PatP
07-01-2008, 01:26 AM
Okay, so its not a really cool engraved piece, but it is a really cool bracelet.:whoo:
Made from 316L Stainless Steel with (3) 6 ga. (0.164") wires that were twisted and plasma welded together (another new toy im learning), bent to a bracelet, then bead blasted.
http://www.patpruitt.com/Engrave/IMG_8685.jpg
Now this is where the PC made life a LOT easier. Setting (15) 2mm Peridot faceted stones onto the crests of each wire along the length. The setting was fairly simple, create a burr, then using a bead setting tool, push the burr over the stone and round out. After that, bright cut the edge a tiny bit to clean up. Using the PC for almost all the work made my day.
This was NOT an easy task in stainless, especially along a curved surface. The first one took me about 5 hours to set similar blue topaz stones, this one took me about four hours. My g/f got the first bracelet...seems to be a growing trend with her. :lol:
Major thanks Steve! One, for making such a bad ass machine that let me have the control needed to do this. Two, the grinding templates came in handy a little more than I expected, even with carbide gravers. Three, just for being a cool guy, and having a great place to share infomation.
So let me know what you guys think.
Made from 316L Stainless Steel with (3) 6 ga. (0.164") wires that were twisted and plasma welded together (another new toy im learning), bent to a bracelet, then bead blasted.
http://www.patpruitt.com/Engrave/IMG_8685.jpg
Now this is where the PC made life a LOT easier. Setting (15) 2mm Peridot faceted stones onto the crests of each wire along the length. The setting was fairly simple, create a burr, then using a bead setting tool, push the burr over the stone and round out. After that, bright cut the edge a tiny bit to clean up. Using the PC for almost all the work made my day.
This was NOT an easy task in stainless, especially along a curved surface. The first one took me about 5 hours to set similar blue topaz stones, this one took me about four hours. My g/f got the first bracelet...seems to be a growing trend with her. :lol:
Major thanks Steve! One, for making such a bad ass machine that let me have the control needed to do this. Two, the grinding templates came in handy a little more than I expected, even with carbide gravers. Three, just for being a cool guy, and having a great place to share infomation.
So let me know what you guys think.