HI! Just read a note from someone who in the past couldn’t find
beeswax. Any sewing center has it, as it is used to coat cotton
thread while doing certain kinds of hand work. Pat
Wax can also be used to hold stones in place when sizing a ring
down which has stones that are channel set perpendicular to the
shank. After removing the required amount of metal from the
shank smear the wax over the stones then bend the shank to the
position for soldering together. The stones will probably be
loose now but will not have fallen out thanks to the wax. Reset
the stones, remove the wax and solder the shank together. This
method works best for sizing down 1/2 to one full size depending
on the design of the ring. The shank cannot always be made round
again and the more material you remove the less likely it is that
you will be able to make it round because the channels can not be
moved if there are more than 1 or two. Steve Howard