drill gems?

i have some tiny gems 2mm, 4mm, 8mm...etc...am interested in making
them into final pieces, if anyone outhere could please share their
experience in drilling/mounting/setting them?
have been doing lots of bezel settings(the only one i learned, and can
manage doing a good job =); very much so want to explore other ways.
thanks.
-newbie

starter wrote:

i have some tiny gems 2mm, 4mm, 8mm...etc...am interested in making
them into final pieces, if anyone outhere could please share their
experience in drilling/mounting/setting them?
have been doing lots of bezel settings(the only one i learned, and can
manage doing a good job =); very much so want to explore other ways.
thanks.
-newbie

I think you'd have real problems drilling those tiny gems. I'd suggest you
explore other ways of constructing settings for them. Sounds like this
would be a good opportunity to learn to make prong settings.

--RC

"Rick Cook" wrote in message
...


starter wrote:

i have some tiny gems 2mm, 4mm, 8mm...etc...am interested in making
them into final pieces, if anyone outhere could please share their
experience in drilling/mounting/setting them?
have been doing lots of bezel settings(the only one i learned, and can
manage doing a good job =); very much so want to explore other ways.
thanks.
-newbie

I think you'd have real problems drilling those tiny gems. I'd suggest you
explore other ways of constructing settings for them. Sounds like this
would be a good opportunity to learn to make prong settings.

The easy way to mount such gems is to make a bezel setting with a small
piece of gold or silver tube.

It's not hard and just about every basic text on jewellery making shows you
how.

--
William Black
------------------
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government

"starter" wrote in message
...
i have some tiny gems 2mm, 4mm, 8mm...etc...am interested in making
them into final pieces, if anyone outhere could please share their
experience in drilling/mounting/setting them?
have been doing lots of bezel settings(the only one i learned, and can
manage doing a good job =); very much so want to explore other ways.
thanks.
-newbie

I don't think you actually mean you want to drill the gems themselves, but
to drill into some solid surface and create the right size and shape of hole
so as to allow you to set the gem into it, right?

If so, then what you need is a suitable small drill press and some stone
setting burs (which have the right shape for a brilliant-cut type of stone,
which it sounds like you're talking about). You can find both things in the
Rio Grande Tools & Equipment 2004 catalog. They have a really nice miniature
precision drill press I'm thinking of getting myself on page 151. Stone
setting burs start on page 153. Rio Grande is at http://www.riogrande.com/.
Another source for that drill press is http://www.minicrafttools.com/ which
has a bunch of other really neat miniature saws, etc.