Hi folks . Thanks to every one who responded to my query about
Tube Setting. I’m putting all your suggestions into action. I
bought some of the Rio cast tube settings until I can find some
heavy gauge (Thick-walled) tubing, which thus far I’ve been
unable to find. I bought some cheap synthetic stones to practice
on, and I’m glad I did! My first piece is a mess! The setting
has a little lip on the inside for the stone to rest on, but the
stone was still sitting up too high. I then beveled the lip with
a setting bur (round burs of proper size on order). I did this
again and again, but the girdle was still half above the rim. I
then decided the culet must be resting on the bottom, so I
drilled a hole and beveled that. I did half of the beveling
after the practice piece was fully soldered and complete. Even
though there was very little rim left on the topmost edge at
this point, I had a horrendous time bending it over the girdle.
And this is sterling! It is very hacked-up. I have some
gravers, but don’t understand how to use them (or which kind to
use) to clean up the edge. Do you think all that beveling
work-hardened it excessively? I used a bezel roller, regular and
fine burnishers. I also had a hard time holding the stone level
in the seat while I was doing this. I carved a pencil-eraser tip
down to ~2mm and used it to bear down on the stone while
burnishing with my right hand. Am I missing something? Should it
be this hard? I do have carpal tunnel syndrome, so
“fear-of-pain-next-day” may hold me back. I don’t have problems
with most things if I remember to use my arm muscles rather than
strain my hands. I’d like to try the screw-eye idea but
accidentally lost the info on the size needed. Would this work
in this application? I have a hard time imagining squeezing this
into the small area involved. Thanks again! The input is
invaluable! Lin
Dr. E. Aspler
service@ganoksin.com
Ganoksin Jewelry Co.,Ltd
Webmaster Ganoksin Online
Lin, I too have found the die struck tube settings to be a real pain
to set. It is so much easier to cut tube settings with setting
burrs. A little deep is much better than too shallow, as you can
always file the top excess to the correct depth. When setting
diamonds, I leave the entire length of tube intact, cut the seat, set
the stone, then cut it off. This makes it so much easier to hold on
to. And don’t forget to thin the top of the tube with a flex shaft
abrasive wheel as that will make it easier to bend over the stone.
You could probably recut the die struck tubes you already have in the
same way so that you can make use of them. Try Hauser and Miller in
St. Louis for tubing; I know they have at least up to 5 mm in sterling.
Good Luck! Susan.
Greetings Lin, I’d vote for work hardening causing your difficulty in
bringing the bezel over the stone’s girdle. From your description,
the poor thing was really worked over after your last soldering and
probably needed to be anneled. It doesn’t take all that much to make
sterling “stiff” and hard to bend.
I did half of the beveling after the practice piece was fully soldered and complete. Even though there was very little rim left on the topmost edge at this point, I had a horrendous time bending it over the girdle.
See if you can find the tube settings in fine silver-that would help
too. Some body out there should know if and where you can get fine
silver settings. The other possibility is that your bezel was a
little higher above the girdle than is ideal… a shade more than a
whisker is about right. When I try something new, I look for a
“coach” to show me through it - is there someone nearby who could do
that for you?
Good luck Lin, Judy
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
Extension Associate
221 Call Hall Kansas State Univerisity
Manhattan KS 66506
(785) 532-1213 FAX (785) 532-5681