Fellow Orchidites, For years, I have struggled with the simple
problem of inserting a standard tapered head, be it a bezel or prong
setting, into a standard shank. You can drill a straight hole, but
you must then file or bur the opening to a 17 degree taper. Not
necessarily difficult, but a bit of a pain. I always wondered why no
one made a cone bur with a 17 degree taper.
So, I asked John Frei, of the Otto Frei brothers, this question. Two
weeks ago, I got a package in the mail from John with a note: “Try
these…”
Life is now much better. All you need to do to install a tapered
head is to simply drill a hole, insert the cone bur, and "Presto!"
The head fits perfectly. To adjust the height, simply bur a little
deeper.
You won’t find these in the catalog (yet), but they can be obtained
if you simply call and ask for the “new 17 degree cone bur.” I had
some of my students try these at the last workshop, and everyone
felt the same way I did: What took so long?
No affiliation here with Otto Frei, just wanted my friends on Orchid
to be the first to grab these.
Douglas Zaruba