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Thread: Shell pendants - opinion on bails?

  1. #11
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    My worry on putting the bail into the wax was where would it be sprued - I'd set it up so it could be sprued with minimal loss of detail on the shell, with easy cleanup prior to soldering a bail on.
    I'm a bit (irrationally?) twitchy about cast-in-place bails; makes no real sense since I'm happy to use a separate cast bail, but it feels a more robust solution.
    With absolutely no evidence to back that belief...

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ps_bond View Post
    You may have hit the nail on the head there - it's me worrying about it being "right" (entirely subjective) and in keeping with the rest and no other bugger will care!
    Well it's important that we care or there isn't any point. How many times do we see a tiny speck of firestain in the final photo, damn these light boxes, and back it goes to the polisher. The customer will neither see it or even care but.....
    I even wonder about wasting money on packaging these days as I know several of my customers throw them out and put the new piece into their jewellery box:/

    In the end we have to be happy with what we produce and if you want it articulated do it but what will take the least effort for the same end result if it's a large run

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by CJ57 View Post
    Well it's important that we care or there isn't any point. How many times do we see a tiny speck of firestain in the final photo, damn these light boxes, and back it goes to the polisher. The customer will neither see it or even care but.....
    I even wonder about wasting money on packaging these days as I know several of my customers throw them out and put the new piece into their jewellery box:/

    In the end we have to be happy with what we produce and if you want it articulated do it but what will take the least effort for the same end result if it's a large run
    Bright lights and macro lenses are the worst! So many tiny defects that you'd never see with the naked eye, but we are all perfectionists. I was looking at some pretty high end jewellery in Liberty the other day, which was shockingly finished and wonder why I bother!

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by ps_bond View Post
    My worry on putting the bail into the wax was where would it be sprued - I'd set it up so it could be sprued with minimal loss of detail on the shell, with easy cleanup prior to soldering a bail on.
    I'm a bit (irrationally?) twitchy about cast-in-place bails; makes no real sense since I'm happy to use a separate cast bail, but it feels a more robust solution.
    With absolutely no evidence to back that belief...
    I do sometimes sacrifice the ideal sprue position/ease of cleanup for being able to cast with a jump ring in place and not having to solder it on.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by ShinyLauren View Post
    Bright lights and macro lenses are the worst! So many tiny defects that you'd never see with the naked eye, but we are all perfectionists. I was looking at some pretty high end jewellery in Liberty the other day, which was shockingly finished and wonder why I bother!
    I have this bad habit of turning over other jewellery to see if the back is even finished. The one thing they taught us at Edinburgh was a great finish and I look at other work and think really? Bet the Liberty mark up is horrendous too
    Last edited by CJ57; 22-08-2017 at 08:15 PM.

  6. #16
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    I sprue to the jump ring if its big enough to get a good fill silver is pretty forgiving




    I cast this charm with 2 sprues so I didnt have to solder anything up next level lazyness lol



    After pin polishing still needs polishing and sprues fully removing but it worked
    Last edited by josef1; 22-08-2017 at 08:24 PM. Reason: added picture

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by josef1 View Post
    I sprue to the jump ring if its big enough to get a good fill silver is pretty forgiving
    I've had some issues with thinner castings coming back incomplete, so for these I wanted to be absolutely sure they filled. The bee worked really well - and I like the stunt with the sprue on both parts.

  8. #18
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    A major issue with pendants, is that if they re suspended from a single loose jump ring, the chain quickly moves along so that the unsightly fastener becomes visible at the front.

    Also a narrow pendant or one with a rounded back, rotates to lie on its side.

    I mostly deal with this by using two lengths of chain and two points of attachment, crimping a broad attachment, or using tightly fitting curved tube, as mentioned by others above. Dennis

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by ShinyLauren View Post
    Bright lights and macro lenses are the worst! So many tiny defects that you'd never see with the naked eye, but we are all perfectionists. I was looking at some pretty high end jewellery in Liberty the other day, which was shockingly finished and wonder why I bother!
    Had to go and look at the jewellery on the Liberty website after reading this...The zoom function on images does the pieces no favours! Now I feel I must photograph every piece I make and blow it up to check details in addition to working/checking under a microscope!

  10. #20
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    Default Shell pendants - opinion on bails?

    Hiya,
    These look great! Must be exciting to get the final piece back. I've only just started carving wax rings ready to send a batch off, any advice?
    Last edited by Leslie Morris; 26-08-2017 at 08:07 AM.

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