I teach a beginning lapidary class at an adult community center. The enthusiasm of these folks is quite extraordinary. When they finish a few cabochons, they often want to show off their work, but they are not jewelers yet and haven't mastered the art of soldering. I came up with a design for a solderless belt buckle in order to fill this need. The buckle is easy to make, yet shows off the stone and the student's stone-polishing skills quite well. My original buckles were created using 22 gauge brass sheet and attached by bending small tabs over the stone. Going to 24 gauge sheet made the bends easier to complete and allowed the creation of a full frame for the buckle, which enhances the appearance and lightens the finished product.
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