Real Time: Step-by-Step Flush Setting Round Faceted Gemstones 

Thank you Kathy! I try to give as much information as I can think of to help because in my own journey, I’ve found that most instructors leave steps out or just don’t explain as much as I’d like them to😄 I figure too much info is better than not enough.

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith Spot on! Thank you.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback 😊

Thank you so much Rosa! I’m so happy it was helpful. 🥰

Thank you soooo much bluefern! I am finally moved into my permanent studio so watch out for new videos coming your way. 😉

Thank you so much! I am working on new videos now and hopefully will have them edited and ready to go starting next week! If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Have a great day 😀

Thank you so much! I truly appreciate the feedback. I’m working on some new videos now that I’m settled into the last studio I think I’ll ever have to move to 🤪😁

Thank you so much, I truly appreciate the comment. Sometimes I wonder if I'm telling enough!?

Yay! I’m so happy this helps!

Thank you so much Ashley!!! 🥰

Gracie! 😃

Thank you! You’re welcome!

🥰 thank you so much Teri!

You’re welcome. That’s something I do all the time and it’s very frustrating!

Thank you Sally!

You’re so welcome! Thank you for watching!

Thank you for watching and I’m glad it helps! 🥳

Yay!!! 👏🏻🙌🏼

Thank you so much! I’m glad it’s helpful for you!

Thank you so much! 😀

Thank you so much! I’m so glad this is a good refresher. Good luck with your project. 😃

Thank you Fred! 😃

You are very welcome! Thank you for watching my video! 😀

Thank you Jennifer! 😀

You’re very welcome. I’m glad you like the video!

You’re so welcome! 😃

🥰

Thank you so much!!! 😁

Thank you Valerie!1 ☺️

Thank you Latoya! 🥰

🥰 Thank you so much Marilyn!

So nice of you! Thank you!! 😀

Merci! 😃

Thank you 😁

☺️☺️

Hello Tammygurl64! I’m so happy you’ve found my videos. Yes, there are tons of videos with lots of different advice about everything jewelry related. I’m happy you like the way I outlined it. I try to take the most basic approach whenever possible because I know that a lot of people can’t invest in a lot of the more expensive tools. Or even multiples of the less expensive ones. My advice is always the same, buy the best you can afford and start simple then as you get better invest in more sizes and even better tools. In the long run, buying the higher quality tools and accessories will save you a ton of money - take it from me, I spent a lot of unnecessary money on tools because I thought cheaper was better for my budget 😂 practicing on 2mm stones is perfect! They’re not too teeny but are small enough to be a challenge, especially if you’re like me and blind as a bat 😉. Let me know how it goes or if you have questions! I’m always ready to help and share what I’ve learned over the years. Good luck!!

Welcome 😊

You’re very welcome!

Thank you!

Tha k you! 😁

Gracias!

You are very welcome! 😁

Thank you so much Paulina! Sorry for the delay in responding - I had my friend Alex translate for me! 😃 I will do more videos on the settings in the future. Have a wonderful day!

You are very welcome and I hope it helped!

Thank you so much! I use “Bur Life” on all of my setting and cutting tools to help lubricate the tool to preserve the cutting edges as long as possible.

I made mine out of a piece of steel rod when I took my engraving class at GRS Training Center. It’s a 3/32 shank.

Hi Kimberley! Thank you so much! You could set a cabochon in a flush setting like this. The only note is to check the depth to make sure it’s deep enough to capture the sides of the stone since on a faceted stone the setting would cover the girdle of the stone completely. I think calibrated cabochons would work best.

Glad it was helpful! With a stone setting bur, you end up with straight walls which, for me, seems to remove too much metal and makes it more difficult to push the metal over the stone to hold it in place. You can substitute one for the other - it comes down to preference, really. I've had more success with stones staying in place when I only use the hart bur, but that's just my experience. Keep in mind, every jeweler will do it a little differently. There really is no "right" or "wrong" way to do it, it comes down to what you're able to make successful. Hope this helps!

Hi Anna! I’m so glad you found my channel! No, unfortunately a regular setting but will not create the small lip that makes the snapping sound when you set the stone. The sides are straight so it will cut a straight sided wall instead.

Hi Texas Gigi! The setting thickness needs to be at least 1mm thicker than the height of the stone in order to keep the culet from poking out of the bottom and touching skin on a ring. My general rule of thumb is 1-2mm thicker. Or, you can measure the height frame the girdle to the top of the stone and use that measurement as the minimum to ensure the table is flush with the thickness of the metal. Hope this helps1

Hi Valerie! The entire ring does not need to be that thick, but if you taper the band to be it’s thickest where you’re planning to set the stone, you can eliminate the bulk. Also, you could add thickness by sweat soldering additional metal to the area you want to set the larger stone.

Thank you. Please make more videos. You are such a good teacher.

@@valerie4710 I definitely have plans for more. I’m in the middle of moving the studio so they will come soon! 😁

Thank you Ingrid! It’s called Bur Life and it is a lubricant to help the tool cut the metal easier and it also helps to preserve the cutting edge of the tool.

You don’t have to have a backplate for the bezel, but I’d recommend soldering a ring inside the bezel for the cab to sit on (the flat bottom), then solder to whole setting to the ring shank. That way the bottom of the bezel is open like it would be for a faceted stone. Instead of calling it a flush setting, it would be a bezel setting 😄

Hi Jared! I'm glad this video is helpful for you! Yes, use a 2.5mm drill bit to open the pilot hole, then use a ball bur that's 5mm or a little bit smaller to open the seat, and finally use a 5mm hart bur to create the full seat. If you don't have a 5mm hart bur, use one that is a little smaller and wiggle it around a little bit at a time until your stone snaps into place, then burnish.

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith Oh wonderful, thank you. Now does my ring band have to be a certain thickness (not the width lol)? A few people I spoke to said I can only flush set a stone that is smaller than 4mm, and the band has to be also at least 4mm thick (I thought this was to thick). Thank you again.

@@jaredschrock5270 yes, you need to have a thickness where you’re placing the stone to be at least a mm thicker than the height of the stone. If it’s not thick enough, solder a few extra pieces of metal on top of that area to get it to the right thickness.

I prefer the hart but because it gives a nice lip of metal to press down over the stone.

Hi Kelly! I use a 90 degree hart bur for all of my stone settings.

Hello! I generally use the height of the stone plus 1mm for the thickness of the metal since you want the table of the stone to be flush with the metal. But as long as the culet doesn’t touch the skin it should be comfortable for the wearer.

Thank you so much for the kind words! 😁

Thank u for your prompt reply - so rare on Utube. Going to practice today

www.laval-europe.com/en/jewellery-tools/. Laval Europe is a great source for jewelers tools. You may want to start with their online store. Hope this helps. 😁

Hello Ian! When you’re cutting the seat with the hart bur, you want to go straight down at a perpendicular angle to the start of the seat. So, place the bottom tip of the but straight down into the rounded cut from the ball bur. If you tilt the hart bur in any direction, it will cut the seat where the stone girdle sits crooked. Meaning the girdle of your hart bur should stay horizontal to the metal as you push down into it. This will cut a level seat and keep your stone setting level. I hope that was a visual enough explanation 😃. If not, let me know and I’ll make a short video and post it for you.

Hello James! I’m so sorry I missed your comment earlier. I haven’t used a Dremel tool for my jewelry or coppersmith work, but I’d say the two types of kits that will work best would be a polishing kit with the felt buffs and then the sanding kits with both the drum sanding bits and the disc sanding bits. One thing you’ll have to be mindful of is the fact that the Dremel has set speeds in comparison to a variable speed flex shaft motor. With that being said, you can use a Dremel rotary tool successfully as long as you pay close attention to how long you keep a sanding bit in a particular spot. You’ll want to watch for excess removal of material in particular. If you’re using the flexible shaft kit on the Dremel and it has a foot pedal, I recommend using it exclusively for the more intricate work you may be doing. It will provide you with more control at the same time reducing the clean-up time. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, let me know. Have a great evening! 🙂

Hello Lori! Because my stone was almost 3mm in height, I had to solder together several pieces of metal sheet that I had poured from an ingot, so this scrap was about 4mm in thickness. If you have thinner gauge metal, you can always solder extra metal to the top to get the depth you need to flush set a stone - within reason of course. So, if you don't have a crucible and an ingot mold to melt scraps, you may want to consider them in the future. I re-use all of my scraps and bits of silver this way to save money - plus, I'm a torch geek and love to melt things!

There is no hard and fast rule except the metal must be thicker than the height of the stone. I generally make mine about 1-2mm thicker. I did solder two thinner pieces together to get the right thickness for my sample. In the case of a ring, you can taper the thickness or solder additional stock together where the stone would be set to get the appropriate thickness.

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith Thank you! That makes total sense. Is there an advantage to using a hart bur as opposed to a straight setting bur? I’m going to order burs for the first time and since they’re not inexpensive, I want to buy the appropriate burs. Thank you for sharing your expertise and recommendations. ☺️

@@tamaraadams9317 for flush setting I prefer the hart burs because they create a “lip” to push the stone under which gives a little extra material to push over the stone. I haven’t been successful in keeping the stone I place after setting using a straight sided bur because it removes too much material. I found the stone to be more likely to come loose and fall out. With the hart bur, the small lip “locks” the stone in place even before you press the metal down around the girdle. It tends to be a little more secure and I’ve never had stones fall out of the settings with that bur & method. Hope this helps! 😃

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the differences. It makes total sense. I was just about to order some burs and your videos and advice is very much appreciated. 🥰

@@tamaraadams9317 😍

Hi Robert! Yes, the diameter of the hart bur should be the same as the stone. If you don’t have one the same diameter, use one that is slightly smaller and carefully use it to widen the seat until the stone snaps in place. Using a slightly smaller bur takes some practice because it’s very easy to cut the seat too big, but it can be done.

For flush set stones you want the metal to be about 2mm thicker than the height of the stone.

Hi Carol! I like the hart but because it creates a “seat” that makes a “clicking” sound when the stone fits perfectly. Most stones will vary in size so it’s best to pick a bur that’s a tad smaller or equal to the smallest stone to set all of your stones. You can always make a seat bigger. If you try to set a 2.8mm stone in a 3mm seat it will always be loose.

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith thanks. Keep up the good work!

What other types of videos on this subject would you like to see? I’d love to help.

Please send your contact info to julessa@julessabarnes.com and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

I made the tool myself from a steel rod. I used my sandpaper’s and files to make a rounded end.

Is it possible to have a clip on how to create it?

@@thaibui5911 I can definitely do that for you in the next week.

Next on the list 😀

@@JulessaScofieldMetalsmith we love You I Tell to anothers friends about u

Perfect. That’s what is next! 🤣

@@laurentiuflorin9946 thank you so much! 😘😘😘

Yes I use the 90 degree burs. 😃

@JulessaBarnesMetalsmith I am trying to order hart burs. They offer 45 and 90 degrees. You use 90. Could you tell us what the difference is? Thank you. I'm a devoted follower now.

Thank you! 😘

What kinds of questions do you have?

Hi Alanah!

Hi Phil from the UK!! I use progressively larger ball burs purely for the sake of preserving the cutting edge and keeping control of the cutting. It seems to reduce the friction even if you do use a lubricant. That being said, it isn’t absolutely necessary to use that method. So I guess you could say it’s my preference. As for using a hart bur instead of a setting bur, I choose the hart bur because it doesn’t cut away the sides of the seat like the straight sides of a setting bur. The hart bur leaves a slight lip around the top edge of the seat which leaves a little more metal around the girdle and table facets to push over the stone. For me, it makes hand-pushing the metal over the stone a little easier if you don’t have a hammer hand piece or don’t want to risk breaking the stone using a punch and hammer to move the metal. I’d say this is also a preference because a lot of jewelers do use a setting bur for flush setting. I was taught to use a setting bur and I think when it comes to tube setting, it’s perfect. Once I tried the hart bur on a flush setting, I never went back to a setting bur 😁 I hope I explained this well… Have a great evening!

This is a Foredom Flex Shaft I use for setting stones, polishing and sanding. It has so many uses, I couldn’t be without it in my studio. 😁

Hello from North Carolina, USA!! 😁

HH AT02 michin availabile in your plaice

Gracias Suelem!🥰

Hello! I will usually clean the metal off my piece as I work if it’s obstruction my view of the settings or areas I need to see for stones. I’m trying to break my habit of using my fingers to do that because of the metal I have embedded into my fingers by doing that 😆 so I find myself forgetting to grab the brush to wipe as often as I probably should.

You can use a 3mm setting bur, but I prefer to just use a hart bur. For me, the setting bur removes too much of the material I need to push the metal over the stone for flush setting. However, if you're going to tube set a stone, the setting bur is perfect because it will make a straight wall in the tubing to push over the stone. Hope this helps.