Question: beginner at stone setting

[tdelewis]

I need some advice on tools and equipment for stone setting. I just want to start with bead setting. I purchased a few CZ and a burr. I first tried with my cheap Black and Decker rechargeable. The setting looked OK but how clumsy. It stayed in OK. Then I tried my Dremel. Too fast and too much vibration. I have read about the NSK Emax, but is that really drilling at that high speed. What is the best rotary system?

My bead punches are from GRS and they don't seem to have the polish that leaves a nice bright bead. There must be others that will leave a bright polished bead.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

Ok, where to start?

Beading tool:

You need to brighten them yourself by rotating them into something like polishing paper/leather & diamond dust...or don't worry too much yet...concentrate on cracking the art of bead setting first.

Any micro-motor or pendant drill will do for now to begin, you don't ever need anything fancy,fast or expensive..only reliable.

You may find one burr is not quite sufficient.


What are you intending with this new venture?
A books worth of things to tell on this subject..

 

[tdelewis]

I want to set stones in bright cut buckles. I have been engraving guns for 10 years and just started doing bright cut in the past year. I don't plan on doing rings etc. but who knows where it might lead. I used my flex shaft Dremel like I said but there was a lot of vibration and even at the slowest speed it was to fast and didn't act like a drill more like a grinder.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

I don`t know much about dremel flexshafts but it should suffice for now.
Presuming you have 2mm stones, you`ll drill a 1mm pilot hole with a twist drill & use a 2 or 2.1mm as a final size...

In between that there are a few sizes you`ll need to gradually open up the hole ( 2 or 3 of these).

If you need a real slow speed, you could put the burrs in a pin vise & twist by hand.

Use plenty of burr save/oil for lube... if steel is the metal then you need carbide drills...steel is trickier to find the right speed & you need patience.
Do make sure you brush every single bit of metal/muck from the holes before sitting any stones in...utmost important.

This is where I often use the brass brush wheel, as It's quick & helps burnish the hole a little bit brighter.

As for the rest of it, if you "get" the theory of whichever method you are using...much like the theory of drawing & cutting a scroll, It's easy to do but takes time to do right.

I hope that's not too basic for you, just in case I'm trying to teach you how to suck eggs.

 

[monk]

the nsk, as well as any other decent rotary has variable speed. i must admit i don't know if the slowest speed would be too fast for your purpose.

 

[tdelewis]

I have been researching rotary tools and they should say 0 to something. They only give top end RPM's. Perhaps someone has this information.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

Pendant drills use foot pedals, micro-motors have a pedal or manual ( you adjust speed on a dial ).
You go from 0 (off) up to pedal to metal or dial full on for max...& whatever in- between.

All will work for setting.

Forget the max revs as you won't be needing more than 10k.
My micro-motor which is an old obsolete foredom model (reliable make) only does 40k max & I never had it on more than 1/4 speed.

 

[Jan Hendrik]

Here is a link to a tutorial I set up showing how to do star set pave as a beginners setting project.
http://www.engravinglessons.com/On-Demand Engraving Tutorials.htm

 

[Gemsetterchris]

I looked up the dremel flexshaft, can`t see why you can`t get away with that for the time being if it has a pedal & not just a couple of set speeds?
By all means upgrade if you decide to get into it seriously at a later date.

 

[tdelewis]

After doing more research, I think I can run my Dermel through Foredom foot pedal speed control. I haven't purchased one yet, but from my research I think it will be good to start with. It should take RPM's from 0 to max. Anyone have any experience with this? Some foot pedal controls are just an on and off switch, while others are speed controls. Descriptions on Amazon are not very clear on some of them.

 

[gcleaker]

Greetings tdelewis first FYI when setting stones you will break some stones getting them tight in the setting, that’s part of the learning curve. There is nothing more annoying than having to replace a lost stone that you set.
I have used the dermal with a flex shaft and still do but only for buffing or wire brush work. Then I thought I could save a few bucks and bought a euro flex shaft, what a mistake that turned out to be. About as bad as buying a Chinese knock off. Just go ahead and pull the trigger and get a foredoom flex shaft. You can upgrade them they have a nice selection of handset to fit all of your needs, including an impact graver hand set. The low rpms and high rpms are their along with trok.
You can more than likely buy CZ and other loose stones from most pawn shops but you must know what you will be willing to pay for them before going in. I hope I helped a little.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

After doing more research, I think I can run my Dermel through Foredom foot pedal speed control..

Why not get the dremel foot control since you have a dremel drill

 

[George Fox]

Hi tdlewis,

A lot of gemsetters are unloading Foredom flex shaft machines for the myriad of micro motors available. A cost comparison between a professional micro motor ($900) and a used Foredom (couldn't be hard to find one for $100 with the hand piece) might be self explanatory for your circumstance. I owned a Dremel about 45 years ago, bought the Foredom and never looked back. GIA and other schools have converted to the pedal actuated micro motors. A compatriot loves his micro motor, I have not tried it yet, though.

If costs are a concern and a versatile tool is a must, my advice: go for a used Foredom, or maybe a new one.

All that said, it is the ability to variate the speed, from 0 to whatever, that makes the difference in controlling the chatter you are experiencing.

The path of least resistance, depending on costs, would be to get the Dremel foot pedal.

You may want to change though to any of the preceding options, shortly, in the future.

 

[Chujybear]

After doing more research, I think I can run my Dermel through Foredom foot pedal speed control. I haven't purchased one yet, but from my research I think it will be good to start with. It should take RPM's from 0 to max. Anyone have any experience with this? Some foot pedal controls are just an on and off switch, while others are speed controls. Descriptions on Amazon are not very clear on some of them.

I'm assuming that you are working with the cheaper multi speed dremel hand tool with the flex shaft attachment, rather than the dremel flex shaft, that looks essentially the same as the foredom flexshaft.
The dedicated purpose flexshaft motors are better of course. The big difference is that the dremel is on a collet system, while the foredom is on a three jaw chuck.
Both are great and exactly what you want for stone setting, because they are torquey and will give you power a slow speeds.
The foredom hand tool with flexshaft attachment will serve you fine. I've used it with a foot pedal, but I forget if it would give you a range, or just on off at whatever you have pre set.
I would try cranking up the speed on the tool and to see if the rheostat will let you use that whole range.

 

[tdelewis]

Yes you are correct. Dremel has a replacement chuck for the collet system though. I have replaced the collet with the chuck. I will get the Foredom speed control for now. If I master the skill I will then upgrade to the Foredom and will have the speed control. This will get me started for now and at little cost. I will put up a post on how this works out.

 

[diandwill]

My wife used a foot pedal from a sewing machine for her dremel. It worked fine, and she already had it.