Bending thick ring shank

Can you share thoughts, tips on bending heavy ring stock? I never seem to be able to get both ends to meet. I’m using low domed stock. Thanks in advance

hi,

here is a technique you might like to try…from Andrew Berry’s youtube channel…

here is his original video on making rings…

julie

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You don’t mention what metal you are working in. Silver is fairly easy to bend/hammer into alignment to solder. After using one of the many charts that tell you how long a piece of stock to cut for the thickness and size that you want, I add a small bit to account for the loss due to filing and possibly resizing. Regardless, you need to be ready to do it all over again. For lighter stock I actually just form the ring and then place it over a two sided equaling file and move it up and down so that both ends are filed at the same time. More importantly, they have the same orientation. This doesn’t work for thicker stock. Geometry gets in the way. How ever you get the ends together, then saw the joint with a fine blade holding whatever tension you can on the joint without binding the blade. The saw then acts like a file. You can even just solder the joint without a lot of fitting knowing that you will saw it again with a fine saw blade and then re-solder the joint. Gold, especially white gold is another story. It is far more rigid (not sure what the correct metallurgical term is) than silver and just a real wrestling match for thicker stock. I don’t make a lot of rings anymore. It seems that they are never the right size. When I do there are several fittings needed to make sure that they fit. I do have a Durston ring bender that works well. Pepe also makes one. I use it a lot to bend metal even if it isn’t going to be a ring. There are also adapters that you can make or buy if you have a hydraulic press that will help you bend heavy ring stock. Others may reply with more ideas.Good luck…Rob

Thank you for the videos and additional insight. I learned by trial and several errors. This was a great help for me. Thanks.

Thank you for your input - I really appreciate it. I tried Andrew Berry’s way & ended up with a deep ditch at my solder seam. Any suggestions there would be appreciated. I think that the curve opens up that solder space more. I’m used to making my rings the “D way” & it seems that my solder seams are narrower using the D way. I’m working in sterling silver low dome stock from Rio - their #3 & #4 sizes.
I’ll keep at it - will try soldering, forming, sawing seam open & soldering again next.
Again - thank you

hi,

was the ditch there before you soldered?

solder isnt made to fill gaps

think of two sponges, side by side…when the solder flows it is actually going into the metal, like water to a sponge and creating a new alloy at that junction ( the metal plus the solder)…(just my laymans description)

let’s see…:thinking:…ok, so

#4 low dome is 5.89mm x 1.83mm
#5 liw dome is 4.32mm x 1.02mm

seems like you would scribe/ mark the desired length on the wire, but do not cut to length…leave a bit at each end…

then shape ring round, overlapping the wire, and lining up where the scribe: marks are…and continuing the curve some

…to shape, put one end in half round pliers, and then hold the pliers and bend from the other end using your thumb…repeat on other end…creating a “C”…

…then using half round pliers, or ring bending pliers, in the middle, slowly bring the two ends together, and then overlap one end over the other, keeping the shank true and aligned straight

then put ring flat on bench pin, holding ring with a bit of tension to keep scribe/ marks lined up, and saw thru first the outer wire and then the inner wire

a larger saw blade size would be better than a thinner one…say…2/0 or 3/0…?

then tension fit the ends together, adjusting so there is no daylight showing between gap

may need to run the saw blade thru if there is a gap
but usually you can move the ends until they are flush…if you sawed straight and true

then clean, flux, solder

i think andrew’s point is that the outer surface circumference of the ring is longer/bigger than the inner surface circumference

and if you cut and solder flat “D” style, when you go to shape the ring round, you are needing the outer surface of the ring to stretch more to go round, stressing the seam/ metal right there…and that the stress is more with wider/ thicker shank wire…

i hope this helps

julie

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