Help please pave setting a stone

[Summer]

Good Morning, could I ask your help please, I'm wanting to try my hand at pave setting a stone, the stone size is 3mm, my question is, is the tool I need called a graver, and if so what size is needed for this size stone, also what is the tool that makes and smooths the silver into the bead.
Self teaching with the memory span of a goldfish #-o
Jackie x

[ps_bond]

Being picky - sorry - pave is where you cover an area with multiple stones, each grain or bead set (same thing, different names).

If you're using the more traditional graver setting techniques, then you probably want a round graver (scorper - sorry James!) somewhere around the 1mm mark to raise the grains - but if you use an old burr, you can sharpen it at about 45 degrees to give you any diameter you want.
For shaping the bead (and to some extent burnishing it onto the stone) you want a beading tool, which - again - you can also make from a used burr if you are careful. It's just a shank with a polished hemispherical dent in the end.

Then there's bright cutting...

What resources are you working from, or are you just giving it a go?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HiGwZaL1U8 - this may help, it's one of many ways to get this done.

[Summer]

Hi Peter thanks for your reply, i have a piece that i'd like to set the stone in, made the piece made about a month ago and if i don't get a move on the piece will just get shoved to the back
i'll be practicing on scrap first, till i feel confidant that it's anything like it should be :-)

[Summer]

This is the piece I want to add the stone to, at the bottom you can see the hole, I've had to widen this slightly.
Do you think it will work ?
5529

[Goldsmith]

Here is a shopping list Jackie;
for setting,
http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Round-Edge-Scorper-Size-10-1.0mm-Vallorbe-Ref-402-Ws-prcode-999-AYN
http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Wooden-Handle-Shape-D-prcode-999-ALO
http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Set-Of-12-Grain-Tools-Sizes-5-To-16-With-Handle-prcode-999-AIR
At a later date you might want some scorpers for bright cutting around your settings, for this you will need some flat scorpers, 1.5mm. and 2mm. widths are a good start.
Check this photo tutorial that I did, it shows how I prepare my scorpers for use;
5530

James

[Goldsmith]

This is the piece I want to add the stone to, at the bottom you can see the hole, I've had to widen this slightly.
Do you think it will work ?
5529

If you are not confident in cutting settings Jackie, how about drilling 3 or 4 tiny holes around the setting hole, and solder in some thin wires that can be cut and pushed over to set the stone in place, this may be a more suitable setting for this piece.

James

[Summer]

Peter thank you for the link, I did watch that video tutorial a few weeks back but couldn't find the third part, maybe I wasn't looking in the right place.

Hi James, thanks for replying, the shopping list and tutorial, Ill try anything lol but find it hard to take in when learning from a book, although i do have a few :-) so the tutorial is very much appreciated, I did think about drilling and adding wire but thought It was a bit to close to the edge on one side, also thought about filing it flatter and adding bezel, going the rub over way, but it's such a small stone and wouldn't want to loose to much of the face, lol don't make it easy do I, but then if it were easy ....

[ps_bond]

Ah. Yes, you seem to be correct - pt 3 is nowhere to be seen!

For that piece, I'd be tempted to go with James' recommendation, possibly a flush set as an alternative. You've got a lot of organic shaping there, I'm not certain that raising beads (or rather the subsequent cutting) would be quite right alongside it.

[Summer]

Peter thanks, I see what you mean re- organic with the setting i had in mind, Ah yes I could go the flush setting way too, choices choices :-)

Jame hope you don't mind I have saved your tutorial :-)

Time to add some supplies to the growing list of tools :-)
Jackie x

[Goldsmith]

Jackie, I prepared the photo tutorial for anyone to make use of,
I always shape and shorten scorpers to suit my hand size and then harden and temper my new scorpers before use, if you wanted larger photos of the tempering process they are here on another forum;
http://www.guildofjewellerydesigners.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=966:preparing-a-scorper-for-use&catid=28&Itemid=66

You might also like to see this leaf shaping photo tutorial that I prepared also, sorry if you have already seen it;
http://www.guildofjewellerydesigners.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=921:making-a-metal-leaf-by-james-miller&catid=15&Itemid=67

James

[Dennis]

If you take up James' suggestion of a claw setting, which I think would look good in this case, all you have to do is:

1. Perfect your crater with a round burr until the girdle of the stone just fits. This can be done by hand using a pin vice to hold the burr.
2. Make a cross out of thin wire ( 0.3 mm say).
3. Bend the arms down to make a four legged spider. Adjust the length and position of the legs to surround the crater and stand with all the feet in contact.
4. Solder in place and cut off the surplus, leaving four short claws to push over.

Notes on claws:
Claws are easier to push home if they are left quite long. However they can be very ugly, so once set they are best cut shorter and filed flat on top. The can be shortened with a fine saw blade, but for this size a fresh snap off blade of a craft knife would work fine. Dennis.

[Summer]

James great leaf tutorial, no i'd not already seen it, all tutorials are welcome even if i've seen similar :-)

Dennis thank you so much, that would also be do-able on this piece, could make very good use of that on future project too :-)

Just been looking on you-tube at gypsy setting and noticed the tutor/demonstrator didn't use a heart burr to cut in a groove but still did the flush setting, would that be as secure do you think as it would with the groove?

[Summer]

Hi Wallace, sorry I don't know what a side grain is, but imagine it's cutting in from the side? I'm probably wrong though arnt I lol

[Summer]

Hehehe! by the time i'd heated the bottom of the pendant (even from underneath) the wire claws had melted, the flame is obviously getting through the holes, or i'm a rubbish aim :-D
Will have to go for the flush setting me thinks, I'll get there eventually
Thank you again :-)

[Dennis]

Hehehe! by the time i'd heated the bottom of the pendant (even from underneath) the wire claws had melted.

Don't despair Jackie. you have to learn about wire. Your flame was too big, or too fierce (you can close the air hole a little). You must gently heat the pendant and let the wire catch up by conduction.

To begin with you might even have more success with easy solder. Lastly work in semi darkness, so that you can see when the wire is glowing more than the pendant.

One thing is sure- you will get there if you persist. Dennis.

[Summer]

Cheers Dennis, thought I had done it to start with untill I turned it around and one of the claws had melted lol, will have another bash at it during the week, I am persistent if nothing else :-)