Finger rings, silver cut away to set stone in:
Material: For this class of work we require much heavier silver than for the other rings.
One piece of silver, No. 10, 1⁄2 × 23⁄8 ins. Solder. Borax.
Tools: Same as were used for the bezel setting. In addition we shall need one or two small chisels, which you can make yourself. Chasing tool.
Directions: Make the pattern of your ring as you did before. Paste it on the silver piece, and cut out. Bend the silver around the ring mandrel so that it will fit the finger it is intended for, and solder. Place the stone in its proper position and mark the outline of it on the silver. Now you will need a small chisel to chip away the silver and make the space for the stone.
To make chisel: Take two pieces of 3⁄16-in. round steel 5 ins. long. One piece is to make a flat chisel and the other for an oval chisel. File the ends to a chisel shape.
This steel must be tempered before it can be used. To do this place the ends just filed into the fire. Heat about 1 in. of the end red hot. Cool 1⁄2 in. of this hot end in the water till quite cold. Take it out and rub the end with a piece of emery cloth till it shines.
The colour will begin to flow toward the end. When the blue colour reaches the end plunge the whole piece into water. The oval chisel is used for outlining the depression. The flat chisel is used for levelling the bed to receive the stone. With this chisel cut away the material inside the marked outline, keeping a little inside the border line. Cut away the silver to about the depth of 1⁄32 in. You will find the opening a little smaller than the stone. With your chasing tool drive around the inside of the oval, undercutting until the stone fits in. This undercutting drives up a little silver rim, which does the work of a bezel on the stone. When this rim is forced against the stone, the stone is held in place. The ring is now ready for the stone, but the thickness of silver makes it large and clumsy. Before putting the stone in, the ring should be filed down to the proper dimensions. This requires a great deal of filing. Use a rough file at first and finish with a fine one. When the ring is shaped as you wish polish up the inside and outside.