14
Use this as the measurement
for the width of your bezel
wire. With a metal ruler, create a
guideline for cutting the bezel.
Cut the bezel the length of your
stone using a bench shear or bezel
shear. Flatten again with a rawhide
mallet as needed.15
Shape your bezel around the
outer edge of the frame for
the cabochon. Trim as needed. Make
sure the ends meet perfectly.16
To check for fi t, you’ll want to
place your stone in the frame
with the bezel wire.17
You may need to sand down
the bezel if it is too tall.
Remember, the taller your bezel, the
less you will see of the stone.
Solder the bezel joint together with
hard solder. You could fuse, but I pre-
fer to solder to prevent any possibility
of distortion of the decorative edge.18
Solder the bezel to the base
with medium solder.ARCH AND SHELL
19
Using the 3mm x 1.5mm rect-
angle wire, create an arch. For
a sharper more defi ned bend, miter
the corner by cutting and fi ling.17
20
18
19 21
16
13 14 15
20
Solder together with hard
solder.21
Using 18g wire, cut 3-4 pegs
¼" or as long as necessary to
go over the shell.
Solder the pegs to the outside of
the frame with medium solder in key
points so as to hold the shell in place.
Pickle, rinse, and dry all the pieces.
Sand and fi le any joints and edges as
needed on all pieces.SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 41