The sadest thing in the world.....

[Faith]

Well not really, but I'm pretty sad right now.

Here lies my first attempt at dome setting:



That little loop in the foreground had previously been attached, threaded through a hole drilled in the back of the dome and soldered on the inside. Pretty sure that getting the stone out now will ruin that little dome and pretty sure I can't solder it with the moss agate in.

So possibly not so much a case of ask the experts and more 'share my pain'

Hope everyone else is having a more successful weekend

Faith

[Dennis]

Yes Faith, accepting a solder joint when it is not secure is a common cause of failure and we've all been there. That doesn't mean you're a bad person.

Just try this: Fix the dome firmly into your thermosetting plastic and then with a pointy craft knife or snap off knife. insert the point little by little between metal and stone. Go round and round and eventually a small gap will appear. don't be in a hurry or the metal will be too buckled.

Once the stone is slightly loose, release the dome and push the stone out with a hard wire, or iron panel pin inserted through the hole. Dennis.

[Faith]

Thanks Dennis,

I will try that for sure as it's good practice even if I don't manage to save the dome this time.

I think I have changed my mind about the design too, I think I want integral hookwires like this:



Would u still drill the dome and solder from the inside to attach? This time it doesn't look like the joint failed actually, the wire seems to have sheered flush with the back of the dome.

Many thanks

Faith

[Dennis]

Well, I often add a short section of close fitting tubing slipped over a wire, to give a bigger foot for soldering. Then you deed not drill a hole, only make sure the surfaces match.

I do worry about where you intend to attach your wire. Things tend to flop forward and down if attached at their centre, so I aim at a point a third of the way down. It means that in this case it would be further forward too. Dennis.

[Faith]

Thanks Dennis, that's a good shout about the wire position, further up would be fine Do you reckon the tube foot would be stronger than drilling the dome to solder? I liked the drilling idea just because i can solder from the inside and preserve the outside finish (which is usually where the wheels come off for me!)

Ta again

Faith

[Dennis]

Swings and roundabouts Faith.

[joyerico]

Hi Faith,

Unless you have bent the "bezel" inwards, you can try drilling a small hole again in the back - with a lot of care not to touch the stone - and using a wood stick try to push your stone out.

On the other hand, is a good practice to always test soldering strength by twisting wires & clasps. Or simply polishing everything in a tumbler. If it survives, then it is well soldered.

Good luck.

[Faith]

Hi Wendy and thankyou, the whole thing was embedded in thermoloc to set, which I figured would support and protect it all, but now you say that of course the dome was round and so could have twisted under the pressure of setting, while the little loop was stuck. Mental note not to do that again!

And thanks Joyerico, the stone is well and truly set now, so I'll need to use Dennis's method to open the "bezel" again before I can poke it back out.

Ta again
Faith

[Faith]

Hi all,

By way of update I'm finally finished!!!

I ended up having to make a few saw cuts to extract the stone, and made two completely new settings, which seems to have taken forever as I've had really limited time for my jewellery lately, but finally have my finished domeset earrings here:



This time I was especially careful to put no pressure on the wires while setting also.

Thanks again for everyone's help and advice on this these and any feedback on the finished little guys is most welcome

Hope everyone's well
Thanks,
Faith

[Dennis]

Beautifully set and I particularly like the round shape of the ear wires.

Can I see a little excess solder at the top? Its probably just the wires reflected. Dennis.