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trialuser
06-10-2012, 05:03 PM
Hello all.
I want to have a go at making a textured silver ring, along the lines of this (http://www.lovedazzle.com/shop/Rings-by-Kate-Smith-Silver-and-diamond-ring.aspx), but minus the diamonds.
Up 'till now I have only tried polished or matted finishes.
I'm assuming the texture on that ring is impressed using a rolling mill and something textured, whilst the material is in the flat - if so I'm ok with that bit.
I'm running through the next bit in my head and I come a bit unstuck.
Invariably, (in fact always) after I have soldered a ring I need to tidy it up a bit with a file - just removing any excess solder.
If I do this to a pre textured ring, surely I will effect the finish, and even If I had a perfect solder line, the join must surely still be visable?
Is the ring pre textured before bending and soldering?
If so, how do you overcome this problem?
If it's textured after soldering - how might I achieve that look.
Many thanks
Martyn.

Goldsmith
06-10-2012, 06:20 PM
Hi Martyn,
Do you have a pendant drill with a slip change flex shaft. If so then invest in a hammer attachment as this is what I would use to achieve this type of texture. If you do not have the tools then you could just use a chasing hammer and a small dome punch to achieve the same texture.

James

here are photos of my Faro hammerhead attachment and examples of the textures you can achieve with this tool.

38993900

trialuser
06-10-2012, 07:06 PM
Thanks for the speedy reply James. I have a foredom pendant drill so I'll invest in a hammer action handpiece. Next month! It was an ebay boom stereo microscope this month :-)

Dennis
06-10-2012, 07:21 PM
Ah, at last I can get on my hobby horse, and those who know me will be sick of this, so please turn away now. Your answer is to texture the ring after completion using a frosting wheel on you flexshaft or other motor.

Your outlay will be about £22 and used regularly they last about a year until they have shed too many wires. Let this be a waring to use eye protection. That said I have not felt a wire hit my face and even hold pieces in my hand at times without drawing blood. However they need to be run quite slowly to preserve an expensive bit of kit.

I only bother with the medium blue one (Cooksons 999 CCQ), and if necessary tone down the roughness of the texture with a soapy brass brush or radial disk. I frequently use it as an afterthought if some part of my work is too rough to finish by other means. You can even leave a plain border by masking it off with adhesive tape.

http://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?query=Frosting+Wheel+-+Medium&queryFromSuggest=true. Regards, Dennis.

trialuser
06-10-2012, 07:49 PM
Thank you Dennis - so much to learn - so much to buy!!

Dennis
06-10-2012, 09:59 PM
Well, instead of getting carried away, I could have said that if your solder seam is neat and any excess is kept on the inside, it is quite possible to swirl over it with a coarse flat needle file to blend with the texture.

Alternatively, you could sweat on a narrow strip with a profile like this [ which can be quite decorative and look intentional.

Lastly I would mention that delicate textures on rings can be better preserved if the ring is rounded and stretched to size from inside with a ring stretcher. By starting with the ring one size too small you can also get the sizing right every time. Dennis.