All, I am sorry to bother you with this, but I am at a total loss
about what to do. I am not a professional jeweler and I’m trying to
learn. I’m afraid I made another mistake. I made a ring in K14 gold.
The ring has 3 tubes (2 for a stone of 2 mm and 1 for a stone of 3
mm). After the casting, I finished the ring and set the stones.
Everything went well. It was not my intention to make a mold of this
ring at first, but now, when I look at the result, I am (moderately)
pleased and would like to have a mold. The problem is that the stones
are set and that the tubes are really small. I guess that I could
file off the tubes a tiny bit, get the stones out, and make the
bearings a bit larger, so that the stones would fit in later again.
But I am clueless about how to get the stones out. They are 2
sapphires and 1 ruby. Could someone please give me some advice? Thank
you for reading. With best regards, Will
Will, I have experienced similar problems. I simply used RTV rubber
and did a two part mold with the stones in place. With this type of
mold you do not have to cut the original out…it pulls out though
you might have to a little cutting. Later, when I made a wax model, I
drilled the wax out where the stones were. Worked just fine.
Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where simple
elegance IS fine jewelry! @coralnut1
Why not cut off tube at the base, where it attaches to the ring –
using a sawblade – very carefully, if it is not tall … then split
the tube with a sawblade from two sides, and gently pry it open
’till the stone falls out. Destroys the tube, but leaves the ring
ready to mold after a little cleanup… Saves the stone.
Brian P. Marshall
You have a couple of choices for your situation. The first one that
comes to mind is that you could make a mold of the ring as is. As
long as you have a good mold, you can insert the stones into the
mold and inject the wax around them. As long as they are stones
which will take the heat of casting, you can then cast the stones in
place. This saves time in setting the stones later and if you had
clean work the wax should also produce clean results. If there are
any imperfections on the bezel or wax, you can touch them up in wax
before casting.
If they are not stones you can cast in place, you can push them out
of the wax, slightly enlarge the seat area to allow for shrinkage and
cast. They are then ready for setting once the ring is cast.
You could shoot a wax without the stones in place. This would
require you to drill out either the wax or the metal after the ring
is cast. This may take a little longer but would still save the
integrity of the original ring. Drilling the wax is definitely
easier.
The last choice I would make, would be to cut or file the ring down
till the stones can be pushed out from the back. This means that the
bezels are now lower than they were and possibly thinner. They will
also be lower in the new mounting as well. If that is the look you
are going for great, but it will effect the first ring and all rings
after that.
If you are going to be doing production on this ring, you might want
to make another (master) just for this purpose. First, this will
give you more experience. Next, you can allow for shrinkage in the
mold process which will allow a perfect fit in the reproductions. If
you are only going to make one or two more one of the ring than one
of the other methods might be a better consideration.
Rio also has a stone in place casting article which is FREE for the
asking. Stock # 702-900.
Phillip Scott G.G.
Technical Support & Sales
Rio Grande