Hi Orchidians; I have a new thread I thought would be fun. How
about “tools I’d like to see”? I’ll start. I’d like to see a bur
set, 45 or 90, cut with a profile designed for “fat girdle” stones.
They would look like regular setting burs, except instead of a sharp
edge, the edge would be squared slightly, to cut a notch in a prong
that would provide clearance for stones with thicker girdles. Here’s
another gadget I’d like to have. A small drawer, maybe 2 inches by 3
inches, that mounted under the bench top, near the pin, that when you
slid it out, the lid opened on a spring. It would be lined with a
soft material, and could be slid out completely for cleaning. This
would be the place you could put stones that you were getting ready
to set, so they would be safe from being knocked off into the tray,
or get scratched by abrasive dust on the bench top. Anybody else
have any great ideas that they’ll probably not get around to
patenting or making?
Here’s one. On top is a hopper that you fill with stones. At the
bottom a drill. All you do is place the tool on top of a surface,
press a button and it instantly drills the hole and perfectly sets
the stone. There is a dial on the side that changes the setting
method between flush, gypsy etc. It costs under $150!
Hey Good one David! I’d like to see a collet on a flex shaft that has
several stepped 90 degree angles that when opened up can be used to
hold small round bezels or tubing from the inside. I have modified
my own flex shaft chuck to do this but it is not machined perfect and
bezels don’t sit as totally true as they could…
David, Great thread idea. Not only for us to voice our “hearts
desire” but also an inventive way to look at problems from another
angle. Maybe someone looking for a specific tool to solve a problem
can be helped by someone else with a technique or other solution.
Thirdly (and the real reason i felt i needed to respond) is that
some of us, myself included, probably would enjoy inventing some of
the “wished for” tools described here. Your drawer idea is something
i believe can easily be fabricated (i’m thinking along the line of a
sort of “fly fishing fly box”) and if widely appreciated even
manufactured. Who knows where it could lead. You may just be
starting the next Grobet on their way. Andrew Goodell
Alison Gem Corp./Kahan Jewelry Corp.
Here's one. On top is a hopper that you fill with stones. At the
bottom a drill. All you do is place the tool on top of a surface,
press a button and it instantly drills the hole and perfectly sets
the stone. There is a dial on the side that changes the setting
method between flush, gypsy etc. It costs under $150!
I don’t recall where I saw it, but if you add about two more zeros to
the price, it’s just about what I saw advertised a few years ago. It
needed very closely calibrated melee, and could be tooled for either
burnish/flush settings, or bead/pave setting styles. As I recall, it
was used for things like pave watch dials by large manufacturers of
such things… Computer controlled, laser scanner helping to run the
thing, etc… Cool toys. I showed the ad to our diamond setter.
he wasn’t amused…
I'd like to see a collet on a flex shaft that has several stepped
90 degree angles that when opened up can be used to hold small
round bezels or tubing from the inside. I have modified my own
flex shaft chuck to do this but it is not machined perfect and
bezels don't sit as totally true as they could.....
Hi T. Lee, I’m having trouble picturing how this tool works but, boy,
does it sound like something I could use. Any chance you could
describe it in more detail or, better yet, post a picture on your
website? I’m tired of abrading or burning my fingers from trying to
hold onto tiny bezels when I’m cleaning them up!
Hello Orchidland, Actually I had a dream about this tool after
listening to a fascinating lecture about nanotechnology. I’d like a
couple really small, deep throated “C”-clamp with interchangable
tiny jaw tips. A pair that come to points, another pair with little
flat pads, etc. It’s the “really tiny” part that would be
difficult. Judy in Kansas
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
Biological and Agricultural Engineering
237 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936
I'm tired of abrading or burning my fingers from trying to hold
onto tiny bezels when I'm cleaning them up!
Dear Beth, I don’t know if this will help you, but I have been using
a small tapered mandrel which I can chuck into the handpiece ( I
have made several sizes for different diameter bezels). These are
made of wood and generally are slotted lengthwise 1/3 to 1/2. The
split allows me to place a small wedge into the slot to keep the
bottomless bezel on the mandrel while I spin it and clean up the
bezel with progressively finer sandpaper sticks (or files).
I also have developed a technique to finish a cup bezel which is
rather simple and if this is of any interest to you I’d gladly post
my method either directly to you or via the Orchid digest.
You can also try this out without any construction on your part by
obtaining a slotted wood mandrel (very inexpensive) which is tapered
and intended for use with various grits of strips of abrasive paper.
This is designed to be threaded on the tapered mandrel of a
polishing motor and will “accept” different size open ended bezels.
If any of this is unclear please feel free to contact me directly.
Hi All, I love to hear what others are wishing for, me, I’d just
like a jar of miracles or a time machine to allow the time
neccessary for all the work there is to do. For now I keep a magic
wand purchased at Disneyland right above the pliers rack, fortunately
Hi Judy, You can get very little ‘Quick Grip’ micro bar clamps at
Home Depot that are great for parallel clamping of small parts. They
have little pads on the jaws that you can slip off and
customize…very handy and cheap too!
T Lee T Lee Fine Designer Jewelry 18 University Ave NE Minneapolis, MN
I also have developed a technique to finish a cup bezel which is
rather simple and if this is of any interest to you I'd gladly post
my method either directly to you or via the Orchid digest.
Hi Joe, Thanks for responding and please do post the above to the
list (I’m sure others would benefit). It’s finishing bezel cups that
I’m especially interested in. I use a lot of 3 mm round cabs (as
well as trillions and other shapes) and cleaning up those tiny bezel
cups can be a real pain – literally!
I'd like to see a collet on a flex shaft that has several stepped
90 degree angles that when opened up can be used to hold small
round bezels or tubing from the inside. I have modified my own
flex shaft chuck to do this but it is not machined perfect and
bezels don't sit as totally true as they could.....
Hi T. Lee, I'm having trouble picturing how this tool works but,
boy, does it sound like something I could use. Any chance you
could describe it in more detail?
Hi Beth, I tried to respond to you offlist but your email bounced
back so…
All I did was clamp my flexshaft handpiece level on my bench and
then while spinning it, use a file with a right angle edge to make
little steps on the jaws. I would love to know how to tell you how
to do this perfectly square (any suggestions?) but I was able to get
it close enough by hand and eye, to do the job. You can then set a
round high bearing bezel on this seat on the jaws and open your flex
shaft jaws until the finding is tightly held from the inside. Call
me if you want a more colorful, live description. I’ll bring the
camera to work and shoot you a picture of it.
T Lee
T Lee Fine Designer Jewelry
18 University Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 789-2656
(772) 594-2318 fax
It's finishing bezel cups that I'm especially interested in.
Dear Beth and others who might be interested: The procedure I use to
finish cup bezels is to mount the cup on a screw mandrel. This must
be done dead center so that the cup will run true. To locate the
center I use a set of tools called transfer punches. These are used
in machineshop work and are a set of round steel rods of graduated
diameters with a small nib centered on the end. (These are available
at Harbor Freight for about $7.00 for a set of 28 PCs with a stand)
You select the rod that just fits snugly in the bezel. These are
ranging in size from 3/32 to 1/2 inch, not in mm. But it really
doesn’t matter as long as you select a close fit. You tap the end of
the rod so the nib at the other end marks the center on the floor of
the cup. The dimple created serves to allow one to drill a small
hole which will allow the insertion of the screw of a mandrel. This
can now be fixed to the mandrel which can in turn be chucked into
the handpiece and allow the finishing with either abrasive paper on
a stick or files.
You mentioned trillion settings and, obviously, these cannot be
rotated in the handpiece for finishing, but if having a small hole
in the floor of the setting is not a problem, you can drill a hole
anywhere in the floor and mount the setting on a screw mandrel which
can in turn be held in a pin vice and finished as you would without
having to hold these small items in your fingers. HTH Joe Dule
I would love to see manufacturers make available calibrated bezel
cups (round, oval, square, rectangle, etc., whatever sizes and
shapes are available in calibrated stones) in fine silver and gold,
rather than in alloys. It would make it so much easier to burnish
around the stones when it comes time to set the stones.
Hello Orchidland, I would like to heartily second Linda Kaye-Moses
desire for calibrated bezel cups in fine silver and high karet gold.
Yes! What a difference that would make. Any manufacturers out there
listening? Judy in Kansas
I would like to see bur sets available made in exact 1/10th MM
sizes , the somewhat arbitrary jumps in sizes is constantly
frustrating .Especially the setting bur .
Hello Mark I solve this burr problem by etching the burs A few minute
is my file etching solution and you have burrs 0.1 mm smaller in
diameter use old ones for it and you save also direct money
Clean the file in a hot washing soda bath with a brush, or with an
other way of decreasing.
Than put them in the following mixture:
7 parts water
3 parts sulphuric acid
1 part Nitric acid.