Make a Ring With Hardwood and Silver or Copper

The last two days I have made some rings. These rings requires only few
materials (only a little piece of hardwood, some copper or silver and epoxy glue). You could make these rings with only a jewelry saw and a drill (and a rotery tool if you want to buff the ring, otherwise sandpaper will do) but access to a pillar drill and a sander makes the process go much faster. The ring makes a nice gift, or you can make it for yourself. Just read this Instructables and go ahead.

Hardwood I used Ebony, Indian Rosewood, 5mm thick

Copper or silver 1mm thickness

Jewelry saw and a thin saw blade (nr3)

Wax

A little piece of waste wood for the template

Jewelry hammer

Butane torch (If you choose to work with silver)

Cloth

Epoxy

Sandpaper, I used 240-1500 grit

Small fine rasp for metal

Rotery tool for buffing, buffing compount

Gloss varnish (optional)

Drill and forster drill bit 16 mm

Scrollsaw or any kind of saw

The thickness of the ring is 5 mm and the inner circle is 17 mm (adjust to your own thickness of your finger). Do not make the ring too thin as it then might break but if you use hard wood the ring will be pretty durable.

When I made the first ring (the one with the copper top) I prepared the whole ring before I glued the copper on the wooden base. With the second ring I decided to sand the wooden base in its final shape first after I glued the silver top on the base. It worked well both, but I prefer to sand the wooden base after gluing the top. Make sure that you finish the inner hole before you continue to work on the final thickness and finish of the outside.

Mark the width on your copper or silver plate. If your silver has a kind of protecting sheet, leave it on as long as you can. The less scratches the better. You can mark the size of the plate with a sharp nib or you can cut a paper strip and tape it on the metal (silver, copper or brass). Now it’s time to take your jewelry saw and cut the top. Put some beeswax on the blade, this will make it easier to saw in metal. I always start with the saw in a sloping position and when I have at little grove I begin sawing holding the saw upright (see pictures).

I made a template in oak with the same bend as the ring. It took some force by hand to bend the copper and even more effort to bend the silver. I didn’t want to hammer on the ring because the risk for breaking.

Copper is quite soft. This means that you can bend the copper almost with your hands. Place the copper on the template and hold the middle of the copper plate with your thump whilst pressing the sides down. I used a hammer to get the copper in its final bend shape.

Silver is much harder than copper and I had to warm it so it got softer so that I could bend it to the form of my ring. Use a butane torch and just heat the silver a few seconds.

Place the silver top on the template (form?) and bent it gently. You can use some cloth when you are hammering your top in the right bend to prevent marks.

Grind the underside of your top and the wooden base. Some scratches on the wooden ring and the top will make the glue hold better. Mix your epoxy and apply it on the ring. Wear gloves for this step. Lay the top on the wooden base. Now comes the most difficult part…. leave it and lets it dry for 24 hours.

Sand, rasp and buff. Before sanding and rasping put some tape on the top to prevent the silver or copper from scratches. I started with 240 grit (400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500) and ended with 2000 grit. You can put some epoxy on the inside of the ring for extra protection.

I put some gloss varnish on the copper ring to prevent discolouration (oxidize) of the copper.

I hope you liked this instructable. It competes in the Jewelry/Woodworking Contest. Good luck by making your own ring and don't hasitate if you have some questions. Thank you for reading.

Have a nice day, Amaries.