Hi,
I’m wanting to bend some pretty thick stainless steel wire into
circles 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", and 1" in diameter… they are used for
earrings in body jewelry… the wire is approximately 1/4" thick to
7/16" thick… my questions is, how should i go about doing this with
a hydraulic press? i am thinking that i need forming blocks to make
the bend. can anyone out there enlighten me on what’s the best way
to do this? what ton press should i get? where would i get the
forming blocks to make these rings? is there a better or less
expensive way of doing it? i would just like some ideas… i’ve never
made rings this thick, and am getting a lot of requests for them…
lemme know what i can do to make these… thanks!!!
David Basile
Gen-X Jewelry
www.gen-xjewelry.com
David, my 2 centavos:
There is a tool called a floor mounted bender which works well to
make larger bends, from 4 inch diameter down to 3/4 inch diameter. It
works on the same principle as the little vise mounted bending jigs
except it has a long arm to provide bending leverage. The one I got
came from Northern Tool but Harbor Freight also sells one.
For smaller diameter bends one make a jig using steel rods held
tightly in a bench vise or better yet welded in holes drilled into a
steel support plate and for even smaller rings either a small bending
jig or a jump ring maker. But I’ve never seen anyone use a hydraulic
press to make rings. Sorry.
Geo.
( But I’ve never seen anyone use a hydraulic
press to make rings. Sorry.) Geo.
There are ways to make rings with the ‘press’. I have only made
hollow rings, and some(not mine) are viewable on the Bonny Doon web
site gallery. But they’re hollow or concave, not what your
application seems to be. Doesn’t sound like the tool you need for
steel.
Thomas Blair
Island Gold Works
Hello David,
The simplest way is to take a piece of steel rod approximately 20%
smaller than the inside diameter of the ring you want. Put this
together with the stainless steel wire in a heavy, and well fixed,
clamping device. The wire should be sticking out for a long end 1
meter or more. Now you can turn the wire around the steel rod. the
first round will not be good but the next ones going round will make a
perfect spring. These one you can cut into nice rings. May be you
should heat up the wire wile turning around (dull red), but I think
this is only necessary for the 1/4" around the 1/2" diameter
Martin.
David,
Get friendly with a machine shop and they will take care of this. This
is how I would make this particular piece.
http://www.cymro-jewelworks.com/machinin.htm
Best Regards.
Neil George
954-572-5829