Basically, you place your stones (cut with the right shapes) in. Some jewelers use a hammering setting on their drill for hanging. Whatever you're creating, whether it's a pendant or a ring set with stones, now is the time to put the two elements together before placing the stone in its place. After annealing, cut or saw off the excess silver and weld the two ends of the bezel in your size, as you normally do with standard gauge bevel wire.
As long as you use a metal tube of the right size to frame the gem that fits and supports it well, you'll get a clean and professional look, whether you're creating a pendant or a ring design. Manufactured pick bezels come in a wide range of styles, sizes and materials, and many come pre-engraved and ready for you to place on the stone. A tube bezel is a simple way to frame a gemstone, using a small amount of tube so that the stone rests on it. Therefore, if you want to set your sights higher and go from simply manufacturing rings and pendants to more difficult stone setting designs, setting stone tubes is an excellent starting point.
Once you get used to working with gold, this advantage is much less important, but if you're used to silver and have just ventured into gold, I recommend starting with 18 carats. For this reason, a drill is ideal for this type of work: it will keep the cutter in position and with a straight downward movement, ideal for setting gemstones in the shape of a tube. Silver isn't really stiff enough to guarantee a secure hold, unless you make the tips quite bulky, and that would largely defeat the purpose of using picks.
