[Jewelry making - Article 00783] - Re: [Orchid] 14K Bezel frustrations

[Helen Hill]

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>     Many times we use the jettset plasticene 1st then hold that on the
>     block with hot glue, (low temp) because the plasticene tends to
>     break loose frome the wood. 

    I thought the whole point of Jettset and Thermo-loc is that when warm
    you can mould it and when room temperature or cold, it is "rock"
    hard. I use these properties to set all my stones in the jewellery I
    make. I don't need to mount the Thermo-loc onto wood in order to put
    it in my vice because I mould the actual material into a shape with a
    flat portion on the top (into which I set the piece of jewellery) and
    a vertical flange underneath. You put this flange into the vice while
    it's still maleable and tighten the jaws just enough so as to mould
    the sides of the flange to the flat surfaces of the vice jaws. At the
    same time, I make sure that the piece of jewellery is mounted in the
    top part in such a way that it won't move at all when the Thermo-loc
    cools and that there is no Thermo-loc in the way of the bezels or
    prongs to be turned over onto the stone - and that with open
    settings, I've left enough room for the pavilion and culet of the
    stone. I leave it like that in the jaws of the vice to cool while
    mounting the next piece into a second piece of Thermo-loc. The first
    one is then hard enough to hold its shape so can be taken out and
    the second one can be shaped in the vice jaws. When the "piece" is
    put into the vice again, in order to set the stones, it can be
    tightened more than before so that the vice grips it better and so it
    can't move. Once all my stones are set, I put the lumps of Thermo-loc
    and jewellery back into the container of water in which I first
    heated the material, and it can then be reheated in the microwave to
    soften the material and take out the jewellery, ready for a final
    polish. I'm confused about the need for a piece of wood or MDF. 

Helen
UK
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