Need Help with Jewel Slot

Xacto has a straight chisel tool and also makes a complete set of carving tools, which you may be able to get individually. You could also check through the wood carving tools or perhaps the some modeling tools in the ceramic or painting sections, at a Michael’s or another art/craft store, that may be useful.

I havn’t put the gem in my commision yet as I have only base coated it, but I noticed the same grooves in the father foo i have.

The small divot in the back of the jewel hole fits the pointy part of the jewel. I left room for glue, so the glue doesn’t squirt out around the jewel when you put it in.
I’ll have to fix that on the master. I’ll make the hole fit more closely so the jewel is easier to put in.

when I painted a male about a week or two ago, I didn’t have problems with the stones fitting but one just kept trying to fall out during the glue drying process, I kept having to poke it back in a few times then it finally stayed….

The small divot in the back of the jewel hole fits the pointy part of the jewel. I left room for glue, so the glue doesn’t squirt out around the jewel when you put it in.
I’ll have to fix that on the master. I’ll make the hole fit more closely so the jewel is easier to put in.

My problem is stemming more from me having two jewel holes, neither which are truly centered. I’m adding another picture to my original post showing the gap (which I guess stretched a little from the second jewel slot being formed). It’s not that big of a difference, so it should be an easy fix.

It shouldn’t have a gap, is that the right jewel? looks like you should have gotten a larger jewel size.

I’ve encountered that exact problem too (very recently), I managed to somehow tap the gem into place. It did NOT want to sit flat and it was quite frustrating. The way I solved my problem might be a bit annoying, but I’ll mention it anyways.

I put a drop of white glue into the grooves to fill them up. Let it congeal a bit, then placed the gem in. The problem with this is that you can end up with glue seeping up and getting on top of the gem. Ugh! Had to pop the gem out a few times to clean it, then start over and tap it into place. It was a delicate process, but fortunately white glue is easy to clean off if something goes wrong.

A possible alternative if you don’t feel comfortable using sharp tools to trim the sculpture. Good luck!

Thank you for the additional pictures! Okay…hmm. Not exactly the problem I had, similar but not exact (I didn’t understand the scope, I’m sorry!). My gem did not want to sit flat, true. But it also did not have the same significant gap your seems to have. Perhaps you have the problem Melody suggested? Maybe it’s not the correct gem size? Glue might still work, but I’d check gem size too.

All three jewels were the same size, which I think is correct, since the jewels fit in the side ones fine. And those were the only one in the package. The gap isn’t as bad as it looks when you fiddle with it. It tilts to create the larger gap b/c it won’t sit flat, I think. I filled it in with some paper clay, now I’m waiting for it to dry. It’s looking pretty good, though.

Oh good that the gem size wasn’t the problem! And glad the fill-in idea seems to be working. I wish you lots of luck!

Mine tilted around like nobody’s business when I was trying to glue it in. If the paper clay works out for you I’ll have to consider it myself the next time I paint a Father Foo (because the glue medium was a bit too messy for my tastes, any improvement would be welcome).