Class board 1/26

Split/Semi Bezels

Lesson: Split/ Semi Bezel

Split or Semi bezels are a good setting when you want more light to hit the stone than with a full bezel and want more protection than a prong setting. Semi bezel settings are basically a bezel that instead of going all of the way around, they bracket the stone like parentheses.

To make a semi-bezel, follow the same steps as a regular bezel. Once the stone fits and everything is soldered together, cut out the areas you want to remove. In creating a functional semi-bezel, you do not want to completely separate the 2 bezel halves. You either need to make the bezel walls much thicker or leave most of the material below the seat.

By making the bezel very thick, you ensure that the halves will not distort when set and have enough integrity to hold the stone in place. Many cast semi bezels use this method- they still may have some filigree or a small bezel in the middle of the 2 halves, but it is not a structural element. By leaving most of the material intact below the seat, you use that material to keep the halves from distorting upon setting.

Semi-bezel settings in general are thick bezels- 14ga or thicker. 

Layout:

• Make sure that the end angles of the bezels are correct and even.
• If you extend a line out from the ends of the bezels it should go through the center of the stone.
• Clean up the area between the bezel halves with the flat graver.
• Clean up any crevices with the needle burnisher.
• Make sure that the top of the setting is flat and even.
• Measure so that the culet is centered in the opening.

Cutting the seat:

• Use a setting bur to cut the pavilion shelf.
• You will need to free hand cut the shelf.
• Focus on the center of each bezel part, since the burs will try to skip out to the edges.
• If the pavilion shelf gets too thick, use a bud bur to reduce it.
• Drill a hole through the bottom of the setting and clean up.
• Check the stone in the setting with Seat Check.
• If there are specific spots that show up with the Seat Check, clean these with an onglette graver.
• If the stone is rocking just a little bit, take a small ball bur and shave down the area and the pavilion shelf.
• Clean off the seat check with a natural bristle brush.
• Cut the inside chamfer with a setting bur.
• Really watch the edges of the bezel when cutting the chamfer- it should be even the entire way around.
• File an outside chamfer.

Setting the stone:

• Place the stone into the setting.
• Tap the ends first with the flat end of a chasing hammer (less dents).
• To keep the walls from mushrooming, roll from the outside in.
• After hammering the entire bezel, move to the steel punch.
• Check the ends to make sure that they aren’t spreading out from the stone.
• If they are, tap them back into place.
• Shape the bezel on the outside by filing to keep it smooth and even.
• Clean the inside chamfer with the flat graver.
• Burnish with the snowshoe burnisher.
• Be careful not to fall out at the ends of the bezels.
• File a slight outside chamfer to finish.
• If the wall goes out or is thinner at the ends, needle burnish the top to stretch.
• After filing and burnishing, finish with flat graver, then use the pumice wheel.

Setting Bezels and Cleanup

Lesson: Setting Bezels and cleanup

Bezel Setting Wisdom:

• Be patient!
• Regular shaped stones are easier to set!
• The thinner the wall the quicker it is to set. Think about how the wall thickness adds to the design of your piece.
• Leave an opening in the bottom of the bezel. This way you can get in to clean the stone after it is set. Stones in rings and earrings especially pick up body oils and dirt very quickly. Thinking about this while creating a piece makes it easier for you to take care of it.
• Make sure that your bezel fits the stone properly! If the stone sits correctly, setting is much easier- trust me. It is well worth the extra time to get it right.
• To set the bezel, work opposite sides during setting. This keeps the stone centered and the pressures balanced.

Setting Thin Wall Bezels:

• Place the stone into the setting, and hold with clear tape.
• With a burnisher, push the wall into the stone at 12 o’clock, then 6 o’clock. Follow at 9, then 3.
• Rock the burnisher from almost perpendicular to almost parallel to the bezel wall.
• Continue this cross pattern until you have gone all the way around the stone.
• Once the stone is held securely, go around the setting in a circular pattern smoothing the bezel out.
• Mask your stone with tape or rubber cement.
• File and sand any bumps or nicks out of the bezel.
• Polish the bezel if desired.
• Remove masking from stone

Setting Thick wall Bezels:

• Place the stone into the setting, and hold with clear tape.
• Tap with the steel setting punch to set.
• Only tilt the punch less than 20 degrees- it should be almost straight up and down.
• Start on the small ends of the stone for oval cuts.
• Work from the ends toward the center.
• File. If needed, you can retape the stone and file through the tape.
• Guide the file with your other hand to prevent slippage.
• Use your flat graver on the inside to take down the high spots on the chamfer.
• Refile the top, and clean with pumice wheel.

Gemstones

There is a gem show upcoming in Chantilly VA Feb 20-22. Details here

Also, there are sometimes dealers at the ACC Baltimore show, also Feb 20-22.

A few places to go:
Terra Firma in Pikesville. Bill has some stones.
Check out the Gem Cutters Guild (in the same building as we are).
United Gemco has good semi-precious stones
Bill Gangi carries some really amazing and unusual stones

Class board 1/19

Bezel Setting Prep

Lesson: Bezel Cleanup and Setting Prep

• The thinner the wall the quicker it is to set, but the harder it is to finish cleanly. Thicker walls take a bit more time to set, but there is more material to move around and file for finishing. Think about how the wall thickness adds to the design of your piece.
• Leave an opening in the bottom of the bezel. This way you can get in to clean the stone after it is set. Stones in rings and earrings especially pick up body oils and dirt very quickly. Thinking about this while creating a piece makes it easier for you to take care of it.
• Make sure that your bezel seats the stone properly! If the stone sits correctly setting is much easier- trust me. It is well worth the extra time to get it right.

Flat Bezel:

• Check fit of bezel to stone.
• Mark the direction that the stone fits best- use either sharpie or bit of tape or pastel to align. When setting multiple stones, you can use masking or blue painters (low tack) tape to keep stones in order and oriented.
• Mark any areas where the stone is hitting the side of the bezel and open those areas up with an inverted cone or cylinder bur.
• For bezel wire/thin wall bezels, you can use your burnisher to push the walls out slightly, but if more than minor tweaking is needed, you will need to remake the bezel- fit is very important!
• If there is any solder inside the bezel that needs to be removed, use an inverted cone or cylinder bur gently to grind that down.
• Check the depth of the bezel wall and mark any excess that needs to be removed. For stones that are symmetrical, you can mark the proper bezel height with dividers. For asymmetrical stones, mark with a sharpie.
• File to correct height.
• For thick wall bezels, use setting bur to cut inside chamfer.

• If needed, you can smooth the chamfer out with a rubber wheel.
• File an outside chamfer so that there is a very small flat area at the top of the bezel.

Seated Bezel:

Layout:

• Estimate the bearing (seat) depth.
• Go deeper if you are uncertain since you can always file excess off of the top.
• Look at the side view and file to level off the top. Check from all angles.
• Check the girdle thickness and also check for uniformity of thickness.
• Especially in oval cut stones, there is a lot of variation in the girdle thickness due to “makeup” facets to keep the shape even.

Cutting the seat:

• Check the bearing vertex (seat) to see if it needs to be evened out.
• If so, use an inverted cone bur to cut it down.
• If the setting doesn’t have a seat, mark one into the setting with dividers.
• Double check the depth against the stone and then cut the line with an inverted cone bur.
• Open up the setting to the correct size with a cylinder bur.
• Ride the bottom of the bur lightly on the seat to keep even
• When the stone begins to go in, mark any areas where it is touching the side with a sharpie and just open up those areas further.
• Look at the depth of the pavilion shelf.
• You can turn the stone upside down if it is a symmetrical cut to get a clearer view.
• Reduce the pavilion shelf with a bud bur- not the slimline reamer!
• Go almost all of the way to the edge of the shelf, so there isn’t a lot of material to remove when cutting the bearing seat.
• Cut the bearing seat with the setting bur.
• Take a small ball bur (slightly taller than the girdle height) and make a slight undercut in the side walls.
• This will keep pressure off of the top corners of the girdle and help to prevent breakage of the stone.
• Cut an inside chamfer with a setting bur.
• If needed, you can smooth the chamfer out with a rubber wheel.
• File an outside chamfer so that there is a very small flat area at the top of the bezel.

Homework: Have your 2 flat bezels and your seated bezel cleaned up and ready to set next week. 

Project 1

Project 1

Create a piece incorporating at least one bezel set stone. The stone can be in a flat bezel, seated bezel, or split bezel. In designing consider how to make the piece and the stone work together- through textures, colors, forms, placement, etc. Pick your stone, and design the piece with that particular stone in mind. Use any and all skills from previous classes.

For inspiration, think about layers. Layers of meaning, structural layers, visual layers, layers of technique and skill, translucent layers where you can see the progression and history, opaque layers that are only visible from the side.

For next week- Have 10 designs or maquettes of pieces as well as the stone(s) or measurements of the stone(s) you are planning to use.

Important Dates:

Designs due January 19.

Project due beginning of class February 9.