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Stone Setting Rings: Flush, prong, channel

Three rings set with three different stone setting techniques: flush, channel, and prong.

Three Bottleneck Rings set with three stones setting techniques. Sterling silver, white topaz, sapphire, peridot, aquamarine.
Three “Bottleneck” Rings set with three stones setting techniques. Sterling silver, white topaz, sapphire, peridot, aquamarine.
Tool parts for flush setting small round stones
Tool parts for flush setting small round stones

The steel part was made from a spent flex shaft mandrel. The business end of the steel is the part closest to the handle. Below is the tool put together.

Flush setting tool for small round stones
Flush setting tool for small round stones

The first ring with flush set stones was made by carving wax into the shape of an ocean tumbled glass bottleneck. The lost wax casting process produced a sterling silver ring which I molded. The original ring was set with stones as seen below.

Bottleneck Ring: sapphire, peridot, white topaz, sterling silver
“Bottleneck” Ring: sapphire, peridot, white topaz, sterling silver

After making more wax bottleneck rings with the mold, I modified the waxes to produce a ring to which I could add a prong setting. The first ‘real’ prong setting project for me was this peridot.

Bottleneck Ring with Prong Set Peridot
“Bottleneck” Ring with Prong Set Peridot

The channel set ring below was created from the same bottleneck mold; this time I cut the wax in half before casting the piece in sterling. The aquamarines are set on 2/3rds of the ring.

Bottleneck Ring channel set and flush set aquamarines
“Bottleneck Ring” channel set and flush set aquamarines

By creating an organic shape for the channel I made the work challenging for myself.  🙂

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Polished Off

I practiced bead setting for the first time on this 20 x 20 x 18 mm sterling silver box. I’d cast the box years ago just to see if I could, then came up with the idea of setting tiny stones randomly all around it. As they often do, the idea morphed into different sizes and types of stones. I ended up using 2.25 – 3 mm sapphires, peridots, and aquamarines instead of garnets as originally planned.

While I was polishing up the box, I also polished up the white topaz earrings I flush set last month. The larger oval stones require much more force to flush set than 3mm round stones! Below is a picture of the earrings before the sterling silver was polished.

Next: I’ll finish my piranha skull. The Menlo Park Library will be featuring work from the members of the Metal Arts Association of Silicon Valley. I submitted four necklaces for the show and was asked if I have any larger work to add. The 13″ tall wire skull outline I started making in Tom Hill’s wire sculpture workshop should do the trick. Below is the 3″ high shellaced skull which was used as a visual guide.

Stop by the library to see the exhibit any time in the month of June. The display case flanks both sides of the lobby entrance sidewalk before the doors; so you can view all the metal artwork 24/7.