Continue reading Agates – 12 Great Agate hunting, Agate identification and Agate geode books
Stone setting seems to be an elusive skill to many jewelers, new and old. There are many ways to set a stone. They include prong setting, bezel setting, bead setting, flush setting and combinations of both.
If I had to pick just one important factor in setting stones (and there are many) I’d go with how well the stone sits in the mounting. Making a good seat for the stone will mean the difference between success and failure. This goes for a cabochon cut stone and a faceted stone. If your stone is rocking back and forth in the mounting it will make it difficult to set.
Here’s a good rule. Look at the back of your stone. If it’s flat, in the case of a cabochon, how flat is it? If you really look at it closely it may actually be curved. Match that curve in your mounting. Sometimes that is achieved using setting burs and sometimes it is done using ball burs. Basically use whatever you have to get that seat cut to match the back of the stone.
This goes for faceted stones also. Does the stone’s pavilion come to a point like a diamond or is it round like many other gemstones?. The seat for the stone needs to match the back of the stone.
This is a step by step process showing how to prep your bezel for setting the stone, the process for hammering the bezel over the gemstone and a tool list.
I made this video with close up shots so you can watch the entire stone setting process. It’s worth it to watch the entire video. There are a few little techniques that you may not know. I hope this helps a few people.
Every stone I set is slightly different so get to know your stone and take your time before you start hammering it into place.
Leave me a comment or question and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list to your right to get the latest posts.
All the best,
Michael Seiler
Jeweler’s saws are probably the number one item that most jewelers and crafters buy first. Here is a little trick for using the saw to get a perfect seam for soldering.
Why is this important?
Let’s say your are making a ring. You have bent your metal stock into a circle and now you have two ends that need to be soldered.
If the two ends don’t match exactly it can create a weak seam if soldered. Gaps in the seam should not be filled up with solder.
The seam will need to be filed and cleaned up so that the two ends meet perfectly.
But if you are having a difficult time getting the two ends to meet I have a trick using a jeweler’s saw that will help.
If you can get your seam just a little close to meeting you can run a saw blade through the seam and make both ends fit together perfectly.
You will need to know how to set up you saw frame and Continue reading Jeweler’s Saw Frame and Blades – (How to make the perfect solder seam for your jewelry projects)
Hello everyone,
I wanted to show you a tumbler that I use on a regular basis. This tumbler is great for polishing metal parts or for burnishing down newly cast pieces of jewelry.
If you are working on a piece of jewelry and it has parts that are difficult to reach with a polishing wheel this may be what you have been waiting for. These tumblers use a variety of polishing media. The tumbling media is used to burnish or polish the metal.
I recommend using stainless steel shot when tumbling silver or gold. If I am fabricating pieces I often will tumble all the parts and then solder them together after they look polished. After the soldering I will usually tumble again.
Tumbling helps to get into all the small places where a polishing wheel can’t reach.
If you are casting you can use the tumbler to clean up the cast piece. The steel shot will burnish the metal, helping to hide any porosity that may have occurred during the casting process.
(Full disclosure- I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. This helps keep Gotcha Rocks up and running)
Here is a video on how to mix the solution and use the tumbler.
I have links below to the tumblers and the polishing solution.
Here are a couple of tumblers I recommend. The Lortone brand is a high quality tumbler that can run for hours on end and lasts for years. The belts have to be replaced every once in a while but that is to be expected.
Here are some links to these tumblers. Happy hunting! 🙂
This is a good size for tumbling stones and metal items such as rings, earrings and bracelets. The drum is large enough to accommodate most jewelry and craft items.
This is a smaller version of the 45c. The drum holds 3lbs. This is considered the economy version.
If you are using the tumbler for stones I recommend using the small to large ceramic pellets with your grit.
If you are using the tumbler for metal I recommend using steel shot with Sunsheen burnishing solution mixed with water. Check Rio Grand Supply for the Sunshine.
Have you ever struggled to bend your metal in a perfect circle while trying to make a ring?
There are many ways to bend sterling silver or gold stock. However, there is one tool that will save you time and frustration.
This is a follow up post to “How to Use Ring Bending Pliers”
What is it? Drumroll please………..It’s the Ring Bending Pliers.
This tool is in my opinion the best tool for fabricating rings.
In this post I am including a video on how to use these pliers,
a link to the pliers and a link to a good Ring Sizing Chart.
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One of the first things I show people in my classes is how to use the ring bending pliers. It may seem simple but I have seen a few metalsmithing train wrecks.
Often during the metal bending process the middle part of the wire or stock will be bent fairly well but the ends are still straight. The ends are the hardest part to bend due to the lack of leverage.
Let’s first discuss three methods of bending wire.
One, you can just bend it with your fingers. This is fine for thinner pieces of wire but not so great for larger or thicker pieces.
Two, you could use your ring mandrel and bend the stock around it with your fingers or with a hammer. You will usually have to brace the mandrel in a vise to keep it steady as you form the metal around the curve. This can take a little set up which equals time and time is money.
Three, You could do what I do. I use the ring bending pliers. These pliers are oversized compared to the small half round pliers. (See the photos below) These pliers allow me to bend large and small wire and stock into almost perfect circles. It saves me time and gives me wonderful results without having to hammer on the metal and potentially marring the metal stock.
There is a trick to making this work. It is all in where you start bending.
So what is the trick?
Lets say you have a flat piece of stock and you want to make a ring. You have already figured out how long the piece should measure and now you have to bend it.
Start at one end, it doesn’t matter which you choose. Insert just the very end of the stock so that it can be gripped by the pliers. The less metal you have to use in the pliers the better. The idea is to just pinch the end enough to hold it. If it slips out the first time you are probably doing it right.
Now that you have it clamped into the pliers and you are holding it in your right hand hold the pliers in front of you.
Take your left hand and put it on the other end of the metal. (This is the end that is not in the pliers)
Push the metal away from your body. This will bend the very end into a curve. Do this to both sides of your metal. Bend it just a little bit and try to imagine what the curve of your circle will look like when it’s finished.
What do I mean?
You don’t want to over bend the ends and make the curve smaller than what you need. Try to picture the end of a candy cane. The candy cane shape may be too much of a bend.
You should be shooting for a shape that looks like the horns on a cow. Think about a long horned Texas steer.
So, to recap. You are going for a cow horn shape, not necessarily a candy cane.
Once you have your cow horns made it’s time to work the center. Start at one side of the curve and work towards the other side.
This should be done very slowly using small light squeezes of the pliers. You are shooting for consistency. Don’t be heavy handed with the pliers or you will have a very erratic looking circle.
I always tell people to use the creepy handshake. What is that you may ask?
Have you ever had someone shake your hand in a very weak and limp way?
Well, if you have you know what I’m talking about.
That handshake isn’t good for anything other than forming metal with ring bending pliers.
Keep working the metal until the two ends come together.
Once they do it will be time to clean up the ends so the two ends meet flush. Flush means no gaps. You can then solder the seam.
The first time I saw petrified dinosaur bone was nearly 19 years ago. It was a red agatized dinosaur bone also known as gembone. Gembone is made when agate fills in all the nooks and crannies of the bone leaving you with a very interesting pattern.
Here is a great picture of the patterning in gembone.
One of my favorite things to do with gembone is to inlay it into a ring. It makes a great ring for both men and women. It so happens that I was making one for a client and had the camera running.
I thought I would walk you through the some of the basics.
Step #1 I start with a sterling silver or a gold cast ring. The ring has a cavity in it for the gembone to be set into. This cavity could be any shape. For this example I am using a rectangle shape.
Step #2 The second thing I do is select my rough dinosaur gembone and cut a piece with a trim saw. This particular piece was a sweet find.
You will notice that its coloring is red with touches of green, yellows and blues. Continue reading How to inlay petrified dinosaur bone in a ring
Save yourself some time and your sweet money!
Here are a few essential things to have while you are setting up your silversmithing or goldsmithing shop.
Knowing what tools to buy can save you big money and frustration from buying the wrong stuff.
Take it from me, I had to find out the hard way more than a few times.
Provided below are a few FREE TOOL lists to help you find the right tools.
Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.
I hope this will help to get your shop up and running smoothly.
All the best,
Michael Seiler
Have you ever wanted to make a shadow band that fits right next to your diamond or gemstone ring? Well, here is a short video on how to use wax and a few tools to create a model ring that can be cast in gold or silver.
I will be using a green wax which melts at around 230 degrees and is one of the harder wax materials for model making. The modeling wax is made by a company called Matt. They make a number of waxes ranging in melting temperature and malleability.
There are three main types of modeling wax that I use to make a model.
The blue wax is soft and melts at a low temperature. (200 degrees)
The purple wax is slightly harder and with a slightly higher melting temperature then the blue. (225 degrees)
The green wax is the hardest of the three and melts at around 230 degrees.
I prefer the green for any work that needs exact detail and a shadow band needs to be exactly the same contour as the ring it is shadowing.
Here are Continue reading How to make a shadow band for a diamond ring.
The answer may surprise you because the difference is as simple as what type of alloy is used.
I will break this down into its simplest form for this example. Back in the day 14k and 18k yellow gold were alloyed with copper to make a wearable and workable metal.
14k yellow gold was 58.5 parts 24k gold mixed with 41.5 parts copper.
18k yellow gold was 75.5 parts 24k gold mixed with 24.5 parts copper.
I am using copper as an example. These days there are Continue reading How to anneal white gold, The answer may surprise you.
