[Jewelry making - Article 00296] - Re: [Orchid] Stone Setting - getting rid of graver's marks

[coralnut]

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Goldwerx,

    The laws of physics apply to all of us in this business!  Of course
    stones can be scratched by files and other metal implements.  Or
    conversly, concentrating the force at one point such as pressing a
    sharp point onto even a hard surface can cause fractures and
    breakage. That is why facet meets and ridges are vulnerable, or the
    tip of a burnisher pressed against a flat facet will often do the
    same.  But, in 30 years of setting stones, I have never damaged a
    solid agate or jasper cab with a file....the rounded surface is the
    key here folks! 

    Re breaking a diamond....Don't kid yourself.  A diamond doesn't even
    need a brass hammer to be broken.  Simple hand pressure on a thin
    area such as around the girdle or even proper alignment to the grain
    can break one. We are talking cleavage and toughness here, not
    hardness. But I don't believe any of us when setting a stone,
    purposely pushes the point of a tool into a surface nor are we
    purposely careless when setting diamonds or other hard stones.  None
    the less, I have spent considerable time repairing stones damaged by
    setters who, for one reason or another, did damage to a stone.  Was
    it haste? Carelessness?  Or was it lack of knowledge? 

    What I was suggesting was that knowing the relative hardness of your
    tools and stones being set, can certainly save a setter (or anyone
    doing the process) a lot of heart burn. And, there are some things
    one can get away with if they understand the differences. That
    doesn't mean we can grab a file and saw away at a stone...any stone. 

    By the way, do you know that many of the wheels used to smooth metal
    contain SiC?  Some are looked upon as b eing 'pumice' wheels
    (containing simple pumice powder which is a soft volcanic stone) but
    are actually made with SiC which is a 9.5 hardness.  Be careful of
    using those wheels around stones and know what is in them. 

    Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where simple
    elegance IS fine jewelry! dcdietz AT comcast.net

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