Next Ring : The Design

I had to take a little break from hands-on work, but I did some work on the next ring's design.

This is my attempt at drawing what I'm trying to achieve.  The band will be made of silver, the band size will have limited adjustment since one end will be free to slide under the top.

The top will have an amethyst cabochon set in a silver bezel, beside 3 small brass balls, along with a textured brass step.

As usual I will post pictures as I fabricate the ring.  I've made silver balls before, but not in brass, this should be interesting.

Ring from Scraps : Part IV !

I was just not really satisfied with the ring that I ended up in part III.  

As luck would have it, one of my friends visited northern Ontario a while back and visited an amethyst mine.  She brought back some beautiful raw pieces and offered some to me.

So, that gave me an opportunity to incorporate a raw amethyst into the design of the band.

I reduced the size of the band, shaped a hole and incorporated the amethyst into the brass top.  I had to grind the back of the stone to ensure a comfortable fit.

Here's the result, Dawn loves it.

Real Dumb !!! Don't do this at home !!!

Well, last weekend I broke 2 very important shop rules that I have...

1. never work with sharp tools when tired
   
2. always use the right tool for the job !

I was working on removing batteries from a dead laptop battery pack.  It was Saturday evening, I did not feel like going down to the shop to get my Dremel cutting tool, too tired to make the trip downstairs...  and opted to use my trusty "very sharp" Swiss army knife...

Well it did not take long, the knife slipped off the plastic case and went right through the web of my right hand... drat !!!  

Fortunately, I missed the median nerve, but did nick a vein... so off to the emergency room... 

6 hours later... stitch in hand... now I can't do handwork for a while.

That will teach me !!