DIY Setting 3pt Stones into stackable rings?

[dwj6211]

Hello all! I truly have no idea if this is the right area to post/ask this in... But I will give it a shot!

I have been deeply inspired and have been saying lifelong..."if I weren't doing what I do, I would want to be a jewelry designer"...has fired up in me again. Admittedly this forum certainly doesn't silence those voices! haha!

Be it good/bad quality, all the lots of colored 3 pointers on ebay have me hovering over the buy it now button.

We all see the stackable 2mm e-bands, I would love to create some! Is it possible without any jeweler experience? Even set in silver, or whatever... are there any resources for settings of that sort?

I have recently been obsessed with Tsavorite, I'd love to make one!

Any ideas/info is greatly appreciated!

Like the photos below!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Bead setting is one of the harder setting techniques and requires good control of a graver, precision in laying out and drilling, etc. It is not really a good place to start to learn how to set stones or make jewelry. It would be terribly frustrating and there is a good chance of getting yourself hurt (having a graver slip and plunge into your thumb hurts a lot and it can get pretty infected as well).

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn jewelry making at all - just start at the beginning! If you like learning by yourself, you can buy a basic set of tools (which will grow over time, believe me!) and a few good books. There are a lot of great beginner's books that are full of photos and great explanations. However, if you can, I would recommend taking a few metal working classes. A lot of community colleges offer introductory classes which can give you a good idea of basic techniques. A good teacher will also make sure you don't develop bad habits which are hard to correct later. There are also good dedicated metalworking schools, such as Metalwerx.

If you can take 2 weeks off (or even 1 in spring), then I would recommend Penland. It is a craft school up in the hills of North Carolina that offers 1 or 2 week courses with excellent teachers. It is amazing how much you can learn if you can sit at a bench for most of the day. The food also happens to be excellent, the place beautiful, the studios very well equipped and there are a lot of interesting people around.

 

[chrono]

I do not advice this undertaking at all. The melees are very small and it is difficult for a person lacking experience to do this evenly. Heck, just to get it looking non blob-y without having any melee fall out is a huge challenge itself!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I do not advice this undertaking at all. The melees are very small and it is difficult for a person lacking experience to do this evenly. Heck, just to get it looking non blob-y without having any melee fall out is a huge challenge itself!

Just getting them to not fall out is hard enough...