BEADS! How are they created? => 19 photos

This essay is only about the formation of "BEADS"; although these photos have been repeated many times, they are important.

 These little pieces of metal have only one purpose, and that is to hold a gemstone securely. But to make them is another story!

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  These little pieces of metal must be created in an orderly fashion. Resulting in round pieces of metal 'against and over the girdle' of the gemstone.

  From a very rough metal casting, I've created a heart-shaped (pendant) item.

 When the 'beaded-pendant' has been created, the surface should be smooth to the touch and have no sharp edges to cut into the skin.

 Bead Burnishers are little steel rods with one hole in the tip; these come in different sizes. What do they do?

 They make the rough-looking bead that we just created just smooth and rounded.

 Where there is a larger space in between the holes, a pattern is to be crafted. In this pattern, I've cut a square as shown here. This square can be 'bright-Cut' in making it look like another gemstone.

 

Before any 'Bright-Cutting' is to start, all of the metal cutting tools must be sharpened. I prefer the #800 grit Polishing Paper.

 In this photo is my #40 Flat graver getting ready for loads of metal cutting.

 When the Flat graver is highly polished, the cutting result resembles another gemstone.

 The remaining metal has a new feature. Those little triangular-shaped nodules will be new beads.

 When the white gemstones are set, it will be very difficult to distinguish the metal square from the stone.

  The eye will now find it hard to distinguish which is the shiny bead from the metal carving. Isn't this interesting?

 Much of the 'bead raising' is done BEFORE any stones are set.

  Here are two Onglette gravers that are doing my metal carving. The graver on the left is an Onglette #2, and the fine, thin blade is a 'knife-shaped' #0. Without these blades, no beads can be made.

  Here is another method for creating beads. In between the two holes, a line should be cut very DEEP.

 Another DEEP line must be cut as shown here. You could use a very thin Bud Bur to cut into the + pattern. From this simple cutting, FOUR new beads will eventually be created.

 I will definitely burnish all and every bead that I've created. I don't want any rough spots to be felt, anywhere.

 I will Bright-Cut all of the metal before any stone is set.

 I used a "156C" under-cutting bur to create seats for the gemstone

 Here is another 'bead-burnisher' rounding the bead tops.

To separate every new set of beads, I'll use a Bud Bur of #1 to clean away any shallow cuts. I need DEEP CUTS TO JUSTIFY EACH GROUP OF BEADS.

 Even today, I can look at this essay and wonder why no other setters have come up with this idea of creating new beads.

 All of the space has to be used; I've created 'decorative beads' if there is extra space.