Screw fitting for a ring...possible?

[art925]

Hi All
I have today been asked to create a simple ring with a stone bead that is held in place by riveting the gold through the bead to the shank, the bead will stand proud of the finger. Just now the gentleman has called to ask if the ring can be made so that the bead can be removed using a screw and other beads with a screw fitting be made from various beads etc.

It will be made from probably 1.5mm square or 2mm gold wire, how easy is it to create a good fitting screw?

What other suggestions do you have?

[Emerald]

have a look hear Sabine sells rings with a srew fitting and the toppers http://www.littlecastledesigns.co.uk/page13.htm

[Dennis]

Hi Les,
I think you will find that if the female part, ie a threaded hole in the shank, is quite shallow it will very soon wear out with use. Two ways of avoiding that are,

1. Solder the screw to the shank, put on the bead and add a decorative nut. Or better,

2. Solder an internally threaded tube to the shank, slip on the bead and add a screw with an acceptable head. Spectacle screws are good for this and if you only need a few, look for spectacle repair kits. Alternatively use threaded hard gold.

Please let us know how you get on, as your feedback is what builds a forum. Kind regards, Dennis.

[art925]

Thanks so much so far for the suggestions, the first will not fit the design. The second, I think I could make it work Dennis. I thought to manhandle a pair of threaded earrings, use the threaded tube and glue inside the bead then solder the threaded post to the shank http://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?query=9ct+Yellow+Earscrew+Bead %26+ring+Round+Wire+3mmunplannished+Shank&queryFromSuggest=true

What do you think...?

Les

[Dennis]

At first I found your idea seductive and even thought of adding a small cup at the base of the screw to steady it more, the point of possible fracture being the solder joint.

But when I measured one of those screw fittings, which I had in stock, the screw is only 1.1mm thick externally and 6.0mm long. The threaded tube is only 1.5mm in length, when it should be the whole length of the bead. That would be incredibly feeble, especially when soft from soldering.

I fear that if this is for a client and not yourself, the work would be wasted unless you used say 1.4mm hard gold wire and cut the thread yourself, or used ready-made stainless steel screws. Hence the spectacle screw suggestion.

Rings, especially for men take lots of hard knocks, so I think that the holes in the beads would have to be near to 2.0mm in diameter to take a tube and screw together, but less for a screw with an external nut .

Don’t be daunted, these are arguments I have with myself all the time when I can’t sleep at nights.
Kind regards, Dennis.

[art925]

Thanks for that very important piece of research for me Dennis, not having one in stock myself, I was going to buy one tomorrow and deconstruct it to see if it would work...I am now looking into the SS option, but concerned about the hallmarking aspect if I solder SS to gold. I am intrigued about cutting my own thread from thicker wire, who sell thread cutters?

[Goldsmith]

Check out watchmaker suppliers and seek out Bergeon taps and dies if you wish to cut your own threads.
James

[Dennis]

May I add that we are now in a rather expensive tools area. However, once you have settled on a size you only need one tap and a pin vice to hold it and one die, with a die holder. You are also on a steep a learning curve, because taps break and any wobble while working will give a loose fit. A table will tell you what wire or hole to start off with, but the clue is about 20% bigger or smaller.
I taught myself, but with plenty of failures, by buying a cheap(ish) set, and have recently seen a set by Rollson in Maplin that might do. You need to practice with copper tube and rod from a model shop.
As for hall marking, I think you can solder a threaded gold tube to the ring and then use an SS screw. I know you need to get this off your chest, but if the problems spin out of control, you have to bite the bullet and give it up. Dennis

[Joe]

Don't forget the ubiquitous Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RDGTOOLS-M1-6-X-0-35-DIE-making-body-jewellery-dies-/290415476736?pt=UK_Crafts_JewelleryMaking_GL&hash=item439e1c8000!

There was another thread about this too: http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/need-help-ask-experts/3047-tap-die-set.html