Jewellery World Magazine - December 2021

7
Now mark out for the square holes
at the back of the cross.Set your
dividers to slightly under 1mm and
scribe around the outside of the cross. To
scribe the inner ladder marks, keep the
same setting on your dividers and scribe
double lines across using your dividers
and ruler. You should be able to see the
side cut marks and use them to locate the
correct spacings.
8
Now drill through each setting with
a 1mm pilot drill. Keep turning the
cross over to check that you are
drilling straight. Open the holes out with
a 1.2mm drill and make any necessary
corrections. Countersink the holes with
a ball bur that’s around 2.2mm. You can
also countersink the underside as this will
assist when you start to perform the ajour
cut work.
9
Insert a 4/0 or 5/0 saw blade into a
setting and begin the cutting work
by angling the blade forwards. Keep
the blade moving as you first cut into the
corners forming a star shape. Then scrape
the blade along the scribe line from corner
to corner. Cutting squares can be tricky and
may result in some accidental cuts past the
scribe line. Try to stay well within the scribe
lines for you first attempts. You can perfect
the work once you have some experience.
10
The aim of the game is to look
for improvement with each one.
Do not obsess about obtaining
perfection at first, and don’t be
too concerned if you mess up the first few
holes.
Before you work on the sides, cut cross lines
intothe top of each square setting. Now angle
your blade to 45° and cut down the sides from
the centre cuts. Saw until your blade reaches
the centre of the top and side of the setting.
11number of different burs. The
To create the round openings
in the settings you could use a
obvious one to use is a cone bur.
Drive the point of the bur in but make
sure you do not cut through the top of
the side setting. Switch to a round bur
to finish off. This will make the openings
perfectly round.
12
Once all the cutwork is
completed you can make a
simple bail and solder it to the
top.
The assessment of your saw cutting
skills should be done at this stage before
any stone setting is carried out. A selfassessment
sheet is in the curriculum.
The online course includes video
instructions for setting round stones into
square settings.
Peter Keep is a
master jeweller
and teacher. He
offers structured
online courses
that have helped
thousands of
students around
the world improve
their skills.
Jewellery Training Solutions offers a comprehensive online training service
including the popular Ten Stage Apprenticeship Course.
Check out the other courses and options at
www.jewellerytrainingsolutions.com.au
December 2021 39