Pebble Stacking Rings

Show off with this elegant and classic look by creating your very own silver and gold pebble stacked rings. A great way to test out your soldering skills for a beautiful jewellery piece to add to your collection.

Step 1

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CUT YOUR SILVER WIRE LENGTHS
Cut three lengths of Silver wire. The rings in this project are made from three lengths of 60mm 1.8mm round Silver wire. To work out the length of wire you’ll need, you could measure your finger using string, taking into account the metal thickness. You can also use online calculators or guides.

Step 2

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BEND AND ADJUST YOUR WIRE
Use your pliers to bend the wires round back on themselves and join them up to meet flush. If your wire edges do not meet flush, file a little metal away.

Step 3

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SOLDER AND QUENCH YOUR RING
Add a little flux and small piece of hard solder to the join of your Silver ring. Heat evenly using a blowtorch on top of a soldering block. Repeat on each of your rings. Quench each ring in water and put them into a warm acid pickle to
clean. Do not put metal tweezers in the safety pickle as this can contaminate it. Use plastic tweezers to remove any items from the pickle. To keep your pickle warm, use a slow cooker or pickling unit (999 AFD). Remember: safety pickle is a hazardous chemical and appropriate precautions should be taken.

Step 4

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SHAPE AND TIDY UP YOUR RING
Remove each ring from the pickle, rinse and dry. Place your ring on a ring mandrel and hammer using a mallet until round. Use needles files or emery paper/sticks to remove any solder. Take care gently filing and sanding to ensure the join is seamless.

Step 5

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CREATE AND CLEAN YOUR PEBBLES
Place 2cm of 1.5mm Yellow Gold wire on the soldering block and heat with your blowtorch until it forms a pebble shape. Repeat using Silver and Red Gold. Quench each pebble in water and put them into a warm acid pickle to clean. Rinse and dry the pebbles. You can vary the size of your pebble by using more or less of each metal.

Step 6

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SOLDER AND QUENCH PEBBLES ONTO YOUR RINGS
Place your pebble face down on your soldering block and apply a little flux and medium solder. Hold your ring on top of your pebble using reverse action tweezers, ensuring the solder is also touching the ring. Heat your ring evenly first and then your pebble to get both pieces to the same temperature. Your solder will then melt and flow. Repeat for each ring. Quench each ring in water and put them into a warm acid pickle to clean. Remove, rinse and dry your rings. You can hold your ring in place using a Third Hand Tweezer and Base. Medium solder paste is also an option.

Step 7

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POLISH YOUR RINGS
Polish your rings using different wheels on a pendant motor or with emery paper/sticks, going
from coarse to fine. You can also use a tumble barrelling machine with shot and barrelling compound to finish your rings.

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