Daily Tip June 21: Wrapping Tiny Cabs
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
June 21, 2010
Question:
I recently acquired a collection of stones from a retiring silversmith. Many of the cabs are beautiful but tiny, including 4mm round, 6 x 8mm ovals, etc. I do have 24-gauge wire, and am comfortable working with it to make pendants and earrings, but these stones are so small that they’re hard to hang onto, let alone design around! What can you suggest that I do for these teeny treasures?
-Jake in Edmonton, Alberta
Answer:
Yes, those are really tiny sizes! Some folks use 26-gauge and smaller round wire to cage items like this, however I am going to give you a different experiment today (one my husband does with opal chips).
First, find a small, bowl-shaped item/container (maybe the top half of a domed metal button) place it on a surface that will keep it level (such as clay) and using a liquid plastic resin, pour a bit into the container. Then place the tiny cabs into the resin (top side up) until you are happy with the design. You could even fill the spaces between the cabs with seed beads, etc. Fill the remaining space with the plastic resin and let it harden completely. Now you can wrap your personally created “gemstone mosaic.”
Other than that, maybe find a jeweler would trade items you can use for those tiny cabs.
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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cabochon, cabochons, jewelry ideas, jewelry making, plastic resin, stones, wire wrapping
Filed under:Daily Wire Jewelry Tips‚ Gemstones & Beads‚ Light Lapidary‚ Project Help
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How about putting those stones in snap sets and using 26g square 1/2 hard make some dangling ear rings? I have done this myself and the effect is great with pearls and draping chain. Just a thought!
Another way to use those cabs would be to put them into settings, with open backs, like Snap-Set, and then wire through the setting to add the stones to your piece. I have used this technique and it works well with either faceted stones or cabs. (I’m jealous).
I have used prong settings and wired them into my designs. Try to get some snap sets – very easy to use, and also secure. You can run a small wire through the back of the setting to secure it into a ring or pendant and wire-sculpt the rest.
LOVE this idea. I’m hoping to be able to get started with resin casting soon and I have a bunch of tiny treasures from my late lapidarist husband’s left behind stock. I actually made a caged pendant from a 6mm one that sold immediately. Delicate is still “in” with many.
The other option would be to grab a torch and some solder, and make bezel settings for them. It’s not difficult, and you can do some pretty spectacular things with tiny stones. There’s plenty of online tutorials and you might even find a local artisan who leads classes, which is where I learned.
I have made small cages [[24-26 gauge]] for tiny gems and cab…While most customers love the larger designs for pendants, a lot of people buy the tiny treasures for their children…The little gems are simplistic, making them perfect for those who like delicate pieces…I am interested in the way dale’s hubby creates mosaics so I might give that a try…Of course, I need to know what kind of liquid plastic to use since I have never used one…
I will ask him later today Lacyblu, as I am currently in Utah with Wire-Sculpture (and hubby is back home in TN).