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[Dennis]

Dear Mia,
If you use 0.5mm sterling silver strip, you will probably need a punch and a hammer to set your stone. Fine silver can be pushed over by hand and as its melting point is slightly higher than sterling, it should not give you any trouble. However, flimsy strip will heat up much faster than a thicker base, so to begin with try heating through mesh from underneath, or at least keep the flame moving and avoid concentrating it on the strip.

If you can post a pic of your cabochon, I and no doubt others will tell you how to do it. Kind regards, Dennis.

[Fraser]

I set a lot of stones, particularly large cabochons, and find britannia silver the best for bezels. I order strips from Cooksons, usually 0.4mm thick, and in different widths for different stones. It is softer than sterling, but not as soft as fine silver, which scratches too easily. It is more expensive than sterling however.
As regards sharp corners, I file down slightly the height of the bezel at the corners, but do not make a sharp nick. I then use a setting tool that has a flat curved end (sorry do not know the name) and roll the metal down, always working from the corner point outwards. (I hope this makes sense). The whole length of the bezel should be chamfered slightly along the outside of the top edge also. After setting I use an agate burnisher to smooth the bezel further.
I would like to try adding gold bezels to silver sometime. Can anyone recommend the best carat and thickness to use for gold bezels?

[ps_bond]

You could notch the corners, that works - but there is another way, described here; that'll leave you with a continuous bezel, no notches (although note that the excess material is removed by filing the corners!). If you do notch, as you close the corners over it can be a good idea to run a fine sawblade in the notch to widen it for the next bit of closing.

With the working away from the corners method - which incidentally is the same as I use when hammer setting thicker bezels - the metal has more room the move, so the extra is better concealed midway down the long sides of the setting.

These can all be further neatened & tarted up with judicious use of a flat graver by bright cutting.

Have you got access to a copy of Cogswell, Mia?

[ps_bond]

I then use a setting tool that has a flat curved end

A bezel rocker?

I would like to try adding gold bezels to silver sometime. Can anyone recommend the best carat and thickness to use for gold bezels?

My preference would be to stay away from 9k for bezels - I can't stand the spring-back on the stuff! The 18k 0.3mm strip from Cooksons works well for that style of setting.

[Fraser]

Yes Peter, that's the one! And your linked tutorial shows the method I am describing.

[Dennis]

Hi Mia,

You are now well provided with advice on setting multisided cabs, so I should like to go back one stage to what I think is much more difficult: making a bezel with corners.

1. When you start this by cutting and filing a groove, you will lose some of the internal width of your bezel . In theory this is equivalent to the depth of the groove, but ultimately takes accuracy and experience to compensate for.

2. As an amateur I prefer to get each corner made and lightly soldered before going on. This helps to keep it stable while I fiddle with the next one.

3. In closing a corner you may sometimes find that you have not filed it sufficiently and you might have to pass a saw into it, or worse, open it again. In attempting this be sure to re-anneal, or the bezel will break apart.

4. Having made the last corner, I also prefer to complete the bezel with a final join along one of the straight sides. This gives me a further chance of adjustment before I cut off the unwanted surplus.

5. If after this you attempt any further changes in shape, you will alter everything and may at best have to cut it open again , or at worst start from the beginning.

Finally I urge you to get plenty of practice before going on to precious metals. Dennis.

[Mia]

Thanks for that link Peter. I have bookmarked it so that I can keep going over the instructions. I have found that I am very much a visual learner with these things even though I spend my days buried in books !. I have not seen Cogswell although it has been recommended here before. I would be happy to make the purchase provided it is well illustrated, I find jewellery making books that are very "wordy" frustrating because I am always asking questions and they simply can't talk back.

[Mia]

Hi Dennis,
Thanks for taking the time to give me more info on making a bezel with corners. I always appreciate your advice here when I'm lurking even though I don't always thank you. I have made some bezel strip with 0.5mm copper and I managed that ok but the cabochon was quite large - about 40mm I think. I am keen to get more practice. How easy is the copper to manipulate for smaller stones ? Is gilding metal any more user friendly ? Having this little chat today has put me in the mood to get out into the garage and get creating !

[Dennis]

It should be ok Mia, because when you annael copper it goes dead soft. I don't know about other base matals, because during my early days silver was not as expensive. If you have access to a rolling mill you can always reduce some to 0.4mm. Dennis.

[sga]

I just started setting bezels a few weeks ago and found this really helpful, thanks Dennis.

Edited to say: I mean bezel setting, setting bezels would be silly, where would it end ;-)