Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone has advice for me on setting faceted stones
into tube settings.
When I finish drilling out the seat and set the stone into it, it is
perfectly straight - I check this with my loupe. But when I start to
push the bezel over the edges the stone slides slightly, and it ends
up oh so slightly crooked. Which is really frustrating.
I drill the tubing til the stone sits with its girdle just below the
bezel edge… is that not deep enough?
For a 3 mm stone I am using a 3 mm bur - is the stone sliding
because the seat is too big? Sometimes I use a round bur (per Mr
Cogswell’s book) and then finish with a setting bur. Should I use a
smaller bur than the stone, ie 2.9 mm for a 3 mm stone?
Once the stone is in there and looks straight, I use a bezel pusher
to push down the 4 corners, then switch to my hammer handpiece to
finish the bezel. Sometimes, because of where the setting is and
lack of clearance, etc, I have to use the hammer handpiece to do the
4 corners too. I am trying to hold the handpiece (or pusher) against
the bezel and roll it upwards over the stone without pushing it too
hard- ie let the tool do the work. I have my finger pressed over the
stone while doing the 4 corners to keep it flat. Obviously not
working all that well.
Any advice is sincerely appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Mary Barker