I need to size down a 10.5 5 mm comfort fit band with a few words of engraving. Can I put it in a ring reducer? Or what is the best cleanest way to size a brand new ring down. Customer bought in NYC it took 9 weeks to come in. He gets married in 3 weeks. So he brought it to me. 9 weeks for a milgrain band??? Thanks I am trying to do more myself and learn more verses shipping everything out.
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It’s going to be hard to not put a ridge on the band right above the milgrained area, when it gets squished in the ring sizer. How much of a ridge depends on how many sizes it gets shrunk. How much too big is the ring?
Let’s see what others say, but many jewelers wouldn’t use the ring stretcher and shrinker, especially in a situation like this. They would cut the band, remove the right amount of material, and resolder it.
That’s probably not the answer you were looking for, but it can be a challenge to not mess it up with either the ring sizing machine or the cut and solder method.
Jeff
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My thougths exactly. I think I will do a solder method, I did tell client he might see a little mark in the milgrain. I only have a pulse welder and it is a thick band. I was hoping someone had a trick
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I have faced this situation many times. I have gotten away many times with wrapping several turns of Scotchtape ( brand name not important), and then shrunk the band.
The plastic tape tends to get squeezed into the spaces around the milgrain breading, which seems to support the beads.
If necessary, you can recut the milgrain, much you also may often need to do if you should cut and size the band. It has worked more often than not, if the size change is not extreme.
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Thanks ringdoctor! I’ve used little plastic bags to accomplish the same thing in the band ring shrinker. It sounds like Scotchtape works better.
Can you offer any advice for how to match a small section of milgrain pattern? I’ve always guessed which milgrain tool is the best size. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m wrong. If I’m wrong then I make the pattern worse instead of better.
Thanks again for your great tips!!
Jeff