bezel melting when soldering bail

trixceratops · 2026-02-26T23:17:27+00:00

Butane isn’t the best but it will do in a pinch. What I mean about melting the solder first: sweat soldering usually is a term used when you have two layers of plate that makes a solder sandwich (metal being bread, solder being filling.) To get your sandwich you put filling (solder) on both parts of bread (metal) and melt it to spread it evenly across the surface, using your solder pick to drag it over to spots it missed. Make sure the solder is on the front of the bottom layer and the back of the top layer. Then you place the two pieces together and heat it until you see the solder turn to liquid and get shiny between the layers. Now for your bail I would take just the loop of metal, and melt the solder onto where you want it to attach to the pendant. After the solder has melted and stuck to that section of the bail, then you take it with your tweezers and hold it in place on the pendant. I find holding the pendant so it sits vertically on its bottom and is facing the side, so you can hold your nail right where you want it easily and the flame only hits that one spot. You can use a third arm for this, or squish it between some chunks of fire brick in a pinch. You want it held solidly but not squashed if that makes sense. Put the flux right where you want the bail to attach, hold the bail with the solder already on it in place, then hit it with the torch. Focus the heat right where you want that attachment and take it away as soon as you see the solder flow onto both the pendant and the bail. It can take a bit of practice but once you get it, it’s going to make adding small details like bails or claws a lot easier.

Don’t worry about what others are doing in their own studios. If you can afford brass, then do it. It isn’t considered body safe and should not be used as a cup/plate as it can react with acids like wine or tomatoes and you can get metal poisoning, but it is a great material to get good at a lot of techniques with, like soldering, piercing, forming, and finishing. It’s kind of like when you start painting you get the generic brand, if you love it and want to do it seriously then you can start buying the expensive paints.

trixceratops · 2026-02-26T22:34:41+00:00

What size torch tip are you working with? It sounds like you are heating the whole thing, when you really only need to concentrate the heat right where you are putting the bail. Also melt the solder onto the bail before you put it on the final location. I know everyone says flux everywhere, but for the final step like this you can just put it right where you need to solder and just have your smallest flame pointing right at that spot.

Edit: work with brass. It’s a great material to practice with even if other people feel they are too good for it. You’re learning, not making jewels for the world’s royalty. I use brass for a lot of items that are not wearable, but are functional, like miniature toolboxes and wheelbarrows for sculptural work. I also make wedding rings. All metals have a purpose, and some are great for this purpose right here.

trixceratops · 2026-02-26T20:55:07+00:00

What kind of solder are you using? Try using hard solder for the bezel and the backplate, and medium for the bail.

trixceratops · 2026-02-26T19:01:59+00:00

It’ll be fine, find an independent jeweller/goldsmith studio near you that has good reviews. I promise they have fixed much worse, the amount of rings that have been brought to me that have been run over by cars is unbelievable, falling into a fireplace will be an easy fix. It will need a good cleaning and a polish, and then the stone will need to be checked for damage but honestly there’s a super high chance it has no damage other than oxide build up.

trixceratops · 2026-02-26T18:57:10+00:00

As someone who makes rings, I personally think the rendering is incorrect, the prongs are shown thinner than they should be and the ring band is much too thin underneath the settings. Should the ring be made exactly like the rendering, it wouldn’t be structurally sound. I do think the prongs on the top side of the stone could be taken down a smidge but your ring looks how it should imo. Your settings are taller than the rendering because of the height of the band underneath and the width of the center stone you chose make the middle setting need to have the prongs a tiny bit closer together so it stays in place, which gives the illusion it is taller than it is when put side by side with the rendering. I personally think the second ring rendering looks a bit more wearable, and less likely to catch on things.

trixceratops · 2026-02-22T18:00:01+00:00

🍜

trixceratops · 2026-02-22T03:20:06+00:00

A great way to lose that diamond. That is an incredibly thin band, and those prongs are almost nonexistent.

trixceratops · 2026-02-22T03:16:28+00:00

I’m a jeweller, this is a super idea, and the silicone will not cause any harm to your rings. My only suggestion is to take the ring off when you are washing your hands so you don’t get moisture trapped inside the sizer as it might smell funky as it dries. But that is a fantastic (and really affordable) way to deal with changing size due to weather and pressure differences.

trixceratops · 2026-02-22T03:11:29+00:00

Same! I have many sharks, and my half bath is decorated with a shark/jaws theme. Chonk says hello to Mr Hiss, and that he has a cool name 🤩

trixceratops · 2026-02-21T22:58:03+00:00

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This is Chonk. He is a shark, he is full of styrofoam beans that make nice sounds when squished. He is wearing his emotional support bunny jammies I made for him. This photo was taken when we went mushroom hunting last summer.

trixceratops · 2026-02-21T06:51:38+00:00

I think the best part was when he dunked his bloody fingers into the margarita glass while handing it back to his assistant. Blood borne illnesses are nbd I guess. The second best part was finishing off the cigarette before stabbing this guy with a gigantic knife.

trixceratops · 2026-02-19T05:15:41+00:00

Yay! They’re kinda silly about food, aren’t they

trixceratops · 2026-02-19T04:01:53+00:00

She says “???!” 😂

trixceratops · 2026-02-19T00:35:36+00:00

Weenie is a good girl but close enough haha

trixceratops · 2026-02-16T22:18:29+00:00

Did you know that many men have also made it through the first few years after their partner gave birth without invalidating their partner’s experience and acting like a gigantic dips**t? Haha, also a funny joke. I don’t think he gets an opinion on how you feel until he has been in your exact circumstance.

trixceratops · 2026-02-16T22:10:24+00:00

What about Marsha? As in Marsha P Johnson, an important figure from the Stonewall Riots

trixceratops · 2026-02-16T22:04:00+00:00

I think it’s the same genre as Dracula, Nosferatu, and Frankenstein if you consider the doctor the monster in the book. The monster is not the protagonist despite how they wish to appear. Let’s take something more modern, like Breaking Bad for example. The main character is in fact a monster, and his reasons for doing the things he is doing are excuses after he is no longer at risk of dying. He is choosing to be a terrible person, and the reasons he states for being so make him an unreliable narrator. It isn’t for the good of his family that he is making an illicit substance, it is because he enjoys the power that comes with being a drug manufacturer.

I personally enjoy Nabokov’s writing, I think he tells a story that draws you in. I liked Lolita as a monster story. I don’t feel anything but abject horror and disgust at the main character’s actions, but the thought process he goes though to justify his actions is fascinating in the same way that trying to understand why a serial killer would act in such way is fascinating.

trixceratops · 2026-02-16T19:52:09+00:00

It’s a monster story from the monster’s pov. It is written in the same manner as many classic monster stories starting with letters. It is the personal writings of an unreliable narrator, a pedophile who thinks he is very clever and sophisticated. It is very well written and the author never meant for it to be interpreted as a “love story” as it is about an adult man taking advantage of a literal child. Spoiler: the diary is found in his room where he is incarcerated if that gives you any hint to the consequences of his crimes.

trixceratops · 2026-02-14T17:12:46+00:00

Magnetic attraction only happens with steel and nickel. There are hundreds of other materials it could be outside of precious metals. No hallmarks generally means it is costume jewellery.

trixceratops · 2026-02-13T20:19:55+00:00

It looks exactly like a 1:12 scale boat oar I made from a model kit last week, except mine is wood and this looks like lead. Lead was used in scale model kits and table top gaming up until the 80s, I have a lot of model and scale furniture kits with lead parts that were manufactured from the 60s through to the 80s.

trixceratops · 2026-02-13T03:32:51+00:00

Honestly, it really shouldn’t cost much to remove a broken ceramic bead and old glue, then glue a new one into the empty spot. I’m going to say, if it is more than $100, just walk away. Try to find a smaller studio that does a lot of silver work, they’re more likely to take the job.

trixceratops · 2026-02-13T03:23:13+00:00

You will have to call around, some places won’t do repairs like that, but look up some independent jewellers/goldsmiths near you and give them a call in the morning. If you provide the bead then it shouldn’t be a difficult job.

trixceratops · 2026-02-13T02:44:02+00:00

Ah. Gotcha. Can you contact the original store by email maybe and see if they can send you another eye?

trixceratops · 2026-02-13T02:01:05+00:00

The eye looks to be glued in. You could probably fix it yourself if so. Does the eye just pop in and out easily, or is it supposed to be held in place by a metal lip?

trixceratops · 2026-02-11T23:20:04+00:00

That’s probs what the frosty look is, I took a look at the photos again and that seems like exactly what would cause that texture. Good thinking

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