Probably a silly question, but how on earth do I make a
comfort/wedding band style of ring? The rings that I’ve made out of
sheet look, well, flat. Unless I’ve done an anticlastic shape. Is it
a matter of using thick sheet and filing the edges to give the
appearance of a domed outer shape? Or are there forming tools out
there for such a process?
Many thanks
Ros
Hi Ros,
When we made half round wedders, we fashioned them on steel ring
mandrels.
We beat them into roughly the shape we want by striking the leading
and trailing edge with a riveting hammer.
Then we tidied the rings up using a file, and an emery stick.
Polished on a lathe completed the operation.
Regards Charles A.
Is it a matter of using thick sheet and filing the edges to give
the appearance of a domed outer shape?
Yup. Pretty much. Start with thicker bar stock (which amounts to
thick sheet, I suppose), and file inside edges of the band to get the
comfort fit. The outside is formed or filed however you like. If you
form the band first, you can then use either half round files, or
rotary files or sanding drums to get the inside curve.
Or are there forming tools out there for such a process?
Specialty rolls for rolling mills can give you a half round wire
shape (or lower dome than half round) If you make a ring of this,
with the curved surface on the inside of the shank, you end up with a
comfort fit ring with a flat outside.
You can also use oval drawplates to make an oval wire. Bent into a
ring, both inside and ouside are then domed, like a standard comfort
fit plain wedding band. I’ve even see drawplates made especially for
this use, where it’s not strictly an oval, but a suitable curve on
the inside for the comfort fit, and usually a deeper curve for the
outside domed surface of the ring.
Peter
Hi Rosamond,
One way is to use half round wire the width you need and form it
around the ring mandrel with the curved side against the mandrel.
Then you can use a file to shape the outside of the ring a lot easier
in a half round shape with a file. Follow up with sanding and
polishing.
Mark
Hello Roz, File the inneredge away. It does work better if the ring
is thicker.
Have fun.
Tom Arnold
Another way to get the half round band (really great for larger
widths) is to cut a strip of metal out of sheet material, solder the
ends and bend into a ring shape then use small dapping balls as
stakes to form the metal around. Very similar to the beginning stages
of forming a torque. Once you have the desired height and width true
up the edges and solder a smaller band to the interior.
I don’t have an exact formula for what length to start with but
usually width that you want to end up with is the same width that you
start with, unless you are going for a supper extreme curve.
Christine
www.christinebossler.com
There are two ways, other than filing off square edges, which is
wasteful. Both however require some outlay of money. You could buy 1/2
round or D section from your supplier.
-
If you are going to make a many over years, buy a 1/2 round
drawplate, they come in different sections high D to flatter I).
Drawing can be done by hand up to about 2.5mm section after that a
drawbench helps.
-
Can you buy a swage plate or block and hammer round wire into the
appropriate D groove on the plate I have made my own swage plates out
of 1/4" mild steel plate useing a hacksaw and files and polishing the
groove. If you know someone with a rolling mill with grooved side
rollers they could help you.
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au
I’ve got a rolling mill with d-section extension rollers, so I use
those for anything up to 3.8mm wide. To make it court section, I
roll it one side, then flip it over an roll it on the other; that
slightly flattens the otherside, which gives you the inside of the
ring. For anything larger than that, I use a flat, thick strip, make
a ring smaller than I want, and then use a tapered mandrel to hammer
the ring up to size, and give it the right shape at the same time.You
have to be very careful with this - give it a set number of strikes
around one edge of the ring, making sure you apply the same force
with every strike. Then turn the ring over and do the same again.
You must control the force applied, or the ring will lose symmetry,
and it is hard to bring it back once that happens.I’ve recently been
practicing the production of hammered round wire from small ingots -
doing something like that will give you a lot of practice with
hammer control.
Jamie
http://primitive.ganoksin.com