Setting strip (NPY 009)

[Kwant]

I have some news on the setting strip and sadly it is not good news.

I had a friend visiting for a week, a week or so back and I gave her one of the stones I bought to go into the setting strip, which she took to Cookson in London as she works a couple of streets away. Well having been presented with the stone, and trying it on the setting strip they admitted that it did not fit. Their suggestion was to prise open the prongs ( which I have in fact done and frankly it needs some fair bit of prising and removal of material to get the stone anywhere near fitting and even then it does not and distorts the strip to the point of being ugly) and fit it that way. They measured the setting strip and it was coming up as 2.7mm, which in these terms is a far cry from the 3.5mm stone it was supposed to accommodate. The stones I have are coming out around 3.46mm.

I am left with a length of setting strip that of course can be used if one knows the correct size of stone to buy to fit it, it certainly is not the 3.5mm round stone that it was intended for. I suppose the only thing I can do is order some stones in and around the measured dimensions of the setting strip and see what size actually will fit.

[Wallace]

I have some news on the setting strip and sadly it is not good news.

I had a friend visiting for a week, a week or so back and I gave her one of the stones I bought to go into the setting strip, which she took to Cookson in London as she works a couple of streets away. Well having been presented with the stone, and trying it on the setting strip they admitted that it did not fit. Their suggestion was to prise open the prongs ( which I have in fact done and frankly it needs some fair bit of prising and removal of material to get the stone anywhere near fitting and even then it does not and distorts the strip to the point of being ugly) and fit it that way. They measured the setting strip and it was coming up as 2.7mm, which in these terms is a far cry from the 3.5mm stone it was supposed to accommodate. The stones I have are coming out around 3.46mm.

I am left with a length of setting strip that of course can be used if one knows the correct size of stone to buy to fit it, it certainly is not the 3.5mm round stone that it was intended for. I suppose the only thing I can do is order some stones in and around the measured dimensions of the setting strip and see what size actually will fit.

you so know you want to order some more stones, not encouraging you at all.

I have managed to set some 1.7mm emeralds into the silver setting strip I purchased for my course (but never got around to as I got carried away with the other settings) May get the camera out tomorrow if the weather is nice and show if you like?

[Kwant]

lol well hmmm can I help it if I am distracted by the merest hint of sparkle and........... I have to constantly think of new excuses............

but yes I would appreciate a photo or two and I will in return take a photo of the dogs dinner I have made of that which I already have.

[Dennis]

No Cornelius, you just get out a set of twist drills and try in their respective shanks. (It's also a quick way of finding the size of small holes, or of jump rings.)

From the illustrations it seems as if slight enlargement could be made with setting burrs, or even by forcing in the drill shanks. Dennis.

[Kwant]

Dennis are you in touch with my David has he put you up to this intelligent nonsense of actually working out what stones I really need???? :0)

Like I say I will post pics tomorrow (should have thought of it earlier) and all help will be gratefully received ( though not if it means I do not have to get me more stones :0) )

[Wallace]

Dennis are you in touch with my David has he put you up to this intelligent nonsense of actually working out what stones I really need???? :0)

Like I say I will post pics tomorrow (should have thought of it earlier) and all help will be gratefully received ( though not if it means I do not have to get me more stones :0) )

lmao - you will just have to let David know it is a specialist area and you are needing more research, which of course means more sparkly things! hee hee

I used a setting bur to open mine up, I think they were so tiny I needed a 100 mag loupe, lol. the drill bit was ace, it got the angles I needed and, I just couldn't bear to use the flat graver and mess it up as they are so tiny! Pics when I get back from work.

[Dennis]

Dennis are you in touch with my David ???? :0)

No, but it's a small world. Put him on and we'll have a friend in common.

[Kwant]

The pic below is the 3.46 stone I have sitting on top of the 3.5 setting strip. not sure if it is clear but if the stone was seated it would encroach on the space for the neighbouring stone.


3.5 setting strip by kwant, on Flickr

Any way following the advice of you Dennis and Wallace I used a slightly smaller stone and with the aid of a setting burr managed to set one.

[Wallace]

not as great a picture as yours Cornelius, but hopefully you get the gist. Still have more cleaning up to do - I was very nervous setting emeralds - they are so quick to fracture.
Attachment 3646

The pic below is the 3.46 stone I have sitting on top of the 3.5 setting strip. not sure if it is clear but if the stone was seated it would encroach on the space for the neighbouring stone.Any way following the advice of you Dennis and Wallace I used a slightly smaller stone and with the aid of a setting burr managed to set one.

is it possible to cut a small section and try taking some of the sides down with a burr? See if that does anything. Opening them up in an arc seemed to help with reducing the risk of invading their private space

[Kwant]

Thanks Wallace, that gives me a better idea of how the stones should look once set. The spaces between them are kind of what I expected, though I realise the arc makes them a little wider than they would be if flat. So given that those are 1.7mm, do you remember the setting strip you used, ideally the product number, or is that asking too much :0)