Beaten by bezel

[JonLendrum]

Huff...

I need to vent a little. Tonight i started making a basic bezel setting for a 7x5mm cabochon emerald. Ive done a few bezel settings before but all self taught so I'm not really any good at it. First of all i still haven't worked out an easy way of wrapping the bezel wire around the stone so I end up with little dents in it from using pliers or something stupid. Soldered the first one.... Melted the wall. So i started again and made it to small and couldn't stretch it enough to go over the stone. Made a third and AGAIN it was to small and by this point i screwed it up and through across the room. I then soldered a fourth one to large.

I've basically had a crappy night that has just destroyed my confidence that I'm ever going to be able to make jewellery considering i cant even make the simplest of settings! Sorry about this post its pointless but i just needed to vent before i threw all my jewellery kit out of the window.

Good night

[Nick martin]

Sounds disheartening John, but maybe you were just tired or trying too hard? Sometimes I find it useful to take things slowly, sometimes having a break or to sit back and carefully work out the next step or how to proceed.
I myself often make mistakes as I'm still very much a novice so I wouldn't get too annoyed. Wasted materials is also par for the course at times!

Nick


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[susieq]

Hi Jon - well you are ahead of me as I have never yet managed to successfully set a bezel. The maths is (relatively) simple, but I'm convinced that the torch fairy knows when I have a perfectly sized bezel and shrinks it. Naturally s/he leaves a slightly large ones, slightly large.

Crappy nights where nothing goes right are hugely frustrating but probably there's not a person who reads your post that can't empathise.

No doubt some practiced bezel setters will be along soon to offer practical advice but in the meantime, think about all the things you CAN do now which seemed impossible a while back.

Hope tomorrow is a better day. And keep those windows shut!

Susie

[Dennis]

Hi Jon,
First of all, if you are using that thin stuff, you should cut your own bezel strip from 0.4 mm fine silver sheet. This is much easier to manage.

Secondly, if you have an oval mini mandrel you can begin by wrapping your strip around that in a place slightly smaller than the stone.Then transfer to the stone and let it expand to fit, before marking where to cut with a waterproof marker.

You will soon learn to get this right. If it ends up a fraction too big, remove no more than half a mm. If a tiny bit too small, tap it gently on the mandrel to expand it.

The other thing to watch is that your strip is not too wide but only just taller than the bulge on your stone. For economy, you could practice with copper first.
Dennis.

[Patstone]

Dont I sympathize with you, I bought an odd shaped cabachon and I had only set oval, round and decided it was time to broaden my horizons a bit, so bought an offset marquise one, sort of a lazy "S" shape with the points on the top of the "S" being different heights. I made six in total before getting it right, and over a period of about a month, so put it down and have a go in a few days. I have difficulty getting the bezel the right height. Also something that I have found is to use a charcoal block as the whole thing heats up quicker and the torch isnt on the silver so long so it doesnt melt so quick.
Dennis is right about using 0.4mm sterling silver, personally I use 0.3mm, but it works, the only thing I find is its a bit harder to push over the stone. On a good note, my "S" shape stone is in its bezel and because the bezel wasnt perfect, I put some 1mm round wire around the bezel basically to cover it up, but it looks quite nice, and I know it will sell (that is if I dont keep it myself).
I have been making silver jewellery for about 4 years now, only as a hobby really, but if you look at stuff you made in the beginning you will see a massive difference in the finish. I take photos of all my makes, only with my phone but how I got away with actually selling my stuff at craft fairs in the beginning I dont know, some of the setting is a bit rough to say the least, but people bought it, so dont give up.
P.S And if you do throw your tools away ............... throw them in the Exeter direction.

[Dennis]

Dennis is right about using 0.4mm sterling silver.

Actually Pat, I am an advocate of Fine Silver as I wrote above, firstly because it is easier to push over neatly.

Secondly, as a bonus to beginners, it has a higher melting point than sterling, so is slightly easier to solder without it collapsing. Dennis.

[theresa]

Hi Jon - don't be disheartened, every time you make a mistake it's a lesson learned (as I have certainly discovered).
Personally, I always measure my stones with a vernier and if you have any jewellery books, they are sure to cover how to calculate for different shaped stones.
eg for an oval cab: add width and length, divide by 2 add on thickness of metal to be used and multiply by Pi
This usually works just fine. I personally use .5mm fine silver which I buy in assorted heights from Cookson (2mm, 3mm,4mm,5mm etc). Saves a lot of faffing about and with the extra thickness gives you something to file if not a perfect join.
Chin up
Theresa

[LydiaNiz]

keep at it! I still end up remaking bezels more than I like. I sit the stone on top of a mini bench anvil (gives me some room to manoeuvre) and wrap the stone in fine silver bezel wire (0.3 x 3mm or 5mm for deep stones). I only use my fingers to do this, sometimes I have to gently anneal the bezel wire first if it's gone a bit stiff. I check that I can push the stone in from above and it'll sit snugly.
If you can now pick the stone up by the sticking off bezel wire - you're laughing. I mark the bezel with fine marker at the point they cross, and cut. Solder with hard solder and a small gentlish flame.
I found 10 x 8 or 10 x 14 the best stone sizes to practice on. I did a bezel 'how to' file I will happily send over if you need it, but you soound like you're doing it right, it's just practice. And sometimes it's just one of those days.
Finally, if they are a 'tiny' bit small, I often put them on a small mandrel and tap with a hide hammer to stretch them a tad. Good luck, it can be a frustrating process!

[Patstone]

Sorry Dennis, didn't read it properly. I use sterling sometimes if I have a large stone or one that is likely to be bashed a bit, like a ring for instance.

[metalsmith]

maybe you were just tired or trying too hard ... just that I reckon

sometimes it's time to go away and come back again ... btw - do you need a cleaner?