January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:52 pm

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thoughts?
PostPosted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 2:46 am 
Offline
Active Member

Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:57 pm
Posts: 66
A previous thread, someone posted:
"All opal inlays are set using glue/epoxies????????"

Absolutely??????

This is one of my questions I've been researching, trying to find out.

Finding books on inlays for soft stones has been a problem of mine, although I don't have anything vested in opal books or carving as of now. I am going to post more detailed questions of inlay carving, etc....

But............

Why not a hidden gasket material?

I for one, will do my best to never use glue.

So, I ask if anyone you know of has tried some kind of gasket method of bezel/prong/combination setting.

Basically, the format does matter, but is kind of in-material to my question of any setting without glue, using a gasket to aid in protecting the stones.

Perhaps using a faceplate and rivets/bolts and compression?

Perhaps using a modified bezel as shown here

(Poorly depicted, but you may get the general idea of compression, and false bezel and new awkward combination setting ideas)
in gasket-bezel-1-1
Attachment:
gasket-bezel-1-1.jpg
gasket-bezel-1-1.jpg [ 35.73 KiB | Viewed 2083 times ]




Or a interior prong, pushover false bezel

as poorly depicted in gasket-bezel-2-2
(Poorly depicted, but you may get the general idea of compression, and false bezel and new awkward combination setting ideas)


Attachment:
gasket-bezel2-2.jpg
gasket-bezel2-2.jpg [ 38.61 KiB | Viewed 2083 times ]


ANyway's I was just gonna see why this does not work, or has not been done?

Ideas?
??????

Feel free to criticize my ideas, explain why I am dumb, why it work work, why it would be way to difficult, etc........

If there is a reason not to try and develop some kind of gasket/compression ideas, let me know what you think.

I am inexperienced. But I do bring up lots of creative ideas, that do lead to things, whether they were far off, and seeming a little tweakish. This kind of thinking is ideal though, and can lead to new paths, endeavors and processes. I am used to criticism by people with experience, so give me what you got please.

Not like someone hasn't thought of this by now, in setting.....................

Probably a common rookie thought.....................that could be on the lazy inexperienced side, or on the incredibly difficult to pull off like a perfect tension setting with no cheater bridge/soldered setting/false tension.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thought
PostPosted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 2:52 am 
Offline
Active Member

Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:57 pm
Posts: 66
I suppose I will get some of the cons of my ideas over with, that I would love anyone to express their thoughts.

Cons, thusfar:

-Will get dirty, and accumulate dirt, pocket lint possibly, etc...
-Cutting the material for gasket may be hard to do so neatly, and uniform.
-It may actually be just as dirty and bad as glue.
-It would be harder to manufacture, and more planning and perfect experimental metal thickness would need to be experiemented with.
-The process may seem overkill.
-Customers really might not care if you put more work into it, and may be fine with glue. Actually they may prefer the glued versions because they don't have think about dirt accumulating.

Pros:

-The gem could still hold a resale value.
-You do not have to worry about sweating, and getting glue on your body.
-You may have more cleaning options such as steamcleaning, ultrasonic.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thought
PostPosted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:12 pm 
Offline
Gold Member

Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:42 pm
Posts: 1033
I got a star ruby ring for my wife (fortunately cheap) that used a piece of silver as a spring to keep it in place. It worked fine for about a year. Never did find the stone. Replaced it with another, also held in by a spring wire. It also is now lost.
Epoxy does seem to have a bit more permanence...


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thought
PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:51 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:55 am
Posts: 543
On soft and cab stones I always use a bezel set, but with 18 carat gold (on gold) or fine silver (on silver). I find these metals soft enough after soldering to burnish down really tight to the stone, and after burnishing hard enough to stand a good deal of wear.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thought
PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 1:26 pm 
Offline
Gold Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:44 pm
Posts: 1079
Location: Washington State
I don't know anyone who would use glue to set a cab. Cabs of nearly everything are strong enough to withstand minor setting pressure from the lip of a thin bezel be pressed down with a burnisher, so why use glue? Why use a gasket either? I don't see any benefit to this.
Inlay is a whole different story in that inlayed materials are typically very thin and are cut to fit their opening very tightly. There's just no way to use anything other than an adhesive since the thin material just won't take any force in setting it. Why would there be a problem with using an adhesive with inlay? It's usually inexpensive material that is easy to replace, (well, easy as in all you need is someone's time to do it...it may cost a bit for that time though). Just a side note metallic inlay into other metals, (gold into steel for instance), is done by by compressing the inlayed material into a slight dovetail in the parent material with a hammer. No way to compress and deform gem materials, so adhesive is the best solution available.

_________________
Michael E.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Soft Materials, set with Gasket and No Glue???? Thought
PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 3:12 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:55 am
Posts: 543
If you are interested in setting thin slices of gemstone, read the book "Metalwork and Enameling" by Herbert Maryon. He was one of the restorers of jewellery at the British Museum and worked on the jewellery from the Sutton Hoo treasure. In these items, thin slices of garnet were ground to fit cells in the jewels, backed by gold foil stamped into a checkered pattern and held in place by burnishing the edges of the cells. A masterly piece of work in 700 A.D. and an even more masterly restoration in the 1940's. If you ever get the chance to visit the British Museum, don't miss it!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock