Stonesetting with Brad Simon

Cutting Tools

All cutting tools must be kept sharp.  Dull cutting edges are dangerous to use as they have a tendency to slip off the metal rather than bite into it.  Burs that slip can cut or pierce your fingers.  Dull cutting edges take longer to perform the work resulting in lower productivity.  They cause excessive heat buildup that could damage some jewelry or the tools themselves.  Dull cutting edges produce poorer quality work.  They leave more burs on the metal rather than cutting cleanly.  In addition, they do not always cut true, resulting in off centered holes, and un-even or un-true cutting.

Brad

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Stone Setting Sharpening Burs

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Using Burs

A tool commonly used in stonesetting to cut a seat for the gemstone or diamond is a bur.

Use light even pressure when you are using burs.  Excessive pressure to vigorously cut metal will overheat the burs.  This heat will remove the temper from the tool and it will no longer be able to keep a sharp cutting edge.  Let the tool do the work.  DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE SPEED OR PRESSURE TO FORCE A DULL BUR.

Brad

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Gravers

When shaping gravers on a grinding wheel hold the graver in contact with the grinding wheel for only a second or two.  Then, lift the graver slightly.  The airflow from the spinning grinding wheel will help keep the graver cool.  Do this a few times then dip in water and repeat the process.

Brad

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Stone Setting Diamond Spacing

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Clean Hands

Before setting colored stones wash your hands, and clean off your bench top, bench pin, and lap tray.  Metal filings and abrasive particles on your bench and hands can scratch soft stones during setting.

Brad

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Stone Setting Squaring a Diamond

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Colored Stones

When setting colored stones, use a head or crown that is slightly larger than the head you would set the same size diamond.  This larger size is needed to accommodate the larger pavilion on color stones.

Brad

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Azures - A Jour

After drilling the holes, turn the jewelry over and clean up the back of the plate.  If the plate is thin, all you can do is scrape away any burs and polish with a bristle brush.  If the plate is thick enough, you need to cut away some of the metal surrounding the holes.  These cuts are called azures.  Azure is the American English derivative of the French term a jour or adjoure.

The easiest method to cut an azure is to taper the hole using a bud or cone bur.  Then polish the taper with a hard felt point in your flex-shaft.

On finer jewelry, you will want to cut a square or triangle shaped azure.  The results look like bright cutting on the backside of the jewelry.  To begin, cut a tapered hole with a bud bur.  Then, using a hart bur held sideways cut your corners in each hole.  Next, use a small wheel bur to clean away the metal between the corners.  Then use a polished flat graver to clean up and polish your cuts.

Brad

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Stone Setting Reducing Glare

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