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The first piece of jewellery I ever made was a silver band. It is a great project to learn basic silversmithing skills such as annealing, soldering and forming with a mandrel. The ring below was made from sterling silver sheet.
** Important! As with all silversmithing, please be aware of the hazards of this project such as hot metal, chemicals and loose metal. I recommend the employment of safety equipment at all times, such as a pair of goggles, a face mask and gloves. I also recommend the reading of the relevant MSDS for each chemical in use before undertaking this project. And remember, hot metal looks like cool metal! **
Equipment you will need
- propane/butane torch
- sheet silver
- saw
- silver solder
- flux
- nylon or rawhide mallet
- steel ring mandrel
- pickle and pickle pot
- copper tongs
- rinse bath
- file
- sandpaper
- polishing wheel
- polishing compound
Method
1. Saw the silver sheet to the desired size. Remember that if you are making a thick band, size it 1/2 to 1 size larger than usual.
2. Anneal your sheet by heating the silver evenly until it glows a light salmon pink. Be careful not to melt your silver sheet - continually move the flame so that the heat is not concentrated in one spot of the silver for a long period of time.
3. Pick up the ring with tongs and drop it in your pickle pot to remove firescale.
4. Pull your item out of your pickle pot with some copper tongs and rinse in a rinse bath.
5. File the ends of the sheet so they will align with each other neatly.
6. Begin forming the ring by bending the sheet around the steel mandrel with a nylon or rawhide mallet, lining up the ring ends so they butt up closely.
7. Apply flux to the joint and place some silver solder on the joint.
8. Heat the ring evenly with the torch flame until the solder melts and wicks into the joint.
9. Pick up the ring with tongs and drop it into the pickle pot to remove the firescale and rinse in the rinsing bath.
10. Dry the ring and slide it onto the steel mandrel. Shape and size the ring evenly using a nylon or rawhide mallet.
11. Inspect the joint and file it neatly until the joint cannot be seen.
12. Take the ring off mandrel and finish the ring with some sandpaper.
13. To finish, polish the ring on a buffing wheel using polishing compound of your choice, or leave with a brushed finish.
12 comments:
Hello, and thank you for your ring making tutorial. It was very clear and easy to understand. I have been to your etsy store and love your work - it's clean and elegant and appeals to both the traditionalist and the modernist, which is not an easy balance.
I would like to try etching but I am worried because of the chemicals. Can you tell me, please, are you using Ferric Nitrate? And if so, what safety precautions do you take. I live in a small apartment and have just bought a small fume trap, but I don't know if that and my respirator will do it.
Thank you again for the great tutorial, I hope to see morr of them.
Hi blakeneyd,
Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your kind words.
There are hazards and risks involved when working with most chemicals. I use both ferric nitrate and nitric acid, both of which I consider dangerous.
Personal protective equipment I employ in my studio include safety goggles, gloves, a respirator and a full length apron/coat. It is important that your safety equipment is designed for and suited to the chemicals you use.
I work in a well ventilated area, and use double bunding for all chemicals I use. I also store my chemicals in accordance with guidelines in their respective Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
I would say it is a must to refer to the MSDS of any dangerous chemical you use in order to understand the risks and hazards involved as well as the requirements to mitigate and manage them.
It is also of utmost importance to understand the proper process of disposal of hazardous waste to make sure the environment and people are protected. This may vary from location to location, so I would recommend calling your local council to ask for the proper method of disposal.
Cheers,
Nephilim
** Please note that the chemicals I mention here are very dangerous and I have posted this comment only for informative purposes. I do not recommend the use of these chemicals without proper safety practices and procedures in place and am not responsible for any person's use of these chemicals **
Thank you Nephilim,
I appreciate your honesty, and your taking the time to respond!
Niiiiice ring! Amazing how it ends up looking so good at the end of such a... volatile... process :O
I too am interested in making a silver ring or two as a hobby & I was wondering what do you use for your rinse solution?
Thanks, and thanks for your great tutorial. :-)
Hi James,
The rinse solution or pickle that i use is made by dissolving "Pickle safe compound" in water. I believe it is sulphamic acid. Once again, if working with chemicals, please refer to their MSDS for relevant safety information.
Cheers,
Nephilim
Thank you for the great tutorial. I have 2 questions. First, what was the gauge of the silver sheet you used, and second, have you ever worked with Argentium Silver? I hear it has a slightly lower melting point than Sterling, and is much less likely to tarnish.
Thank you!
Hi
I am wanting to buy ready made wholesale rings in silver just like the one you demonstrated. I want to use them for a deign project and need 100's. Do you know how I would sourse or of anyone wanting to make. Stering silver or Stainless Steel.
Ta
D
Hi Nephilim,
I just wanted to let you know that I featured your project on my site, www.AllFreeBeadedJewelry.com. I linked to your project:
http://www.allfreebeadedjewelry.com/Metal-Ring/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Silver-Ring
I would like to know if I can link like this to you, including a photo, in the future. Or if you would be willing to allow me to post projects in full on the site - full credit will always be given to you, of course. It would be yet another source of traffic to your blog.
Once I have two projects on the site I can start a designer profile for you with links back to your blog, store, facebook, etc. Here is an example of one: http://www.allfreebeadedjewelry.com/Jewelry-Designers/Pearl-Blay-Jewelry-Designer
Please let me know, I would love to work with you further.
Thanks!
Maggie Kmiecik
mkmiecik@primecp.com
Thanks a lot it is a fantastic support, now to make a silver ring is without a doubt easy utilizing your tips. Kudos
Nice tutorial, you mentioned that for a wide band ring you need to add 1/2 to 1 size. How do you go about sizing a ring with a narrow band using half round,square and round wire, how would I determine how much wire I would need for it. Can you stretch a ring by hammering with a rubber mallet and chasing hammer?
I would like to use argentium silver to make myself a set of stack rings. Thanks
You should maintain it regularly to keep it that way. You can also store silver in individual plastic bags. This will protect against scratches, and it will also prevent a certain amount of tarnishing by keeping air and moisture off of your silver.
What size and guage is the sterling sheet you used for this particular band?
I want to start with this band....
flincoln1@gmail.com
Randi Lincoln
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