some Jett Sett. I
haven’t worked with it very much - used it for setting stones in a
pair of earrings, and again for a bracelet. Think I need a great
deal more practice with it. I think it takes longer to heat up and
get malleable than I thought it would, and it takes longer to set up
than I thought, and it is harder to get off than I thought. Maybe
I’m doing something wrong. I’ll try it a few more times and if I
don’t get better at it, I may junk it. Yes, it is reusable, but
doesn’t seem to have quite the consistency it did the first time. Of
course I have arthritis in my hands, so having to knead this stuff so
much is difficult for me anyway. Interested in others comments.

Kay

    Hello Orchids, I'm wondering how many of you are using Jett
Sett instead of/in addition to shellac or pitch for stone setting.
Can we start a bitty thread on what you prefer/dislike and why?
I've ordered some Jett Sett to try for reasons of convenience and
cleanliness. Has anyone tried and not liked it? Is it really
re-usable as they claim? Thanks all! 

I’ve been using Jett-Sett for several years now, and I really like
it. It’s one of those materials that seems to come up with new
applications as you become more familiar with it.

You can use it to hold things in your pin vise where the pins don’t
quite make good contact with the pins securely. You use it to build
up handles of tools that are contoured exactly for your fingers. Use
it to make dapping blocks in forms they don’t have dapping blocks
for, for example, spiculum shapes. If you don’t have a delrin hammer
of the specific shape you need, you can make a head out of the
Jett-Sett and mold it over the head of regular hammer. You can use it
to make models, although I only cast with negative relief, rather
than lost wax type.

It doesn’t have quite the tenacity of shellac, but that’s a small
price to pay for all the other conveniences it offers. No more
cleaning the shellac off of pieces. It is reuseable, although a lot
of it goes towards making permanent fixtures, like handles, molds and
hammer heads. Dipping it in hot water makes it pliable again, and
popping it into the freezer allows you to remove stubborn pieces.
Caveat: Don’t try softening it by putting it in the microwave (same
effect as aluminum foil), and it readily catches fire with a torch.
Yep, tried both :-]

As far as a pitch replacement, it doesn’t have the ‘give’ for doing
repousse’. However, I’ve not had the opportunity yet to make a model
from the Jett-Sett and use it in a hydraulic press with soft urethane
and containing rings. I have a feeling it will work admirably in that
type of setting, especially for 2 part, male/female molds.

I doubt you’ll be sorry for the investment. Where else can you get
such a myriad of tools for the price of one?

1 Like

Hi All,

 I'm wondering how many of you are using Jett Sett instead of/in
addition to shellac or pitch for stone setting. 

This is something that I am just getting into, and I must say it
beats any setting wax hands down. I heat a small piece with my torch
and push it into the ring that I’m setting . It holds amazingly
well. Then when I’m finished, I put it in hot water and pull the
little pieces out , no fuss, no solvents, no mess. The pieces go
into a box for reuse and I have used them many times over. If, for
some reason, I have to stamp a ring after it is finished, I heat a
small piece and push the shank in it for support. When it’s cold one
can stamp the ring and there is no deformation because of the stamp
in the ring shank Wonderful stuff, I do declare.

Hans Meevis
http://www.meevis.com
Hans Meevis
Designer African Jewellery
Tel.+267 6251011 Fax.+267 6250555
P.O Box 266, Kasane, Botswana.

Hola, my preference for most stone setting work is shellac, at least
the kind I use: it withstands tough hammering, very deep metal
removing with the gravermax and disolves well in alcohol. I have
tried Jett Sett and found it not really useful: the heating with
water is messy and it is a pain to remove if some gets stuck in
intricate parts of a piece. However I sometimes use small amounts
that I heat directly over a flame (wiht care) to back some pieces on
a ring clamp. That is my expirence, but I might be misusing Jett
Sett. Let’s see what others say. Ah, I’ve never used pitch in my
stone setting shop. Regards, Fernando, in Andalucia.

I have some Jett Set. I haven’t used it at all yet, but I suggested a
student of mine use it, and it worked great. She wanted to make a
locket in the shape of a Hershey’s kiss, but larger.I had her make a
fimo model, then make a mold of it, in twi halves, in Jett Set. Then
she made positives in those, also with Jett Sett. Fine silver
compressed between the two formed the locket pieces. It wasn’t easy,
but the Jett Sett held up to all that force.

–Noel

2 Likes

Hi, I’ve been using Jett Sett now for close to a year and love it.
Everything from replacing handles on saws, gravers, etc. to holding
parts while setting stones. To prep clean Jett Sett, I have placed
it in the microwave with no problem. As earlier mentioned, I think
perhaps if you have sparks in the microwave, some metal has been
collected in it. As for my old material, I only use hot water to
soften. To harden it fast, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes
and you’re ready to work. Another idea for heating the material (I
haven’t tried it yet, just a thought), keep a hot pot in the studio
containing hot water just for that purpose… like a small potpourri
pot, dop wax, etc or hot plate with a small pot of water.

As for clean-up, it’s much like gum as it cools, you can dab the
areas with ‘stuck’ Jett Sett, it normally removes the excess from the
area. I’ve also used denatured alcohol which works just fine.

It’s been a life saver when working in tight spots, example, two
stones being bezel set very closely, you don’t want to scratch the
neighboring bezel or stone, place Jett Sett over the setting you want
to avoid with the material.

I must say I was hesitant at first to pay the price, but once I
started playing with I’m glad I did. I shared part of my 1st
purchase with my stone setting instructor, he too is hooked now. I
only fear the day I call Rio and hear the words… “I’m sorry, we’ve
discontinued that item”.

Terri Collier
Dallas, TX
@Terri_Collier

1 Like
  I only fear the day I call Rio and hear the words.... "I'm sorry,
=we've discontinued that item". 

So if that happens, call up Frei and Borel and get it from them. I
think they had it first anyway.

Peter

I’m probably speaking to soon, but I have seen another source for
"Jet Set". Its was in a science catalog which I have somewhere
around the house. I will look it up and get back to you. I dont
believe it was a jewelers trade product to begin with as it has
been used in labs for years. I also think some hobby places handle
it as well. Just hope I can dig it up now so not to look like a total
fool…

Daniel

I have been experimenting with the Jett Sett type of plastic for
fixtures to hold earrings while I set cabs or faceted stones. It
works pretty well for this application: 

Once formed properly the fixture holds up to many repeated uses. If
it doesn’t turn out, I just remelt it and try again.

I have reused some of the material many times without any noticeable
degradation.

However, I've had some problems in working with the plastic that I
don't like: 

It usually does not stick to the base I have it on. For a base I
made up a small brass cup (2" dia x 1/2" deep) soldered to a rod that
fits into my PanVice base.

It takes longer to soften or harden than I had hoped. I use hot
water to melt the plastic, and the added thermal mass of the brass
cup doesn’t help of course. It takes several long minutes to soften
or cool the plastic.

You can’t use a torch without burning the surface of the plastic.

  • Brad Smith
    Los Angeles

I quite agree, Terri, Jett Sett is great stuff, as is its cousin
,Plastiform, which you can get through Frei & Borel. I even used it
to form a backing for some really fragile iridescent green beetle
wings, which were then solid enough to bezel. What a neat discovery!
By the way, are you by any chance related to Richard Thompson
Collier? If so, please give him my email address. If he is the right
RTC, he’ll recognize the spelling of my name. Courtenay
(@ctc1140)