Next, I'm going to work on compiling various resources, pictures, written instructions, and perhaps even some video clips to provide more detailed information for those of you who are interested. I'm thinking it will go something like this...
Soldering, Part 1: Bezel Set Ring Overview (download pdf version)
Soldering, Part 2: Tools & Equipment
Soldering, Part 3: Soldering Fundamentals
Soldering, Part 4: Ring Fabrication
Soldering, Part 5: Metal Finishing Techniques
I think I'll probably publish each mini-tutorial here on the blog, and also provide a link to a pdf version so that you can easily save it to your own computer for later use. Sound okay? Let's get to it then!
Soldering, Part 1 - Bezel Set Ring Overview
copyright 2008, Tamara McFarland / McFarland Designs
This segment provides an overview of my process for making bezel set rings. Future tutorials will go into greater detail on soldering and ring fabrication techniques.
Materials needed: sheet metal, bezel wire, ring stock, and cabochon (not pictured)
A section of sheet metal is cut slightly larger than the cabochon; a piece of bezel wire is cut to fit snugly around the cabochon, and ring stock is cut to the appropriate size.
The bezel wire is soldered shut and shaped to fit the stone.
The bezel wire is soldered to the sheet metal to form a bezel cup.
The excess sheet metal is filed off from around the outside of the bezel cup, the ring band is soldered closed and formed into the desired shape, and then soldered to the back of the bezel cup.
The cabochon is placed into the bezel cup.
The bezel is pushed closed tightly around the stone.
The metal is finished as desired, either with a shiny finish or, in this case, a satin finish.That's it! Feel free to download the pdf version of this tutorial for future reference.
8 comments:
wonder what they are thinking?...
That is an incredibly awesome tutorial - very professional too! Thanks so much!
this is so fabulous! thank you so much for sharing. :)
That's so cool! How do you remove the exess sheet metal that sticks out around the bezel cup? With a file?
This is so cool! Maybe someday I'll try it out....
Yes Lotta, with a file or a grinder. Thanks for pointing out that missing bit of information; I've added it to the tutorial text. :-)
Tamara, this is great! I've been experimenting with some soldering and bezel setting, and one thing I really like about your process is your ring shanks. Could you share how you shape them? I'm assuming you cut a strip from sheet (it looks pretty thick), bend it around a mandrel, and then instead of completing the circle, it looks like you form kind of a horseshoe shape, then bend the two ends w/chain nose pliers perhaps? Any tricks for getting it so perfectly fit to the bezel and uniform?
Thanks again for this - learning soldering has been a frustrating but rewarding experience, so far.
rhienelleth, thanks for your comments. I'll be going into more detail on fabrication techniques on subsequent tutorials, but for now I can say that yes, you can either cut your bands from sheet or buy rectangular wire already in the correct shape. And they make ring mandrels in the shape of my 'horseshoe' type rings - I use one of those to get it all perfect and symmetrical.
And I agree, learning to work with metal is both frustrating and rewarding. I haven't been doing it for too long myself, but I love it - most of the time. :-)
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