What hammers & anvils are used in Oval setting? => 8 photos

 All of these styles of hammers have one thing in common and that is to secure the stone into the ring, or a piece of jewellery. (These 'pieces' are not shown in this essay).

  Many of our earlier hammer anvils were either old 'file handles' or just modified 'concrete nails'. 

These were nicely modified to hit the bezel wall but with extreme care. These 'anvils' were held in place by another 'pair of hands' or having the ring sitting on a steel mandrel.

   It is incumbent upon the stone-setter to keep the stone round in shape while being hammered. When the ring is on a steel mandrel there is the opportunity of 'freeing' one hand.

 Long before there were "Reciprocating Hammers", we used the hammer with a crudely shaped anvil.

  Here are some of the hammer weights to consider in buying your bezel hammers.

 This hammer tip is so close to the stone that squeezing of the bezel wall tip WILL EVEN BREAK SOME OF THE STONE FACETS.

 This Reciprocating Hammer Anvil is close to the bezel edge but is not touching the stone. The whole idea is to mould the bezel metal onto the stone but leave enough metal thickness to "Bright Cut" a rim inside around the bezel frame.

 

 

4-Claw Cleaning & Setting - 8 photos

 I don't profess to be a 'bench jeweller', only a Diamond Setter with over 6 DECADES of  Diamond Setting experience. I've seen some fantastic as well as mediocre gemstone settings.

 From these years of working, I've seen many errors in my days.   I'm not telling you how to set stones but I'm only 'guiding' you to improve your setting skills.

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  In my previous tutorial essays, I mentioned using a Pumice Wheel to remove the remnants of metal. If you wish to use a 'MEDIUM'  grit Emery wheel to do this cleaning, the final choice is yours.

When you prepare to cut a groove into the 4 claws..STOP! The reason is that the '156 HSS' cutting bur will run amok around the claw. I'm sure that you've seen this before and this can be easily avoided, but how?

 Obtain a small bud-shaped bur and make a groove where the bearing cutter will be used. This bur cutting should be at least 25% from the top of each claw.

With the "156, High-Speed Steel" bur you can very nicely cut into the claw where your bud-bur was used. 

Therefore, there will be no more ruining of claws as there might have been in our past stone setting.

 This stone is very CROOKED, just examine the "Culet (Point) Facet" in relationship to the pattern of the basket. 

 There are 'two faint lines' etched on the brass ring clamp. These two lines act as my GPS in locating where the Culet of the stone should be positioned. (The Culet is not in the centre of the ring).

 Anything you do to enable you to succeed better in setting a diamond, do it!

 It is my estimation that these claws are not equally spaced, do you agree? You can now see where the Culet is positioned, great idea?

 Try to avoid using a file in cleaning the claws after a major stone-setting exercise. I use primarily Pumice Wheels of #240 grit to do the final cleaning.

 I will use a file of #4 cut to create equal-shaped claws, you may also use a "77B, Cup Shaped" bur as an other option.

Wax layout prior to bracelet casting => 5 photos

  Wax bracelets can be a real challenge, why is this? The holes will sometimes have extra wax in the pattern where they are not to be wanted.

 It is imperative to repair the wax casting as soon as you can. If you wait until the wax is metal cast, there could be a higher labour cost involved. Therefore do your repairing NOW and save yourself much time.

 

 Always decide the number of stones that are going to be used and locate where the gemstones will be needed.

This little feature will save you much time in thinking about where the collection of stones will be used.

Are the bracelet links correctly made and will they fit together?

            These are the salient points to make note of!   

1) Are all of the bracelet links well-fitted?

2) Have you located where the largest of the stones will be situated?

3) Are all of the holes drilled through the wax?

4) Have you removed all of the 'casting links' being removed?

5) Be sure that the holes are drilled 'almost' to the size of the stone.

 Before casting the wax, make sure that the holes are thoroughly drilled through the wax. 

 I would GENTLY drill the wax hole at least 75% of the size of the stone. You could be saving yourself much time and money.

  If there are any minute pinholes in the wax casting? Fill in the holes NOW! Examine fully for any wax casting errors, and make your repairs as soon as possible.

 Once the wax has been cast then all you do is to set these gemstones.

 

Pumice Wheel cleaning => 6 photos

  These pumice wheels are fantastic for Diamond Setters, as well as Jewellers. Even when they look to be well-worn and on the verge of being thrown away, they are still able to be used, again & again!

 I use only two grits, mainly in my gemstone setting, namely #240 grit and #1,200 grit. 

  PINK wheels are not made to be 'cute', but they differentiate one grit of pumice from the other.

 A badly worn-down pumice wheel should never be thrown away. Here is a prime example of where it can be easily used. 

This photo explains my reason for keeping each of them. It's like giving them a 'second life', agree?

 If I found it necessary to use an Emery wheel, I would find it vulnerable to striations wherever it touched. Therefore, the need to use a pumice wheel overrides the Emery wheel.

 Instead of polishing the metal with a cloth wheel, I found that the metal details would get ruined and literally destroy the delicate engraved patterns.

 This PINK wheel of #1,200 grit will enhance the claw shape, but not ruin the 'V' claws. We are dealing with exact proportions of metal, not altering them. The cloth wheels will do this within moments and might have to do a complete 'retip'.

 The tapered #240 grit Pumice Wheels are just what the jeweller ordered". The edge of the rotating wheel gets into spaces where no file can reach...safely! "It buffs as it cleans!"

 

Stone Facet Defects => 6 photos

 This photo examines the reflecting surfaces of a Cubic Zirconia. As you can see the light just goes everywhere except back to the viewer's eyes. This results in a darkening illusion.

 This next photo shows the perfect reflection of a diamond, what a difference? All of the facets now act as mirror!

                                         BROKEN STONE FACETS

 I'm using a simulated stone to display where facets can be damaged during various (storage) situations.

 This damage occurred just at the Girdle Facet, repairing this break is not possible for a bench jeweller. A lapidary repairperson can easily repair this chipped edge.

 

 This 'break' might culminate in repairing 4 facets. The total cost could be very high if this was a genuine 'soft' stone.

 In this photo, it is worth noting that when the Culet Facet is destroyed as this. This could lead to a major overhaul of all of the Pavilion facets. This is one of the most vulnerable areas of any stone.

  In the previous century, circa 1900s, all of the Culets were removed as seen in this photo. Thankfully stone cutting processes have changed and improved.

 Even in a diamond, you could see through the Culet of the stone.

 

 

 

Pumice wheel cleaning & sharpening => 10 photos

  I know that many of the jewellers and stone-setters use Tapered and Flat surface pumice wheels as I do. But the question is how do we reshape them when needed?

 I have a Carborundum piece of stone on my bench for this sole purpose. The sharp edges act 'like a knife' that will literally cut into the soft wheel.

 There are minute corners of this stone that serve the purpose of reshaping the wheel. No matter if the wheel is #180, #240 or #1,200 grit, the cutting is sufficient for the reshaping process.

  I try not to use a Triangular file of #4 grit to remove any extra slivers or remnants from casting. I will use the pumice wheel instead, thus leading to resharpen the pumice wheel constantly.

 These pumice wheels leave no striations on the metal, as many files will do. So why use the files?

 This sharpening process is fantastic for Tapered as well as Flat surface wheels. 

 

 Here in this 'before and after' photo shows the where the cleaning took place. This cleaning action saves buying newer pumice wheels all the time.

   It is imperative to keep your wheels in a pristine condition all of the time. You just never know when it will be needed.

 I sharpened and resurfaced my pumice wheels continually. 

 This 'reshaping & cleaning' can be done on any pumice wheel shape no matter what the grit is, just do it!

 I'm using a 'Tapered' Pumice wheel of #180 grit. This wheel gets into areas where a file will surely leave file marks.

"Inside, Ring Clamp" => 5 photos

 This particular "Inside, Ring Clamp" has been in my possession for at least 24+ years. There are interesting improvements but suffice it to say, it is my very close friend'. As you can see it has been used extensively.

I use this clamp as it fits into my hand, but not against it.

 This clamp will never change position while it's being used, this is so very important in Diamond Setting. When it is screwed on tight, it is on so very tight!

I would personally use this clamp over any wooden clamp or large screw metal clamp. The large side screw interferes with the setter's (my) hand & fingers. Poor design!!!

 YES, there are many improvements with the GRS type of jewellery tools. But this 'inside clamp' needs no modification. My motto is "If it ain't broken, don't fix it".

There are 10 ring-sized inserts, all it takes is to unscrew any insert to accept the ring of your choice.

 

  As I wrote, there are 10 inserts to hold the ring of your choice. The chosen clamp must GENTLY rest in your hand, if not, your labours will surely suffer for it.

 This 'screw locking system' is what makes this clamp so important. Other clamps are made of very metal and just don't have the hand flexibility when doing intricate Diamond Settings.

 I won't say which system is best for you, but this clamp continues to be what I enjoy using.

Defective "Reciprocating Hammer" Anvils => 8 photos

 Of all kinds of errors any setter can make is to forget the most important tool and that is the "Reciprocating Hammer Anvil". 

These little 'darling' anvils can be an enemy if they are neglected.

 This particular anvil being shown needs to be refurbished, why? The four points are damaged beyond repair. But they can be easily repaired by reshaping the leading edge with an Emery Wheel of Medium grit (not a file).

 If the anvil is beyond repair, just replace it. NEVER USE IT if it's badly worn.

 

 When it is time to repair it, just hold it in the ring clamp of your choice and resurface the 'top, four corners and side edges'. DONE!

 When you see that some of the corners are 'broken off'...STOP!!! Immediately remove the anvil and repair it. For the few dollars, this simple action will be a life-saver to you while it is being used.

 This is the simpler way of repairing the "Reciprocating Anvil". All I use is an "Emery, Snap-On Wheel" of Medium grit and here is the technique or process.

 What I have been doing in the past is to colour the broken

areas with "RED INK". These are the 'damaged areas' and this indicates the offending areas that need to be fixed.

 This is a major broken anvil there are four corners, the top of the anvil surface, plus the sides. 

 This cleaning process will only take a few minutes, but you've learned how to do it again with much care.

 These four corners are not only for the shape, but many times the setter will use them for 'selected areas for hammering'.