Measuring wire stock for ring shank

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone

I am looking for some help into how to measure my stock for some dainty rings featuring rosecut stones on a raised bezel.

I have found information on how to measure the length needed of wire by calculating
(Inside Diameter (mm) + Metal Thickness (mm)) x 3.14 = Ring Blank Length
which makes sense if I am using round wire to make my ring shank.

I have two questions though:
1- As hammering and forming my wire on the mandrel will inevitably stretch the metal a bit - do you measure for a size or half smaller than your intended size?

2- If I am using half round wire (which I can only find under “D-shape” wire at CooksonGold in the UK), do I still need to add the metal thickness? As the wire is not round and the base is flat I presume the thickness doesn’t rob any space inside the shank so doesn’t need to be accounted for?

I intend to then solder the bezel slightly raised so that the light can penetrate from underneath (they have an open back): by bending the ring shank slightly and soldering to the edges under my inside bezel wire. I presume I can just measure the width of my bezel, take away how much I want the bezel to be raised by x2, and subtract that from the total length of my wire for the shank? Or is there a better way?

Newbie here and trying to figure out the best way to move forward.

Thank you very much!
Laura

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Would it be possible for you to post a photo? Thank you! And welcome!

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IMG_20661920Ă—2560 199 KB

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IMG_20671920Ă—2560 185 KB

IMG_2065
IMG_20651920Ă—1767 169 KB

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(better with wire than at drawing…hopefully!)

I post a photo of the bottom of my bezel and a quick drawing of my intended design.
I don’t want it to be raised too much, just a mm or so so that the back of the stone doesn’t sit directly onto the skin.

5

Texture the stock first while it is flat then make the ring. Hoover and Strong and many others publish a table that lets you define the length of stock needed for a particular ring size and thickness of stock…Rob

6

Yes because it is the outside of the ring blank that needs to be long enough. Ends touching inside the circle is fine, but they need to touch outside too or you will have a wedge opening \/. That’s what adding the thickness before multiplying will correct.

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7

thank you, that makes perfect sense x

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