Protecting stones

Has anyone used the product Garnet Sand for protecting stones while
sizing rings. It is wetted and packed around the stone. Bob Goll
Indep, Ks

Hi Bob! I’m unsure of the difference between garnet sand and
soldering grain because I know they appear to be pretty similar.
Anyway, I use soldering grain wetted down with water in a cut-in-half
aluminum can on a daily basis to work on silver and gold jewelry with
stones other than ruby, sap. and dia’s. I’ve tried “cool jool” and
some other things and have not found anything that works better than
soldering grain. I’m not sure if this info. has been useful, but
hopefully it is. Tara

End of forwarded message

Hi Bob,

I’ve used garnet sand several times to hold pieces in place while
soldering and it definitely acts as a heat sink, although that was not
my goal at the time. I imagine it would work as well for protecting
stones as several of the other heat retardant methods mentioned here
lately.

For those who are unfamiliar with garnet sand, it is exactly what it
sounds like: small grains of crushed garnet. Once you mix it with
water to a thick paste consistency, you can place parts to be soldered
into it, being careful not to get any right on the areas you want to
solder. It dries/hardens quickly and will hold your parts quite
firmly. It’s certainly faster than using investment, though not as
rigid when dry.

Another nice thing about it is that you can crumble it up when you’re
done and reuse it.

Beth

The problem with garnet sand is that it is not widely available
whereas carborundum is available almost anywhere in the world and is
actually a much better heat sink than garnet. Ron at Mills Gem, Los
Osos, CA