| I find the best way to set earrings is to use a stick-board to hold the pearl in place. I place the pearls top down, with the hole sticking straight up. Then, the glue only goes on the post, never the pearl. If you hold the post an angle of about 60 degrees, you will be able to get a drop of the glue only on the post without it making contact with the cup. This is the only trick. If it contacts the cup it will immediately disperse and cover the entire inner area, and you will have excess glue. The drop size is perfected with practice.
After you have the perfect drop hanging from the post, quickly and carefully insert it into the hole and press. The glue should bond very quickly (especially if you are using Vigor). After a few seconds let go and leave the pearl in its position for a few minutes.
This works well for smaller pearls such as Akoya and freshwater, and when you are doing a large number of pearls. In this method I can typically do a sheet of 12 pairs in about 10 minutes.
If using larger pearls, such as Tahitian or South Sea, I also use the stick-board, but I pick up the pearl when I am ready to attach it to the post. I use a lot more pressure in the larger pearls, as I am also using a larger post. But the method and glue application is the same. |