Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 1:01 am
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
February 24, 2010
Question:
How do you get that perfect mirror shine on your focal gemstones?
Answer:
As I am not sure which type of stone you mean, cabochon or faceted, I’ll give a general answer for cabochons. The reason this has to be ‘general’ is because the lapidary world is a huge venue and a lot of the polishing techniques used really depend on both the hardness and the make-up of the stone. For example, some softer stones are worked all the way to the polish stage and then we use Zam for the final polish, while some other materials receive their final polish from the use of either cerium oxide or Lindi ‘A’ on a leather pad (glued to a flat lap), and on agates we use a very fine diamond paste on a felt lap (using a regular silicone spray as the extending fluid). I have to credit my husband for the gorgeous polish he gets on the cabs I use, which has come from a LOT of experimenting (and you should see the bucket of, “well, that didn’t work”, which is future fodder for our tumblers).
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
February 22, 2010
Question:
When wire-wrapping, how do you decide where to put the wraps, especially on a free-form piece?
Answer:
In my opinion, the easiest way to decide where to place the needed wraps on a freeform cab frame is to first draw around the shape on paper, then wrap the circumference of the cab with a piece of quilters’ or painters’ tape. Decide what will be the top and then look at the shape of the stone. Where will it need to be supported in the frame the most and what features do you want ‘not’ to be covered? Experiment with your drawing; if you place your wraps in a certain area and make a pull with the top wire, where will the wire go on the stone? Use a marker and mark the tape where you want the wraps to be, then transfer the marks to your wire bundle (keeping in mind the right and left sides). Frame the cab and then make the appropriate pulls that you had planned with the tape.
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 1:01 am
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 23, 2010
Question:
I have a customer that gave me a stone and said she wanted a ring made. Well, the stone is not a normal stone that you would put in a ring, well what I put in rings anyway, so do you have any patterns I could use. The stone is triangle and flat.
Answer:
Almost any stone can be made into a ring using the Classic Cabochon or Pharaoh’s Ring pattern.
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
October 7, 2009
Question:
What gauge and temper wire could be used to wrap a very small cabochon, to maybe set in a ring?
Answer:
Most wire ring designs incorporate the stone or cabochon within the main construction. Depending on the style of the ring being made, 22g half hard wire is commonly used, however the gauge can be adjusted according to the size of the ring. I have made very small ring sizes in 24g and for that gauge I generally use half hard wire for its’ strength. The best advice is to follow the patterns’ suggestion first, and then experiment with a smaller gauge wire for a smaller stone.
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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