mgrets
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2011
Posts: 321
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Post by mgrets on Oct 19, 2019 14:50:38 GMT -5
I think one of the most tedious parts of making a pendant like this is setting the bezel so it stays smooth. My go-to has been a half-moon hand pusher, but recently I came across a thread about Foredom hammer handpieces. Does anyone use these? Are they worth the cost?
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 19, 2019 20:10:57 GMT -5
I don't like pushers and I don't use them. The advantages of a hammer handpiece are speed and control, but it would definitely introduce marks on your bezels. Those marks would need to be removed. I use a hammer handpiece when setting faceted stones and very small cabs in bezels. It's fast. But I always need to clean up the bezels with silicone wheels: pumice and polishing wheels, but that also goes fast — usually less than 5 minutes and I'm ready to head to my polishing machine. For cabs larger than, say, 6mm diameter, I use a manual punch with a hammer. Here's a post where I described them: You could make a punch just from brass rod and try hammering to see if you like it.
If you do get a hammer handpiece, one of their added benefits is adding texture to the metal. Here's a post in a thread where I described the technique for a pendant I posted: I hope that you find this helpful. Oh — that's a very beautiful piece that you made!
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mgrets
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2011
Posts: 321
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Post by mgrets on Oct 19, 2019 21:56:11 GMT -5
I don't like pushers and I don't use them. The advantages of a hammer handpiece are speed and control, but it would definitely introduce marks on your bezels. Those marks would need to be removed. I use a hammer handpiece when setting faceted stones and very small cabs in bezels. It's fast. But I always need to clean up the bezels with silicone wheels: pumice and polishing wheels, but that also goes fast — usually less than 5 minutes and I'm ready to head to my polishing machine. For cabs larger than, say, 6mm diameter, I use a manual punch with a hammer. Here's a post where I described them: You could make a punch just from brass rod and try hammering to see if you like it.
If you do get a hammer handpiece, one of their added benefits is adding texture to the metal. Here's a post in a thread where I described the technique for a pendant I posted: I hope that you find this helpful. Oh — that's a very beautiful piece that you made!
The marks on the bezels are exactly what I want to avoid, so I guess I'll pass on the hammer handpiece for now. I WILL try the punch with the hammer, though. Good to learn a new method. Thank you for the help!
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Post by toiv0 on Oct 20, 2019 8:50:30 GMT -5
I use a burnish tool most of the time. It's what I learned with so it the most comfortable for me. My jewelry always have marks but the people I sell to like the home made in the back woods look.
I really like your pendant.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 20, 2019 21:19:39 GMT -5
Just another idea, in addition to @toivo's suggestion, would be to fashion and polish a plastic pusher. I know that some people do that with old toothbrushes or other handles.
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Post by bobby1 on Oct 20, 2019 22:19:18 GMT -5
I use the pusher exclusively. I find the hammer handpiece is too hard to control and adds too many tool marks that have to be removed. Bob
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 20, 2019 22:43:42 GMT -5
I really like the hammer for decorative work. I did a nice covellite piece, but got some firescale. I had never seen it before and knew nothing about it. Instead of scrapping the piece, I used the diamond pave tip to diamond cut the area. It looks really nice and sparkles.
You can see the firescale in the pictures.
Can't see it anymore. Bad picture. You can't see the sparkles.
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Post by parfive on Oct 21, 2019 0:33:59 GMT -5
opalpyrexia First link needs a-fixin' . . . leads right back to this thread.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 21, 2019 9:41:59 GMT -5
opalpyrexia First link needs a-fixin' . . . leads right back to this thread.
Fixed — thanks!
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 21, 2019 9:47:47 GMT -5
I use the pusher exclusively. I find the hammer handpiece is too hard to control and adds too many tool marks that have to be removed. Bob
That's why I use my hammer handpiece only on small stones, but never for most cabs.
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