We have been sharing a whole lot of different Chrysocolla varieties on my forum.

I especially like a Chrysocolla with Hematite, Tenorite, Silver, Copper, and even Gold.. I love a beautiful metallic finish that these offer.

Then when we start talking about a druzy Chrysocolla…….. Well, ya gotta love a neat druzy cab !

I don’t really want to post pictures of all the different Chrysocolla that has been shared on the forum here. Would rather each member who shared have the same opportunity for you to see them as they were posted by each member. Plus if your as excited about Chrysocolla as we all are, you may well like to join in the conversation and share some of your own pics as well !

One of the members did send me a slab of some with Gold in it.. Can’t hardly add a blog entry without at least one image ! Never knew Chrysocolla even had Gold in it..

Thanks for stopping by !

I know of one such designer. He is a valued member of my Lapidary forum. Extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of jewelry design.
Michael Johnson of Cosmic Folklore Studios goes well above and beyond run of the mill jewelry designers.

Just like when a designer takes the time to work with a lapidary on a regular basis for unique and unusual gemstones, folks who are truly shopping for interesting and unique jewelry designs also know the importance of looking beyond their immediate community. It is the only way we can own the most interesting of handmade jewelry.

Michael teaches and has a large following of students who attend his valued silversmithing / metalsmithing classes at his studio in Helena Alabama.

I watch Michael’s store several times a week in anticipation of seeing newly added designs within Cosmic Folklore Studios. He enjoys creating pendants, necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, and many other interesting pieces.

Michael will tell that it is the Lapidary/gemstone cutter who contributes so much to beautiful jewelry designs. Yes, we do our part, but in the end it is the designer who brings everything together. That is what I like so much about Michael’s jewelry designs. His ability to take unique gemstones and match them up with a variety of metalsmith and silversmithing mediums that result in absolutely stunning pieces.

Maybe you already have a unique gemstone and have a design idea for a piece of jewelry. Or maybe you have an idea for both a type of gemstone mineral and jewelry design, then contact Michael….

I am going to borrow a statement that Michael made about Lapidaries in a recent blog post. As it applies exactly the same when choosing a jewelry designer as well.

“Yes, it may cost more, but it is funny how some people strive to buy the cheapest for the ingredients for their art, when they would never just buy the cheapest car on the lot, the cheapest house in the neighborhood, or the cheapest shoes on the rack.  Some things are just worth the extra it takes to get quality and uniqueness”.

Let me tease you just a bit with a couple of his recent pieces..

Need I say more !

As always, thank you for stopping in and letting me share..

One thing about buying the expensive Orb type Ocean Jasper is that it is hard to find at an affordable price without pitting or vugs. The Ocean Wave Jasper seems to come nice and solid.. Great cabbing material.

One thing I did when shopping for this was knowing I wanted to be able and get as many of the different colored bands that are offered on the slab also within a cabbing area. The dimensions between the colored bands on these will allow me to get three nice colors on a perfect sized cabochon.

If you can not live without this one, you can see it here in store.

Of course if you would like to have one cut for a custom piece of jewelry your designing, just contact me !

Thanks for stopping in and reading !

After it arrived, I quickly realized after trying to push the floral like bezel and prongs that nothing was going to budge!

After some discussion and another attempt at pushing it was obvious that at least the floral like bezel setting was too thick to move. It was a bit hard to believe that at least the prongs would not budge.

Well as things turned out, I was pretty disappointed as it became apparent that there was no way around having to glue the darn stone into the setting. I sure would not have purchased it if I had known.

My next purchase I will sure be paying closer attention.. This was a lesson learned.. Glad it was not too expensive and that I did not purchase all three that I will need during this first purchase.

If I can’t find a blank with a push type bezel setting then will buy the blank with a flat top and solder my own bezel setting.

I just received this pictorial guide to over 150 types of agates and jasper.

“There are many excellent books currently on the market describing banded agates, but there are few with an emphasis on the other structural varieties. There are virtually no current books with images and descriptions of the wide array of fine jaspers presently available. This book tries to fill that void with 240 pages and over 1000 photos and diagrams describing the structural features of both Agates and Jaspers.

It provides an introduction to their genesis, details of their structural characteristics, and a multitude of macro and micro photographs. It’s a stating-point for some of the current theories of their formation, and contains references to more in-depth studies.

No other variety of material offers so many combinations of patterns and spectral colors. Sit back and now an enjoy the complexity and beauty locked within these stones.” (Taken from the rear cover)

I am really enjoying this excellent book, and just wanted to share it here..

Can be ordered via www.theimage.com or www.theimagebooks.com

Wanted to share a really neat tutorial on how to set a square gemstone cabochon by one of our forum members, Bob of Bobs Premium Cabs shared with us.

Bezel setting a stone with sharp corners is somewhat more difficult than an oval because if it isn’t done properly the excess metal puckers at the corners.
Bezel setting is often called a “rub” over setting. This is because some people use a burnisher to “rub” the bezel “over” the stone. It is quite difficult to do this because you can’t get enough pressure especially in the corners to fully push the bezel over the stone. Because the surface of the burnisher is polished it also makes it more difficult to control the burnisher.
There is a bezel pusher that has a round wood ball handle with a small square metal rod to push the bezel over. It has such a small surface that it introduces dents and creases in the bezel.
My favorite tool is a bezel rocker. It is a wood handle with a metal blade. See full tutorial here……

What makes the group gemstone cabochon sets a little more interesting, is the way they are cut from the original mineral slab. Somewhat similar to making a quality pair of earrings. Except instead of using back to back slabs for matching grains on each earring, these sets are cut from the same area off an area from the slab.. Done patiently, a nice contour of the grains will flow through the entire group of gemstones within the settings group.

Lot of fun to do.. They are among the most rewarding when finished.. Just something about them that I really enjoy.. I am thinking of giving a set a whirl myself.. I am still trying to get a little better at my soldering before I tackle one of my own sets!

Any way, just wanted to do a little blog entry. Below are a few examples.. Many more in store. To more easily find just these sets. Use the search box and key word “set”. Happy to do any kind of special requests for similar sets from a variety of interesting and unusual minerals.. Feel free to contact me with a request or questions.

Was finally fortunate enough to have a member from our local club come over and walk me through some basic silver soldering. She was a big help. Little things like working the torch properly, using the flux correctly, etc…

Any way, felt the urge to share the results of this Rainforest Jasper pendant. Still have a long ways to go before I can actually offer some up for sale, but getting there!

The very first example for me was black Tourmaline in quartz.

Then as a result of choosing a rutile Quartz for this cabochon contest this Gold Titainium Rutile in Quartz is only my second experience with rutile minerals. Here is a pic of the piece I sliced off the rough and the finished cab I got from it. Very hard to work with. With this Titainium the rutile ran not only up and down, but also from front to back. Difficult to orientate and think ahead about the final cab shape and utilize the rutile in the very best way possible.

This was a lot of fun and in the end very rewarding. Very pleased with how this Gold Titainium turned out. I am actually very motivated to do more rutile minerals. Although what I realize now that I am shopping for more is that quality rutile minerals of any kind are very expensive. The above black Tourmaline in Quartz as an example is next to impossible to find with any good concentration of rutile. Same with the Gold Titainium. Just can’t find nice material without sacrificing my first born.

I have just recently started to try my hand at silver soldering. Now I catch myself putting some stones aside instead of selling them thinking that sooner or later my soldering and overall designs will be better. So although I did sell all the black Tourmaline cabs from what little rough I had, I am keeping this Gold Titainium one for a future piece.

Actually as long as your here reading this blog entry, if you have or know of someone offering “reasonable” prices on material like this I would sure appreciate knowing about it.  Also more than willing to barter. If you have some that you would like cabbed, would be happy to do it for you in exchange for some of the same!

Thanks for stopping by and reading this entry.

I wanted to try another like 1Rockhounds Biggs Jasper piece with the bezel tape on the outside of the backing. Except I tried another attempt at using flattened wire for the backing again instead of cut out sheet backing.

The order of the images are out of order, but the step are correct.. Hope not too confusing..

Step One Image B shows how I fit the shaped wire to the inside of the stones perimeter. Works out once the wire is flattened out as it spreads.
Any smaller a gauge and I realized that needed a little more flattened surface area to be able and have enough extra room to play with when fitting it to the stones size.

Step Two Image A shows the 12 gauge round wire slightly flattened.

Step Three Image D shows the wire flattened and the perimeter filed to the match the stones outer edge.

Step Four Image F shows the flattened wire ends soldered together.

Step Five Image G and H shows it cleaned up a bit and additional filing to the inside of the flattened wire so it is somewhat uniform in shape on the inside.

Step Six Image I shows the bezel tape shaped to the outside of the flattened wire backing with the ends soldered together. It only took me three tries to get this part right ! Also important to file down any excess solder on the inside of the bezel tap joint. Otherwise will have problems when trying to solder it to the outside of the backing.

Initially I use a fairly stiff wire bristle wheel followed up with the 3M bristle discs. These discs work well..

Step 7 Image K.. I like to use silver solder paste for filling the space between the bezel tape and backing. Just seems to work nicely. I am sure any other solder would work just fine.

Step 8 Image L is from the back after soldering the tape to the backing. One problem I had was the flattened wire ends came apart and became un-aligned (lower right of image L). I tried to re-heat and press back in place but it would not budge. Stuck with it as it is.. It also resulted in not having a completely nice flat backing after sanding the whole thing on a flat surface.

Images M and N are after I used bezel pusher followed up with a burnishing tool to press the tape against the stone.

This is where things went further South on me too. As the bezel pusher created little indentations that I could not smooth out with the burnishing tool. Next time will pass on using the bezel pushing tool and just use the burnishing tool.

This was because I did not fit the outside of the backing “perfectly” to the outside of the stone. The result was extra gap that forced me to push the bezel tape further than would have been necessary if it was fit properly to begin with.

On this particular setting I am going to metal glue a bail to the top back once I can order some from Rio. Normally I would solder the bail on, but became impatient and went ahead and set the stone today. Not something will be getting in the habit of doing in the future… Just got in a hurry to see how it was going to look and knew I could not order any bails for a while.

Had been making some with fair success, but going to start spending a few extra dollars on some nicely finished ones from now on..

The end results show I need more practice !!

Thanks for reading and feel free to share any of your own soldering trials, tribulations or even successes with me !

That has changed. Another recent evaluation shows that I am going to loose some where between 20 and 30% of monthly income.

What was once a casual and non stress business/hobby now has to be picked up a notch !

Where I once was not quite as concerned about expenses and inventory, I now have to pay much more attention to even the minor details. I use to not be quite as concerned about what the competition was up too, now it is key to the difference between a potential sale and a sale.

I am very grateful that I have a good online presence. So it’s not like I have to build that from scratch.

Pricing is going probably be the biggest issue. I am pretty sure all will be well. It’s just the realization that I have to treat this much more like a business, and really concentrate on things. The online tools are there…

Realizing my own personal changes as a result of stock market issues, and or just the overall recession that we are all finding ourselves dealing with just what other consideration are important.

What about the jewelry designer experiencing similar situations. Cutting costs and expenses. Making every penny count.

What that in itself means to someone like myself who supplies them. It feels like a potential chain effect. Designers are going to be looking for the very best pricing and also the very best quality to go with it.

I also have just started to try my hand at designing my own line of jewelry. My last online order for silver and misc supplies made me pay close attention to what I was buying. What do I absolutely need, what can I make due with a little less of, etc…  So I am getting a taste of what a professional jewelry designer might be experiencing in these tougher times.

I feel that what was a high end cabochon will have to come down in price to be competitive and affordable to designers who are in the same boat as I am.

They are not going to want to cut corners on stone quality. So I am expecting some serious price reduction to make the sales to them.

Truth is, I am ok with that. As a cutter, there is room to reduce pricing on even the highest end cabochons and still profit.

Not sit on gemstones because my ego insists that it is worth something more. I would rather sell those stones and make a little less.

As a cutter, and or designer, are you finding the recession effecting you in similar ways. If so what kind of change are you presently or do you foresee making to be competitive and still profitable for your business.

I would very much like to hear your expectations as a designer who is feeling the pinch as a result of the markets, job loss, and other things that are a result of the recession that our Country is in and how it may be effecting your online business activities.

Maybe your like myself. Finding yourself in need of taking what was more of an online past time or business/hobby into a more serious online business to supplement your income.  Maybe even actually in hopes of  turning it into a serious and primary source of income.

What can a cutter like myself do to help you make your jewelry more competitive to your customers in these difficult times when people are thinking twice about spending their extra money on jewelry.

There are options, including possibly buying in quantity and obtaining discounts that way. Dealing with a single lapidary shop like myself can and will result in substantial discounts. Repeat customers are of great value. We are likely to offer discounts based on repeat business. Purchasing rough yourself and sending it to my shop is another way to save towards gemstone purchases. Bartering has always been highly recommended method of two businesses getting what each needs and can both profit from in the short term.

Thanks for stopping in and reading !

“Undercutting” occurs when softer grains in the rock grind down faster than the harder grains and you end up with a pock-marked effect - some people call it an “orange peel effect. Look at the way the peel on an orange has hollows in it. Picture the hollows as spots where softer grains ground down faster than the surrounding harder grains. Undercutting happens when you have a lapidary material that consists of more than two minerals where there is a significant difference in hardness or the rate that the material will be removed varies significantly because of the differences in hardness within the mineral. It is the structural characteristics that make certain minerals susceptible to “undercutting” and an “orange peel” surface effect.

The effect is more pronounced when using loose grits because the grits can move about, with both individual grains of grit able to move into attitudes where they have “high spots” that grind into the soft grains of the material, and the grains can pile up into little clumps that also sit higher than the surrounding grains - doing their cutting deeper into the soft grains of the stone being worked. Grinding wheels can have similar difficulties because they tend to wear down unevenly - leaving some high spots and/or grains that will undercut the softer materials in a stone. Using sandpaper reduces the effect significantly because all the grains are glued onto the backing in a relatively level fashion - not much chance for grains of grit to end up sticking up higher, or for clumps of them to form and grind deeper into the stone. But as sandpaper wears you can end up with loose grits on it that will cause undercutting, so it is probably best to change the paper at the first signs of trouble - and not use old, worn sheets at all for any material that is prone to undercutting.

The best way to avoid undercutting in materials prone to this is to use sandpaper instead of loose grits or grindstones. And it may still take you a while to come up with the best combination of sanding grits and polish to get the best results: Not all sandpaper is created equal.

Hard felt polishing surfaces are especially recommended for opal, agate and other materials.

Remember too that no degree of polishing will correct a stone which undercut during sanding.

What about possible solutions?

A preform cutting and grinding guide assembly can be used in conjunction with Graves and Diamond Pacific cabochon machines. The Graves grinding or cutting guide assembly can be integral or attached to a cabbing machine.

The reason I mention this particular tool, is because of of “cams”, undercutting is eliminated because the cab is forced to shape to the contour of the cam. The softer mineral compositions in the stone can not undercut the harder compositions, and the harder compositions also have to conform to the shape of the cams. These cams can be home made into any shape to match desired cabochon preforms from any semi-precious mineral that you expect undercutting issues with. Not to mention of course any other semi-precious material as well.

Here is the limitations though.. It is strictly for preforming. It does not solve dealing with surface undercutting.

Preformer Attachment:

Made by the Graves Company. Take the guess work out of shaping and sizing cabochons and faceted stones. Simply assemble the proper cam, turn the handwheel and the preformer will guide the grinding of the stone to the precise size and shape of the cam. Easily adapts to most grinding and faceting machines. For special sizes or shapes, machined metal or nylon cams can be made in your own workshop.

Here is one of a couple of actual semi-cabbing machines that will deal completely with undercutting for the entire cabochon.

A Colbaugh Semi Cabbing unit. It provides me complete semi-cab forming opportunities. It too incorporates the use of cams ( shown below in first pic ) that allow me to overcome potential undercutting of any semi-precious cabochons.

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Another similar unit is the Addexton Semi Cabbing unit. Similar operating procedures as the Colbaugh unit.

I brought these two units up only to offer possible solutions to dealing with semi-precious minerals where undercutting is an issue. Not meant to promote by any means.

One of the many minerals I have ran across where undercutting was unavoidable, as an example was this Azurite/Malachite with Quartz. It matters not what ya try to do, the Azurite/Malachite undercuts the Quartz. For myself it has been these Quartz and or Gem Silica mixed minerals that I have had most all my undercutting problems with.

You can see a finished cab here cut from the slab clearly showing the Quartz and or Gem Silica. The semi-cabbing machine deals well with the combination of the softer Azurite/Malachite prone to undercutting the much harder Quartz veins, leaving a nice smooth surface.

I have searched high and low online and have yet come across a technique that will aid and or overcome undercutting when working similar materials freehand on a cabbing machine.

One mineral I did run into with undercutting suggestions was for the different types of Jade.

The fibrous texture of jade and variation of hardness are the reasons for its reputation as a problem. Apparently some Jade can be sanded dry and works up beautifully. Other material in its final sanding begins to undercut. When this happens, it is suggested to stop immediately and try a new approach. First, a final sanding on a new piece of 600 cloth. Many times this will correct the difficulty and after a few moments the cabochon will be smooth, free of under-cut or peel, and appear almost polished.

Feel free to comment on minerals that have proven difficult for you to work, and undercut on you.

Also…… Please leave tips and tricks comments that you suggest to overcome undercutting while cabbing freehand.

I think just like myself, a lot of brand new online lapidary related business owners find ourselves somewhat overwhelmed with the many different possibilities that just sorta seem to present themselves to us as we embark on SEO related techniques.

These practices are completely different in application and technique today than they were when I first gave thought to developing my online presence a little over a year ago.

Different in technique and application, but the basic practices are much the same. Not much sense in sharing in detail. Today my main primary online sites although different are similar in a lot of ways.

I have gone through a couple of different selling sites and have now settled into a great shopping cart. Gone through several blogging software packages and have now finally settled into one that is excellent.

Online jewelry design related business owners like myself who have at least these two basic and very important type of sites up and running properly have just by the nature and course of events that lead to accomplishing them, found ourselves also educated about a few other very important things along the way.

Without a doubt we were told the importance of participating in at least a couple of forums that discussed jewelry design related topics. We learned the importance of joining in discussions and starting topics of interest related to our jewelry related niches. The forums we choose can be a little different for each of us depending upon what exactly our jewelry design related niches are.

From the time I first started out right up until just recently, my jewelry design related niche solely consisted of the sale of gemstones to jewelry designers. Because of that I settled into a couple of fun forums that were a mix of jewelry making related topics.

Still today, this “practice” is still the same, although the technique has changed because I started a lapidary related forum of my own. Still…. the need to mingle with others who share my same interests is extremely important. One big bonus is that I am truly having a great deal of fun. Although I have not actually met any of our forum members in person, we have connected. Connected with many who I have come to feel share a friendship as well as our common interests.

Let there be no mistake though. No matter if I had created a forum of my own or not, the need to mingle and connect with others is a must. Making participation in a couple of forums a daily routine is beneficial because sales can and usually do result from participating.

We also without a doubt learned yet another important, almost daily practice that would become just as routine to us as forum participation. “Social networking”.

Not just any social networking, but a group of people that socialize within a community. Unlike a forum, these communities consist of many different categories of network groups. This was much harder for me to get an understanding of than was the straight forward and easy to understand forum process. When I would participate within the arena of a forum, it all made perfect sense. You post a topic that you want to share or learn from and or reply to someone elses post.

Social networking did not come so easy for myself, and that is really putting it quite mildly. With the exception of the very first community that was introduced to me. It is the Squidoo community. At least this Squidoo community did make sense. Although….. when a person becomes a member and creates a “lens” which is your home page within the community, the interaction with other “lensmasters” is different from that of truly socializing within a network of community members. It is really just a community of home pages, or lenses.

Squidoo was really the only community that I found and participated in where at least it made some sense. You could add your jewelry design related lens to other jewelry design related groups within the Squidoo community. The ideal result for myself was for an actual designer to see my gemstone supply lens and hopefully purchase from me after visiting my lens.

This was not really social networking. I was sure that social networking had to be somewhat similar to participating within a forum. No matter which social network I signed up with, they just make absolutely no sense at all. Networks like StumbleUpon, Delicious, and others just seemed completely unorganized. I could not see how social networking was suppose to improve upon my internet presence in any way.

Finally I gave up on the whole thing…..

Then recently while trying to come up with some ideas for my forum members to use for their own developing of an online presence, I posted several social networking communities and shared how important it is to participate within one or two. Yes, for myself too !

I could hardly preach such a thing without at least giving it another whirl myself. I tried to list social networks that in one way or another had something to do with lapidary, gemstones, jewelry, and or jewelry design. While going through and looking at each of the networks that I listed for members to consider, I found one called Ning. The Ning community consists of a wide range of social networks. They have several jewelry and jewelry design related networks within the community. There are several perfectly fine jewelry design networks to pick from.

It was not long before I had created a page about myself. Then I headed off to the main page for the network I joined. I picked the Jewelry Design Network. I don’t really want to go into lengthy details about the group. I just really wanted to share that the Ning community networks made sense to me right away. The Jewelry Design Network consists of a variety of different kinds of jewelry design related members.

I am really glad that I found a jewelry design related network that has other online lapidary businesses as well as a variety of other crafts people. In no time at all I found myself joining in and discussing lots of interesting topics.

Joining this network is turning out really a-ok. Turning out to be a lot of fun. Not to mention that I can report some sales directly related because of participation within a social network. A network that finally made sense to me.

Just felt like adding a blog entry with a few of my own trials, tribulations and success with trying to get started in social networks. There are many out there to pick from. What my have been awkward and or uncomfortable for me to participate in, may well suit someone else just fine. The bottom line, is that it really is something that everyone should really include in our arsenal of tools/sites towards developing and maintaining the best possible jewelry design related online presence that we possibly can.

One of my recent pieces started out so well…… I was smiling through the entire process of shaping and soldering the three step bezels for this three piece necklace.

Then came the last two solders for the little bails on the top of the two hanging pieces. That is when disaster set in ! After three or four attempts the metal became so oxidized that they became unusable.

Both of the bails kept falling off, and had to re-heat and try again.

On the last attempt on one piece, it was such a disaster, that I melted part of the bezel !

Your first question to me is probably asking if I used one of the 3rd arms with clamps. That was in fact the root of the disaster. I was trying to hold them in place with a pair of pliers in one hand and the torch in the other. I had overheated the clips on a previous project so they lost the springy ability to clamp.

I was impatient and, well….. the results show it !

I do not have enough of the same matching step bezel to give it another whirl yet. Next Rio order !

Just felt like sharing my recent disaster. Hopefully I can return with a positive update once I get some more bezel tape !

Thanks for reading. Maybe you have a similar soldering disaster to share ?

TaoGem.com

Embossing stretches metal by hammering from the inside. When the metal is hammered into a cavity, it’s called blocking - an alternate embossing method. Freeform embossing can also be done with a sandbag.

Planishing smooths the metal against a stake by overlapping the hammer blows. This stretching technique also forms the metal to the shape of the underlying stake. With practice, a morrorlike surface can be achieved.

For all forging, the size of the hammer as well as the corresponding stake will be dictated by the size of the work.

RAISING HAMMERS

(Photo 1) Wideraising hammers can be used to raise sheet metal into a bowl against a wooden or metal stake. They are also useful in cylinder forms for raising metal into a concave shape. Subtle planishing of concave shapes is possible with the narrow, curved faces of this type of hammer. Here the wide raising hammer is used to form a tube into a concave shape on a concave stake.

(Photo2) The tighter curves on the faces of a narrow raising hammer allow the raising of small sylinders and concave shapes. The thinner head allows this kind of hammer to fit into tighter curves for both raising and planishing. It’s also useful for fuorging and texturing. Here, the narrow raising hammer is used to raise in (thicken the metal in) the neck of a small sterling bottle.

A short narrow raising hammer can subsititure for the narrow raising hammer when a smaler striking head and a lighter tough is desired. Likewise, a short, wide raising hammer has a profile which makes it a more subtle substiture when a lighter hammer is desired.

EMBOSSING HAMMERS

(Photo 3) Small embossing hammers are used to form small raised areas by hammering from the inside in preparation for chasing or general shaping. A very fine dimpled texture with infinite variations can be produced depending on the strength of the blow. The small end of the embossing hammer can be used to texture surfacees, both flat and curved.

(Photo 4) Larger embossing hammers are used to dome metal from the inside. Metal is stretched from the inside as it is supported on a sandbag or a depression carved in wood. Doming a piece of metal before raising makes ite easier to control because the shape becomes rigid. This type of hammer also leaves a very interesting dimpled texture on flat or slightly domed metal if the mannering is done on the outside of a form while supported against a stake. The embossing can be used to stretch a small bottle from the inside.

A more rounded narrow raising or embossing hammer can emboss narrow raising or embossing hammer can emboss narrow pod or oblong shapes, like a spiculum form. Smoother overlapping marks are easier on long thin shapes tthan with a round embossing hammer.

Embossing hammers with wider, longer profiles are ideal for blocking bowls and broader width strips into concave shapes. As with all embossing hammers, this type of hammer is intended to stretch the metal from the inside.

PLANISHING HAMMERS

(Photo 5) The planishing hammer is for smoothing metal and is typically the most used hammer. The round head is used if the metal being worked has hammer markds from a previous round of raising that need to be smoothed out. The flat head of the hammer will also refine the markds made by the round head for a nearly smooth finish. This hammer is also used to size rings and form bezels. It’s a good general forming hammer when used with mandrels and stakes. Here, the round head is used to shape a hollow donut form from a flat tube.

(Photo 6) Smoothing and squaring the corners of a band ring can be accomplished with the flat side of the planishing hammer.

(Photo 7) Asingle ended planishing hammer with inserts has a plastic head that can be removed with a hex key. The flat plasic head forms metal while leaving it smooth. The metal head is slightly domedto make it easier to strike flat or slightly dome metal. I designed this hammer primarily for the bench jeweler who sizes rings and only wnats one hammer. Here, the plastic head will move the metal with out leaving marks.

Double insert hammers have interchangeable plastic heads of carious shapes that work the metal without leaving marks. The wide range of head shapes duplicate metal planishing, embossing, and raising hammers, and are useful for forming metal without stretching it. The hammer head is heavy enough to move metal with assurance.

TEXTURING HAMMERS

(Photo 8 ) Sharp texturing / raisig hammers are primarily for rings or other metal surfaces where very detailed hammered textures are needed. This type of hammer can also be used to make extremely tight curves when raising portions of jewelry. Here, the sharp edge of the hammer is used to form the texture on a band ring. A shorter, smaller version can be used on wire or other very small surcases. A texture that simulates raw silk is produced with a planishing hammer that has been randomly ground on the heads. It’s similar to a texture that could be rolled onto flat metal in a rolling mill. This type of hammering makes it possible to produce the texture on dimensional shapes.

MALLETS

Plastic head mallets are used to flaten and shape metal without leaving marks.

Here is Bobs Tutorial and of course all credit for this blog entry goes to Bob. He was kind enough to let me add it here to my blog. It is really extremely interesting and the technique he uses with glass and the various tumbling grits is new, unique and not something I have ever seen before.

This is a piece of Woodward Ranch black plume. Often this material has fantastic plumes but it is so dense and black that the plumes don’t show up unless you cut it real thin. If it is thin enough to show the plumes then it is too thin to stand alone as a cab. I started by slabbing is at about 1/16″ thick. I then flattened a slab of translucent light grey agate. Next I flattened the Plume Agate and glued it to the translucent Agate. After the glue set I then ground it on the grinding wheel until it was maybe 1/32″ thick. I then hand lapped it on a piece of flat glass using 220 grit tumbling grit and water. I kept going until he got the plumes that I wanted to show up. Then glued it to a flattened slab of clear Synthetic Quartz. This is what the “sandwich” looks like from the side. The translucent Agate is on the left, the Plume in the middle and the clear Quartz on the right. The two images to the right show looking from the back and front.

At this point I cabbed the “sandwich” , polishing both the front and back.
And now the detail:
1. Use a fairly new piece of flat glass. After you have ground a few slabs on it the center will become dished. I use a piece about 6″ square. Put a pinch of 220 grit abrasive on the glass, wet it slightly and start moving your slab around in figure 8 circles. Keep grinding while adding additional pinches of grit and water as the grit wears down. Stop once in a while, rinse the slab off and dry it. If you have an even frosty appearance with no evidence of saw or grinding marks you are ready to go to the next grit. On a 2″ diameter slab this coarse grind should take about 15 minutes.
2. Rinse the glass thoroughly. Go to the 400 grit step and repeat the grinding activity of moving in a figure 8 pattern until the 220 grit pits are looking much smaller.
3. Repeat the above step with 600 grit.
4. Clean everything up (it gets a bit messy). Set this slab aside and repeat the above steps with the slab that you are going to glue the first one to.
5. Wash the slabs in hot soapy water, rinse them in hot clean water and Don’t touch the surfaces to be glued with your fingers. Using a clean paper towel, wipe both pieces with Denatured Alcohol.
6. Place both pieces on a small paper plate under your “gooseneck” lamp with a 100 watt bulb. Let them heat for about 10 minutes. On a small piece of WHITE paper, mix the two parts of the Epoxy 330 by swirling it together with a tooth pick. Don’t “whip” it together because it will introduce bubbles. From here on bubbles are your enemy! Mix it until you can’t see any swirl patterns in the Epoxy. Mix for one minute more. Slide the piece of paper under the lamp and heat it for about 3 or 4 minutes until the Epoxy mixture becomes rather liquid. The bubbles should have dissipated by this time.
6. This is an important step! Pick up one of the slabs by the edges and scoop some of the adhesive onto it. Spread the Epoxy slowly and carefully trying not to introduce bubbles. Lay it aside and do the same to the other slab. Make sure you are spreading the Epoxy on the prepared sides of the slabs!
7. The most important step! Lay the two slabs together by touching the edges in a “V” and move them together as you squish the Epoxy to the side away from the “V”. This way you are not trapping a big bubble between the slabs. Grip the two slabs betwen the fingers on one hand and slowly apply pressure as you move the pieces a slight amount against each other. Your objective is to squeeze the excess Epoxy and any possibly entrapped bubbles out from between the slabs. When you feel the slabs dragging slightly against each other stop moving them and hold the newly asembled “sandwich” at a steep angle to the bulb in the lamp and look for any entrapped bubbles. If you see any go back to squeezing and moving the sabs to get the bubble worked out to the side.
8. Place the “sandwich” back under the lamp and continue heating for about 30 minutes. Turn the lamp off and go to bed. You’ve worked hard so far and you need a good nights rest!
9. Wake up refreshed and grind or sand the prepared color (plume or whatever) layer down to the desired pattern. Go through the three grits and set this “sandwich” aside. Prepare the final slab surface by going through the above three grinding steps.
10. Glue the two slabs together as above. When the Epoxy is set up hard cab as usual.
A warning! Don’t use 5 minute Epoxy! You don’t have enough working time before it starts to set up!

Here are a couple more pictures showing another example of a very thin slice of Dendritic Agate with a clear backing. Then a side view of the same.

Thanks again to Bob for letting me post this. If you stumbled upon this entry and would like to learn more by following along in the discussion, your certainly welcome to stop by !

Return to main blog page.

It hardly qualifies me as a Silversmith, but sure felt good !

Over the past few days I managed to silver solder some bezel tape around a couple of more. The one is a Carved Agate Cameo, and the other is an Ocean Jasper with a step type bezel tape.

Any way…. As a result I started thumbing through Google. Not really searching for anything particular, just so long as it was related to Silversmithing.

Suddenly, a page popped up and there it was. The perfect bezel ! As soon as I saw it I realized I was on track towards the style of settings I wanted to learn how to do.

It was on the Fretz Tool site. From the same site, on their tools page, I found something else that was completely new to me. Metalmithing tools ! The tools of the trade that I would be needing at least a few of in order to be able to make similar bezels.

It was like a 100 watt light bulb went off in my head. I have been enjoying what little work I have done with the basic bezel tape, but I instantly was attracted to the bold and heavy look of this bezel. It appears to be about a 20 gauge or so.

By the end of the night I found a few additional sites that I have bookmarked.

I already have a few things like a torch set up, fire block and charcoal block. Files, saw, solder, and other misc tools required to do regular bezel work like my first few.

Some additional metalmithing tools to get started will likely include either an entire forming kit or at least the main pieces. Including a stake or two, a chasing and peddiman hammers. I happen to have the perfect desk to build my silversmithing from work station up from.

This list of potential metalsmithing tools and accessories are endless, but just to get started on these eye popping bezels I think can do with just a few of the basics.

It is coming up on Christmas so penny pinching until the first of the year. At that time I will be able to pick up several items. I am very excited about the appearance of these heavier bezels. I suppose once I get a handle on the bezel, something else will present itself and additional silversmithing tools will be necessary.

I wish there was an opportunity to have someone give me hands on instructions, but just not possible out in the boonies. The nearest city is about an hour away. So will be picking up a few books, CD’s and videos.

Tim McCreight has several books, and some visual instructions available as well. One of the members on my forum suggested to start with his Complete Metalsmith edition. He also suggested a Don Norrises CD “Biginning Metalsmithing.

Ok……., guess I am done rambling for now. Thanks for stopping by and reading through this blog entry. Keep checking back to see how things progress for me while I teach myself some metalsmithing basics.

More to come !!

All buffing and polishing methods use power equipment, except thrumming (string buffing) and stick buffing (flat wooden or plastic stats covered with felt, leather, etc.) Definite motor speeds are required for buffing and polishing. Definite motor speeds are required for buffing and polishing. The important factor to consider for the most satisfactory job is surface feet per minute (sfpm). Motor speeds should be capable of producing at least 8000 sfpm on the buffing wheel, and at least 5000 sfpm on the polishing wheel. Speeds rated in rpm are used for rotating surfaces that do not change their diameter dimensions, such as shafts, spindles, pulleys, etc. Buffing and polishing wheels which wear to a smaller size through use, are calculated in surface feet per minute.
A motor rotating at 2400 rpm will turn an 8″ buffing wheel 5025 sfpm, but as the wheel wears down to 7.5″, the same motor speed produces only 4387 sfpm on the buffing wheel. Polishing plates (fig 82) should be purchased with a two speed arrangement of 1725 and 3450 rpm, or a single speed motor can be adapted for two speeds by installing a two step pulley on the motor, and a single pulley on a polishing arbor. The motor and arbor setup, both equipped with 2″ pulleys, will produce the basic motor speed. Identical sizes of any dimension, even of 5″ diameter, will still produce the basic motor speed, but the perimeter of the wheel will be traveling a greater number of surface feet per minute. Weigh a 2″ pulley on the arbor, the speed of this wheel will increase approximately 280 rpm with each 1/4″ increase in motor pulley diameter.
By checking the chart, pulley combinations and wheels with specified diameters, rpm and sfpm can be obtained.
Surface feet per minute is the distance traveled by the outer rim or working surface of a wheel rotating at X number of rpm. Surface feet per minute for an 8″ diameter wheel rotating at 5040 rpm can be determined by the following example:

The wheel diameter (8 inches) is multiplied by pie (3.1416) to obtain its circumbrecne (25.133 or approximately 25 1/8 inches). The circumference is multiplied by the arbor pulley rpm (5040) to obtain the number of inches (126,670 inches) traveled by the outer rim of the wheel in one minute. The sum is divided by 12 to obtain the number of surface feet per minute traveled by the rim (10,555 inches).

This method of calculating sfpm can be used for any size wheel providing the rpm of the motor or motor and arbor combination is known.
Many rpm and sfpm combinations can be worked out with various motor speeds and pulley arrangements. A two step pulley with the largest pulley diameter of 4 inches, and the smallest 2 1/4 inch diameter will turn a 2 inch arbor pulley 4165 rpm and 2565 rpm respectively, and an 8 inch wheel 8723 sfpm and 5372 sfpm respectively, while using a basic speed of 1725.

Buffing Wheels

The various buffs, wheels, laps, and compounds for buffing and polishing are as numerous as their uses and are described here not in order of preference, but as general information.
Cotton flannel buffs with rows of stitching to make the wheel sturdy and fairly rigid are used for general buffing work. Muslin buffs, unstitched and attached at the center only, are usually reserved for polishing steps. As the buffs wear, the threads are cut so that the buffing edge can be used more effectively. The wheels can be trimmed with an ordinary kitchen grater held against the rotating wheel to shape the buffing surface to a new flat or tapered edge. Cotton (muslin buffs if preferred) can be charged with fine emery grit which is excellent when used to produce a scratch or satin finish.
Separate buffs and wheels must be used for each compound used on gold and for each compound on all other metals collectively. The wheels should be clearly marked for their particular use near the center with a color code for identification. Wheels that have been inadvertently charged with a different compound should either be trimmed to clean the working surface, washed, and dried, or discarded. Substitute wheels can be made by tearing discarded fabrics such as cotton prints, old sheets, etc., into 6 inch squares. The center of each square is marked, and a small slit made so that the square can be placed on a threaded mandrel. (Tapered mandrels should not be used here) The fabric squares are placed on the mandrel until the bundle is approximately 3/4 to one inch thick, and the flange nut added and tightened. With the motor switched on, the squares are trimmed to circular shape with a kitchen grater or sharp knife held parallel to the fabric edges. Cotton flannel and muslin buffs are used on textured and overlay surfaces. Felt buffs are used on plain flat surfaces.
Midget buffs, wheels, and brushes 7/8 to one inch diameter are used with teh same compounds as their larger counterparts. Knife edge buffs are used for smoothing bezels and any areas where a flat buff may cut a groove in the surface of the metal on a different plane. Cotton string buffs in different sizes and shapes are adaptable to any buffing and polishing job.Goblet, tapered cone, and cylinderical types with rounded flat or pointed ends are permanently attached to a mandrel that fits into the polishing lathe chuck or the Jacobs chuck attachment on a buffing and polishing arbor and are used with any buffing compound.

Brushes

Hard or soft bristle hog hair or nylon fibers are used in bristle brushes. These are used with grease base compounds for satin finishes. They are especially preferred when buffing chased, repousse, engraved surfaces, and for square bezels to preserve the squared corners perfectly. They are also effective for buffing around prongs, mountings, clasps, and other fastenings and findings, besides working well on filigree, florentined, and scroll work articles. The bristles carry the compound down into the undercuts and hard to get to areas before the upper surfaces are worn smooth or rounded over.
A different bristle brush wheel must be used with each buffing compound. Bobbing compound is the preferred material for buffing when using this type of wheel.

Bristle Hand Brushes

Brushes with the same type bristles as used in the buffing wheels are used primarily with bobbing compound for cleaning and hand buffing filigree and florentined work.

Metal Scratch Brush Wheels

Steel, nickel, monel metal, and brass wire scratch brushes are used dry for cleaning metals, and for effecting a scratch finish on the metal. Brass wheels produce a much softer finish, but are not used on silver as they leave a yellowish deposit on the metal. The wheels should be reversed on the shaft occasionally to keep the bristles from leaning too much in one direction.

Very little pressure is exerted on the wheel so that the wire ends will not be burnished over. If this should occur the wheel is useless. The brushes should be operated at the slower speed of approximately 600 to 1200 rpm. If desired, pumice and water can be used on the wheels to produce a finer matte finish.

Leather Wheels

Stitched leather wheels charged with fine grits or Tripoli buffing compound are used for buffing smooth flat surfaces. The wheels are also available in the small sizes 1/2 to 2 inches diameter.

Rubber Bonded Abrasive Wheels

Finer grit abrasive bonded in hard rubber is used to produce a satin finish when operated at medium speeds of 1500 to 2240 rpm. Higher speeds will put a light polish on the metal and also cut a groove quickly with very little pressure.

Tapered Ring Buffs

Tapered wood buffs covered with a thin layer of cotton or felt or tapered felt cones are used in conjunction with flat wheel buffs for ring finishing. Any buffing compound is used with this combination. The tapered buff finishes the inner surfaces of the ring sides, and the face of the wheel finishes the outer surfaces, except the pronged stone setting which is buffed with a bristle brush wheel.
Rings should not be run all the way up the buff when the motor is running, for the buff will grab the ring and injure the operator.

Wood Laps

Small wood laps with flat or knife edges are used on a tapered spindle. Abrasives, bobbing and Tiipoli compounds are used to buff sections where a sharp defined corner or area is to be retained.

Buffing Compounds

Tripoli compound is the most generally used buffing material and bobbing compound follows in close order. They work well on most metals and types of surfaces, but the preferred use of each has been given for the craftsman’s choice. Tripoli is generally used on gold, silver and nickel silver and worked with buffs, brushes, and laps. Bobbing compound is used on any metal with a brush or lap, but not on buffs. White diamond compound is for general use on copper, brass, bronze, and aluminum, and worked on a buff, brush, or lap. Fine every grit mixed with white vaseline (never yellow) is used for satin finishes on any metal. Pumice and water paste is used for a satin finish on silver because it gives a higher luster than those produced otherwise. The work is done with a bristle brush or wooden lap.
When the metal section or article is ready for buffing it is scrubbed with warm soapy water, rinsed, and then placed in pickling solution which is brought to a near boiling point to remove any oxides and any remaining flux if soldering has been done. It is then rinsed again in running water and dried..
The buffing wheels are charged with a scant amount of compound, not only to keep the shop clean, but because buffing compounds leave a black deposit on the metal if an over abundance of compound is used. The compounds are applied to the wheels as they are running slowly. This is accomplished by turning on the motor and then switching it off before it has had a chance to gain momentum. At the switch off moment the compound is applied to the wheel, acting as a brake to slow it down. This procedure prevents an excess of material from loading the wheel, thus hindering the buffing action. It also leaves less compound to be thrown onto the workbench or into the dust cover. The corners of the wheel are charged with compound so that they too will buff the metal as it is worked across the face of the wheel.
Tripoli compound will adhere more readily to the buffing wheel if the stick is dipped in kerosene before coating the wheel. Overloaded wheels can be cleaned by holding a short length of hacksaw blade at a 90 degree angle to the wheel face as it rotates. This will slightly decrease the diameter of the wheel. The wheel can also be cleaned with the grater used for trueing wheels.

Surface feet per minute requirements for polishing wheels are as important to polishing as to buffing. Polishing requires less speed than buffing, therefore motor rpm, pulley arrangements, and polishing wheel sizes should be computed so that the polishing wheel runs as close as possible to 5000 rpm.
Special buffs are used for each polishing compound, and extreme cleanliness is important. The polishing buffs should be stored when not in use in plastic bags to prevent contamination with buffing or sanding materials. Wheels are color coded, cleaned, and shaped in the same manner mentioned for buffing wheels, brushes, etc., that follow are for general information and are not listed in order of preference.

Muslin Buffs

The most common polishing wheel is the muslin buff, loosely stitched or center attached only and used with rouge polishing compound. The loose flexible folds of the fabric permit the polishing compound to adhere readily to the inner folds so that the fabric quickly reaches all poetions of any textured or formed surface. These buffs are also available in the small sizes, 7/8 to 2 inches diameter.

Flannel Buffs

Used in the same manner as muslin polishing buffs.

Felt Buffs

Hard wheels used with all rouges produce the best polish on smooth flat surfaces. Knife edge buffs are used to polish sharply defined corners without rounding them. Various shapes of felt buffs such as tapered cones, ball, cylinder, and goblet are used with various compounds for a high luster finish on the inside surfaces of metal objects.

Leather (chamois, buckskin) Wheels

Unstitched leather polishing wheels, similar to muslin buffs, are used with the different rouges for fine finishing on textured, formed, and smooth surfaces.

Bristle Brushes

Fine bristle brushes are used with pumice and water paste to polish filigree and florentined textures and any other complicated or intricately detailed surface.

Wood Laps

Small wood laps are used with all polishing compounds to polish square and sharply defined corners. They can also be used for polishing flat enameled surfaces.

Stick Buffs

Stick buffs are wooden slats covered with felt, chamois, or buckskin. They are charged with the polishing compounds and used to hand rub the surfaces to a high polish.

Rouge Polishing Cloth

A soft flannel like fabric impregnated with a rouge compound is used for hand polishing. This cloth is usually sold with an uncharged fabric section used for the polishing after the surfaces have been rubbed with the rouge charged portion.

Polishing Compounds

Roughe polishing compound in bars or peel away tubes is the most generality used polishing compound. Various rouges, identifiable by colors, are used with specific metals. For instance, red rouge is used on gold, silver, and copper but not on burnished surfaces, creating a discoloration, and will be impossible to remove in minute compressed areas. It is not objectionable if a light film of the compound remains in cuts and grooves on chased and engraved surfaces; however, if a dark color is actually desired, it is best to use an oxidizing solution or some other type of surface coloring agent.
Brown rouge is used on softer metals, such as pewter and lead. White rouge is best for polishing platinum and white gold. Platinum rouge is used primarily for these two metals. Green and yellow rouge create a high luster on stainless steel.
Any rouge should be used sparingly. Excessive amounts applied to the wheel will pile up on the metal surface, causing these areas to remain dull when the compound is scrubbed away; also, excessive pressure or overly slow surface speed on the wheel will cause a pileup of rouge and the same blotchy finish.
Pumic and water paste gives a rich luster to silver. This paste can be applied with a brush, felt buff, or with the finger and by hand rubbing.
A combination of whiting and water is used dry to highlight oxidized surfaces. The dry powder is picked up with a finger dampened with water and then rubbed on the metal surface. It can also be used with a bristle brush if mixed with water to make a paste; however, this is usually only used on filigree or floreentined pieces.

Chrome Oxide

Chrome oxide is a compound that comes in either a powder mixed with water to a paste, or in a bar as a grease base compound. It is usually used to polish certain gemstones, but it can be used on a flannel buff to give a mirror finish to nickel silver.

Tin Oxide

Tin Oxide is another useful lapidary polishing material. It is mixed with water to form a paste and is used only after other polishing compounds have been meticulously scrubbed from the metal surface. Tin oxide preserves the high polish, especially on tarnish prone metals, and adds an even greater luster to the metal than does a regular polishing agent. It should never be used in place of the regular polishing compounds required for specific metals.

Linde A

Linde A is a compound used in the same manner described for tin oxide, but it should be used in a hand rubbing operation rather than with power equipment.
Polishing compounds are scrubbed away in the same manner as described for buffing compounds. All traces of the compounds must be removed or they will eventually discolor and tarnish the metals. After scrubbing the polished metal and rinsing it in running water, the article is placed in a box of hardwood sawdust such as maple, birch, mahogany (not Philippine) or boxwood to avoid its streaking or spotting as the metal dries. (Other woods contain soluble matter and resins that can tarnish metals and therefore are not recommended.)
The metal article is removed from the sawdust with cotton gloved hands to prevent leaving any fingerprints on the surface.

Shows 2009

Quartzsite, in western Arizona, just 20 miles east of the Colorado River on I-10, Quartzsite has been a rockhound’s paradise since the 1960s. These days, it is also a mecca to well over a million visitors each year, most of whom converge on this small town in a wave of RVs during the months of January and February.

At this time of the year, 2,000 vendors of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and everything else imaginable create one of the world’s largest open air flea markets in Quartzsite. Eight major gem and mineral shows as well as vendors of raw and handcrafted merchandise peddle their wares to snowbirds, collectors and enthusiasts, making Quartzsite the place to be the first two months of each year.

The “Gem Show” is much more than a single event at one location. Rather, there are thousands of participants and attendees at nearly 50 sites around town. Dozens of shows take place at the same time - in giant white tents, at hotels and resorts and at exhibit halls.

There’s something for everyone at the many open-to-the-public shows - from gold and diamonds to granite bookends and glass beads, and from fine specimens of dinosaur fossils to opals dug from the Australian Outback.

The main event of this two-week showcase is the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show which packs downtown’s Tucson Convention Center over the final weekend. This show attracts thousands of treasure hunters from every corner of the globe and is open to the public. There are displays from renowned museums and private collections along with over 250 mineral, gemstone, jewelry and fossil retail dealers. It also features hands-on exhibits only for school children.

Most of the gem and mineral shows around Tucson are free and hours vary.

Exhibitor Information Request Form