Bead Setting tutorials?

[Dennis]

I've looked at those step by steps now Peter and if I tried that it would end up a dogs dinner. Hence my grumpy reply above. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

I know the feeling Dennis! My bead raising & forming is not too bad, but I'm still not satisfied with my bright cutting (although I think I may have rounded the heel of the flat graver excessively, which won't help).

[Daniel]

Hi Peter and Dennis,
If you want to cut a bright cut filé, dont put a heel or radius on your flat, and taper the flat from the cutting edge upwards on both sides.
this leaves you with a, well like two sided knife graver. /__\ something like that. That way, you can bright cut your filé without damaging your beads.
You could also use an onglette graver or a knife graver, but I get the best results with a flat that is highly polished.

[Steffi]

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for all your replies and for the useful links, and i think a course to get me started on the basics at least is definitely something i'll be looking in to very soon.

Thanks again!

[ps_bond]

I found this video on Youtube the other day which shows the bead raising & bright cutting process clearly (although it's quicker with powered kit than traditional!).

[Daniel]

Ha, Peter,
Thats the in between way of traditional and modern day powertool Microscope settings seen on "up and close with Sam Alfano".
If you would cut the filé around the setting before placing the stone it would be what microscope setters would be doing.
You would be left with the three beads to be pieces of metal, in the completed dug out setting before placing the stone and finally pushing the beads onto the stone.
Thanks for the video!

[Steffi]

Hi Peter, thanks for the video link!
Like the powertool he's using, looks fun! Do you think there is much difference doing it without a powertool other than time?

[ps_bond]

That's one of the GRS series - not sure if it is a Gravermax, Gravermach or what! I use an Airgraver rather than the GRS tools; they all have the disadvantage of fairly high cost (and additional equipment requirements - like a compressor), but the flipside is that they are both faster and easier to use - you don't have to develop the muscle memory required for push engraving, you just have to guide the tool. This means that, for example, when making the bead isolation cuts, it is easier to avoid powering through the edge of the bearing and into the opposite bearing wall. Equally, as with any power tool, it makes it easier to go wrong more quickly...

It is a complementary skill though; my push engraving improved a lot with using the Airgraver, and I wouldn't be without my traditional gravers - I was setting a square tanzanite in a thickish bezel at the weekend and used onglette & flat gravers to clean both the inside of the bezel wall & bright cut the resulting setting. Still not happy with the polish of the bright cut, but I'm a bit inclined to use magnification to check the work.

Daniel uses an Airgraver for setting work - not sure if he uses it exclusively?