[Jewelry making - Article 00613] - Re: [Orchid] Sizing ring with bezel-set stone

[manmountaindense]

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    	Once again, I feel like jumping in where I might better minding
    my own business. Come to think of it, jewelry is my business. 	
    Just about thirty years ago, I was taught how to size rings. I
    was taught in a shop that did trade work for 150-180 accounts
    year round. In order to maintain these accounts, the owner of the
    company thought that it would be a good idea if we knew how to
    size rings competitively. Fast and cheap. No broken stones. No
    thinned shanks. No loose stones. No pits. No visible seam. No
    comebacks. If a job came back, it should come back because we
    were instructed to size it to the wrong size. 	 First we'd check
    to see if stones poked thru the inside. Then we'd check the
    size. If sizing down, we'd cut out 2.5mm for each size down.
    Then close up the shank and run a saw thru again to insure a
    close fit. Holding the ring in our fingers, flux the join, heat
    from the inside and pull the solder thru. Quenching quickly in
    sulfuric acid. Neutralizing the acid in a solution of baking
    soda. Wipe. File the inside. Round on a mandrel. File and emery
    the outside, chech the stones and send on for finishing. Total
    time less than two minutes. Soldering isn't done with an
    oxidizing or reducing flame but with what welders refer to as a
    neutral flame. Complete combustion of carbon and no excess
    oxygen. At the time we used Hoke torches with natural gas and
    oxygen. Since, I have used midget torches, water torches, little
    torches, oxy-propane and oxy-acetylene. All of these worked
    fine. Today I don't use sulfuric acid. It was fashionable to
    party in rudely tattered Levis in those days and I had the
    rattiest. Holding the ring in our fingers was not stupid. It was
    not dangerous. It was a disipline that allowd the jeweler to
    experience better what was happening while working on the job.
    While holding the ring I knew when I was overheating the ring. I
    didn't need to wonder if the spit wad, drywall mud, wet cotton
    or commercial heatsink was drying out. I knew personally when I
    was spending too much time heating the shank and when was a good
    time to quench it before overheating the stone. This method
    doesn't work well with heavy (5-6mm) shanks. It also doesn't
    work with silver rings. It will carry you a long way with
    platinum, however. With gold I tend to use hard solders and I
    weld the platinum. I also learned to solder silver charms with
    silver solder this way. I have even silver soldered lead, pot
    metal and pewter charms onto silver charm bracelets this way. I
    have seen way too many lead soldered charms. 

    	This has been too windy and maybe on another ocaision I'll tell
    you about sizing up.  

Bruce

    P.S. I have never burned my fingers with this method. Only a
    moron would hold a ring long enough to do that. 

    P.S.S. I have seen people break stones using the mud packing
    method. 	 


**************************************************
Bruce D. Holmgrain
Maryland's first JA certified Master Bench Jeweler
http://www.goldwerx.com
manmountaindense AT goldwerx.com


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