[Jewelry making - Article 00014] - Re: [Orchid] Fabrication Issues

[Neilthejeweler]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

    Q#1 

    My preference is to use a manufactured channel when appropriate. Just
    because its quicker which means less expensive. 

    You can fabricate your own channels but it can get tricky sometimes.
    You need the following to be right on....width of opening, height and
    thickness of rail, spacing of holes. On a curved surface such as you
    might have on a ring, the centerlines of holes must be spaced a
    little less than the diameter of the stones. How much less is
    influenced by how close to the bottom surface the girdles come. The
    closer to the surface, the closer to the diameter of stones. The
    radius of the ring comes in to play also. 

    If you're setting color in the channel things get a bit more
    complicated. Very often you will have pavilions that are bigger than
    a typical hart bur is designed for, so you have to go in with an
    additional burr to accommodate. You might try reaming out the hole
    with a bud burr til you get a nice, steady seat. 

    Hoover & Strong and others have flat and square wire in many sizes
    that you can carve as needed. You can also solder the rails onto a
    base. The advantage here is uniformity. The down side is solder
    seams. 

    Get into curved or tapered channels and wax might be a better
    alternative, depending. 

    Q#2 

    I'd like to see.010" to .015" wall thickness on something that size,
    so your example seems in the right ballpark. You need less of a seat
    for diamonds than for color. I'd start slightly oversize from there
    to allow for polishing and off-center drilling (which can happen at
    that size). Tubing can be stretched on a bezel mandrel.
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________