I would like to make a tube setting for a facited stone? tools? size
tubing and how to would be awesome. I have mostly 5 ml facited
stones I have researched various sites, after being totally
overwhelmed I’m here to get it right the first time.
Does anyone make their own solder paste? How do you do it? (Please
and thank you 
Kim
Hi Kim,
I have been working with tube setting (primarily tapered tubes) for
well over a dozen years now and as with most questions from my
students I would have to ask you a question…
Will your tube settings be constructed on top of a mounting or piece,
or would you want it to be a structural element of a design? If you
want the tube to be integrated into the design rather than simply
soldered on top of a piece I would suggest working with at least 1mm
thick walled tubing. In the past finding thick walled tubing in a
particular metal was not always easy to come by commercially. This
caused me to make my own and has allowed me to create tapered tube
settings out of any metal that I prefer rather than simply working
with whatever might be available.
If this is of interest purchase a bezel block. They come in a number
of shapes. most typically round, oval, and square, but there are also
fancy shaped bezel blocks, though they might not always match the
exact shape of the stone you are wishing to set.
One last thing to mention is that I no longer use solder when making
my own tubes, except when fabricating the tubing out of palladium.
This fusing approach gives you basically a seamless tube with no
color seam. This also eliminates any solder from re-melting when
soldering the tube to your piece.
I hope that this helps.
Jim
Hi
Melissa Muir has an awesome tutorial - she also lists the tools
required…
here is the link to your tut.
Paulette
Kim- The easiest way to go is to buy a bezel with a step in it for
faceted stones. Or you can just get some tubing and cut a seat into
it with a setting bur. Just like prong setting you never want to cut
more than half way in the walls of the bezel. Then with a small punch
and a chasing hammer bring the walls down slowly and evenly. Only go
about 80%. Take a half onglette graver and tidy up the edge and then
hammer the wall the rest of the way down onto the top of the stone.
You can also use a bezel setting punch. We have a full set that Tim
calls his second favorite tool:-) They are a set of concave punches.
Choose the size that fits over your bezel, set the bezel on a firm
surface with the stone in place and hammer it down. It makes for a
perfectly smooth bezel every time. Again if you need to, clean up
with a graver. I then use a fine tipped highly polished pointed
burnisher to run around the inside edge of the bezel with a good
lubricant.
As for making paste solder…
We used to work with a very fine Cambodian goldsmith Seng Au. He
used to make his own paste solder to make 24 kt bot chains. He’d take
18 kt hard solder and mix it half and half with 24 kt gold and file
it up. He’s then take two very clean files and rub the filings
between the files til it was powder like. Then he’d run a magnet
through the powder to rid it of any iron or steel. Mixed it with
paste flux. He also had a hand made tiny little spoon that he’d apply
it with to the chin links.
Seng was one of those guys who could make beautiful things with two
pair of pliers, a couple of files and a rock. I was kidding about the
rock part.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
We used to work with a very fine Cambodian goldsmith Seng Au.
What a brilliant and appropriate surname for a goldsmith!
Helen
UK
We used to work with a very fine Cambodian goldsmith Seng Au. What a brilliant and appropriate surname for a goldsmith!
You picked that up to, Au it is a very appropriate name for a
goldsmith. had a dentist called Dr Fang once 
CIA
Brilliant Charles! I had a doctor called doctor savage. Not a very
confidence-inspiring name, but he was a lovely man.
Helen
I had a doctor called doctor savage. Not a very confidence-inspiring name, but he was a lovely man.
In my home town, a general surgeon was named Dr. Butcher and an
obstetrician was Dr. Seed. Life is way more humorous than we can
fabricate! Barbara
My dentist’s name is Dollar - always get a chuckle out of that
one…
Brilliant Charles! I had a doctor called doctor savage. Not a very
confidence-inspiring name, but he was a lovely man. Helen
One of the doctors in my dad’s orthopedic practice is named Doctor
Payne. I know it’s not spelled the same way, but I still couldn’t
bring myself to let the guy work on me!
Lost track of the relevance of ‘Tube setting and solder paste’ to
Doctors, however my grandmother was a ‘Dr Leitch’, 19 centuary
doctors were called ‘leech’, the use of the bloodsucking leech and no
doubt there exorbitant fees meriting the appellation.
I have heard of a Dr Sawbones, no doubt apocryphal’ But for real, Dr
D’athe, Death.
David Cruickshank (Australia)
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au
I met a Doctor Death a few years ago - I kid you not! He was a nice
guy.
How about Dr. Quack. we had one of those as well as a Dr. Doctor.
Life is humorous and often plays tricks on us in little ways…
TE
A friend of mine has a son in law, a urologist, named Dr. Posey, She
made him a tie tack that said “Dr. P.”, with a yellow diamond…
-BK in BWA
There is a dentist - Dr. Wisdom. An orthopedic surgeon - Dr.
Bonebrake…
the same name also belongs to an OB-GYN.
my dentist is Dr. Strange.
John
Then I had a Dr. Scott Free " who was anything but ‘free’
Jeannette
There were two oral surgeons in practice together in my hometown–
Drs.
Stevens & King. They were supposed to be the best in town but my
family felt the names really should have been a clue for us to stay
the hell away.
Dr. King messed up doing my Dad’s dentures (he literally left the
top one in his coat pocket & forgot to put it in after he pulled
Dad’s teeth)- & Dr. Stevens was the first doctor I saw for my TMJ. My
dentist later apologized to me for sending me to him because he was
so incredibly useless. Definitely a horror & a terror. At least I did
get a decent ending & a better doctor but let this be a lesson–
never see doctors named after best-selling horror authors.
Sharon,
Artist, Metalsmith, Chaos Magnet
My boss’ initials are: G. A.G. He is a dentist!
den
My favorite dentist and a good personal friend was Dr. Mangle. He
thought, briefly, about setting up a practice with his dental school
friend, Dr. Slaughter! In my hometown in WY there was a dentist, D.
K. Root (always wentby his initials) and after his retirement, his
son, Jr. took over.