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 !!

Hiatus in Jewellery Making Land...

Between the 2009 Mission to Mars program at Pinecrest Public School and the arrival of Spring gardening, it has not left a whole lot of time to spend in the shop.  I do intend to get back to it as soon as the must do in the garden is done.

New Ring :: Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I could not wait to try out my new torch.
I continued my work on the new ring; lots of welding of various metal types.  

The design and shape of the ring is rather modern and asymmetrical.  The band is made of brass with small sections and appliques of silver and has a copper insert.  

I got my new torch !!!

I found out a while back that Bernzomatic makes a nice mini torch.   The ST900D is a mini torch with a 4 foot hose.  It has a regulator on the gas bottle and a control knob on the handle.  It should be perfect for welding small pieces, and I should be able to hold like a pencil.  This should give me better maneuverability when soldering.

I could not find a Canadian distributor, so I had to order it from the US... fortunately my good friend Maggie, played middle men, and forwarded the torch from the American vendor.

Many Thanks Maggie !!!

I can't wait to try it out !  It just happens that I have some welding to do on the ring that I started a few weeks ago. ;-)

Stay tuned for comments on the torch !

Starting on a new ring...

I made it back into the shop today, I started on a new ring.  

The band is in four sections.  2 long lengths of brass and 2 very short pieces of silver.

The parts are welded together and form a band that will be 1/4" in width.

• I started by flattening a bar of brass to the desired thickness, then cut two lengths from it.
  
• I then flattened a short piece of silver to the same thickness and cut two pieces from it.
  
• I annealed the brass lengths, then shaped them around the ring mandrel.
• I straightened and cleaned-up the ends of the brass and silver pieces to get them ready for soldering.
• I made up a temporary jig with tweezers and by carving a fire brick to hold the silver and brass pieces in position for soldering.
• I fluxed the parts and welded the 2 silver pieces onto one of the brass length.
• After cleaning the parts again, I fluxed the other brass length and welded it to the other half of the band.
• It took a bit of reshaping on the ring mandrel after the welding.  I took the opportunity to give a hammered texture to the ring.

That's it for now...