See
More Work
THEIR TURN, PAGE 8Cast Trout
and Other
Elements
“AND THEREBY HANGS A TAIL”
LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY
ARTIST JULY/AUGUST 2019
WWW.INTERWEAVE.COM/
JEWELRYManmade
Gems
ROUGHING IT IN THE LAB,
PAGE 8621
20
20
Put a strip of painter’s tape
on the back of the setting
to protect it from scratches. To
safeguard the emerald, glue it in
place using two-part epoxy, clamp
it, and let dry overnight. The epoxy
cushions the stone and keeps it
from moving when you bend the
prongs with a burnishing tool. This
could be controversial, but you are
dealing with a fl at stone against a
fl at setting.
If your prongs are still a little too
stiff , sand them a little more and try
again. A hammer handpiece is help-
ful to bend the prongs fl ush with the
stone so they won’t snag clothing.
Finally, to bring out the details in the
silver, apply Midas Max Black patina
all over the piece with a cotton
swab. After a rinse, polish the stone,
then the metal with Fabuluster on a
clean buff.BEADS AND PEARL
21
Loop 10-inch lengths of
SoftFlex Very Fine through
each of the 12 holes in the setting
and secure with sterling silver
crimps. Make sure the crimp cover
seams are facing back. Lay the
project on bead cloth. String on the
turquoise beads and fi t. Crimp and
fi nish with cones and a clasp.
The last task is to attach a half-
drilled pearl to the center setting.
Epoxy a 2" piece of 20-gauge sterling
silver wire into the pearl. Once cured,
I form a loop with round nose pliers
and wire wrap it onto the jump ring
held in the lower frog’s toes (see
Easier Ways on page 93).BETSY LEHNDORFF has been free-lancing
for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist since 2010. She
posts Studio Notes every other week at http://www.inter-
weave.com/category/article/jewelry and sells her
work in Michigan art galleries. Got questions? Betsy
can be reached at betsylehndorff @gmail.com.94 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST