I am learning flush setting, and finding that the motions involved are not ones that my aging joints enjoy! I spent yesterday struggling with some practice settings, and then last night lathering on the BioFreeze to hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.
I am quite determined to get this skill mastered, but it is slow going right now!
I am practicing on copper scrap that I have melted down. Here is a piece I did that turned out rather organic looking - I really quite like the shape.
Melted copper with flush set CZ
I am practicin with CZ’s, since I figure they are cheap, sturdy, and supposedly pretty uniform in their shape. I say supposedly, since if I am understanding my notes from the workshop I took with Joanna Goldberg last spring, the size hart bur I am using SHOULD be correct for the size CZ I’m using…. and interestingly, it isn’t always.
I don’t have digital calipers (guess maybe I’m going to have to breakdown and get some - big sigh) I have the manual ones… so that may be part of the problem. Suspect it is mostly “user error” <vbg>.
I do have some lovely round peridot’s from Ahmed Shareek, and they are cut rather larger than the CZ’s. So when I mess up the CZ hole I have, so far, been able to enlarge it a bit and switch to the peridot - which look lovely in the copper.
And then, of course, I have the one that did me in yesterday! I finally gave up for the day. I’ll have to see if I want to try again today or move on to something else and give my body a day or two to recover! I have arthritis in pretty much all my joints, so both the drilling and the pushing to set the stone are working the joints heavily.
When it works right, I do love the look of flush set stones, so I am determined to keep trying until I master it! Any suggestions would certainly be welcome!
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