Using a bought 4-claw tulip collet

[Pennyalbert]

Hi. I have purchased a 4-claw tulip collet in 18ct white gold to make my son's engagement ring for his fiancée (scary!).

My question is - there is a 'burr' on the bottom of the collet and I am not sure if I should be sawing this off and, if so, before or after attaching it to the ring shank?

I am attaching a photo of the collet (doesn't show the burr) and an approximate idea of the ring style. I will be setting the collet to stand much more 'proud' of the ring shank than the example ring.

[Gemsetterchris]

It's what's left of the sprue that they cut off...so you should clean up the collet first by saw,file,buff or however you prefer.
Ideally you`ll want to buff up any castings to get them as clean & smooth as possible, it can be abit fiddly work cleaning up little bits..generally it`s better to do first but some parts can be done after if you can hold them better that way but you can`t always get to all the places then.

[Aurarius]

Chris is probably right that this is just sprue remnants, but you need to be aware that some collets do have protrusions that are there designedly to help hold the collet in position when soldering.
I've only seen these on multi-stone collets, though, such as this one:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Cast-Ring...rcode-NV1-S247
(Look at the second image).
Obviously if it is a deliberate protrusion you should only file it away after soldering.

It would help if we could see an image of the "burr" you refer to.

[Tabby66]

As Chris has said, this will be from the sprue used in casting the setting. I would also recommend cleaning up the setting prior to soldering it in to the shank, you will be able to get in to all the fiddly bits much more easily and it will make the outcome of polishing the ring far better.

As Mark says, you may occasionally find some extra metal on ready made settings, but everything will need filing in to give smooth lines in the finished piece.

Let us know how you are getting on

[TeeDee]

Hi Penny,
I'm assuming you're the same Penny I know but ignore this message if not.
I see you bought the mount from EuroFindings. Did you get Vicky to second you and how do you find them?
Presume I'll see you on the 11th? If you haven't sorted the 'burr' by then bring it along. Always interested in new problems.
Tim (Tavistock)

[Patstone]

Another Southwesternite, where in Devon are you based then Penny.