Shattering CZ's

First, there is NO WAY to heat CZ without causing it to
shatter. 

I have to disagree with you there Steve, you can even retip on a
CZ. If you cover them with boric acid and heat them up very
slowly with a very soft flame, and cool them very slowly moving
your flame in and out (I mean really stretch it out). You should
try it, it will surprise you.

Mark P

Mark,

While that method looks good to me (haven’t had a chance to try
it yet), how long does that take, and is it really worth the
time as opposed to pulling out the CZ? I know that many repair
jewelers I know simply refuse to work with CZ because it isn’t
worth their time (price the customer will pay for the labor vs.
cost of the piece)

kat tanaka
kht@vincent-tanaka.com

      there is NO WAY to heat CZ without causing it to shatter.

Steve,

I must be getting real lucky cause I solder tube set CZ’s to
wire all the time and have never had them damaged. I dont hang
out long or heat them much, and of course never quench. Its real
handy to set them in my flex shaft before I solder them to the
earring finding. I just discovered a new way to hold bigger
tubing (5 mm O. D.) that is really simple. I searched for a
solution with every local jeweler brain I know and one day…it
just happened. I modified my collet of my flex shaft to have a
right angle seat rather than the tapered angle and now can hold
larger tubing from the INSIDE by placing it on this seat and then
opening up the jaws of the collet. Dont bring the seat down too
far or the culet of the stone will bump into the jaws, or file
the diameter of the insert small enough so the jaws open wide
enough to let the culet clear it. It is SO SLICK. I was
tempted not to tell any of you ( I waited so long for it) but I
learned from Alan Revere that a trick is only worthwhile when it
is shared with others…anyway considering the company, most of
you probably already do it this way!

T.Lee in Lovely 72 degree Mpls.

Kat,

No, its not worth the time. I have had to do it a number of
times, usually because removing the CZ would cause so much damage
that the risk of shattering was a better risk. Its often a very
good customer, we do it as a favor and we make the risks clear.
It is kind of a challenge. I would say you should stretch the
heating and cooling process out 4 to 5 times as long as you would
normally take to do the job. Its the thermal shock that shatters
them, so gradual heating and cooling does the trick, no quenching
of course. Its fun when it works and if it doesn’t you can take
some pleasure in smashing it out. I have 5 other people in the
shop and they can all do it, so it can’t be that hard.

Mark P.
WI

I have to disagree with you there Steve, you can even retip on a
CZ. If you cover them with boric acid and heat them up very
slowly with a very soft flame, and cool them very slowly moving
your flame in and out (I mean really stretch it out). You should
try it, it will surprise you.

Mark:

'Zat so?? Thanks very much for the info. Next trime I run into
a bezel or channel-set c.z. I’ll give it a try. Usually however,
I think it would be easier to pull it. I know they’re cheap but
you know 'ol Murphy! If it fries you won’t have a replacement in
stock and the customer will likely be pounding on the counter.

Thanks again;

Steve

Hmmmm… Are you speaking of the old model 30 handpiece? If so,
just how did you go about machining the jaws? I would very much
like to know. Incedently, whin I made that statement about c.z.'s,
I should have clarified that I ment it in reference to retipping.
Since I only use 14k plumb welding solder and wire in the
process, the heat required always caused them to shatter. Even
lower temp work 14k plumb solder is too hot. What kind and heat
range of solder do you use when you’re able to solder next to
c.z. w/o disaster?

Thanks very much for your info. and thanks to Alan too for his
advice.

Steve Klepinger

Thank you for the tip T.Lee. I’m not sure I understand
everything you just described yet, but I printed off your
and some day I’ll get back to this and
say wow! what a tip! Thanks for sharing.

 Are you speaking of the old model 30 handpiece?  If so, just
how did you go about machining the jaws?  

Yep, its the old # 30, I used a diamond file and ran the speed
low not to buzz off too much metal. I kept doing a visual check
to make sure the three sides of the jaws were coming in evenly
and spinning once in a while to make sure it was centered and
running true. I found that after working it a bit the jaws would
loosen so you need to keep them tight. Also, I tried not to get
the right angle seat too low, 2.5 mm is enough. You can always
trim a little from the top when you get the ledge cut true and
centered. When you put your tubing on the seat, press down on
the top of the tube while you tighten so it sets level or you’ll
get a wobble that makes for uneven pressure when you set.

 What kind and heat range of solder do you use when you're
able to solder next to c.z. w/o disaster?  

I fire coat with boric/alcohol and try not to put any direct
flame on the stone and get in and out fast. I use 14M plumb
solder and let it set on the carbon block for a minute to cool
slow.

Good Luck Steve,
tlee

Thanks to All,

Just finished soldering the tube settings with the preset cubics.

Coated the stones with a heavy coating of borax/ alcohol. Put
the settings on the block and the pin on top (upside-down) so the
rising heat went away from the stone. Used a pretty large (#2)
tip in my Prestolite torch. Warmed everything up for a while, got
in and out as fast as possible, kept heat on the work for a
while, allowed the pin to air cool, finally into a hot pickle
(crock-pot). Worked.

Thank you Orchid.
Bill in Vista