Hammering a ring into shape

[JewelleryByMandy]

Hi all. Following my disaster trying to melt the solder, ive retried again this aft and managed to make a ring, hiding the join quite well with sanding and polishing (apart from a very slight flat spot). I just cant seem to get a nice round shape on it. Ive got one of those heavy plastic yellow hammers for shaping and its just not quite perfectly round. Do i need to re anneal it? The silver is flat approx 4mm wide, 1.3mm thick.
Cheers x


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[misspond]

Hi, the silver you're using is very thick so yes, you're right in thinking you need to anneal it again. I use a small rubber mallet (the kind meant for camping) for thick silver rings, and a smaller nylon one for thin ring bands. Maybe a different type of hammer might work better but to be honest I'm not familiar with plastic ones. You might need to anneal a couple of times if you're using 1.3mm thick silver. Good luck!

[JewelleryByMandy]

Hi, the silver you're using is very thick so yes, you're right in thinking you need to anneal it again. I use a small rubber mallet (the kind meant for camping) for thick silver rings, and a smaller nylon one for thin ring bands. Maybe a different type of hammer might work better but to be honest I'm not familiar with plastic ones. You might need to anneal a couple of times if you're using 1.3mm thick silver. Good luck!

Cool, thanks x


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[enigma]

I presume you are shaping it on a ring mandrel?

[JewelleryByMandy]

Yes. I am. Turning it and swapping it. Just trying to uplaod some pics but i forget what to do every time!

[JewelleryByMandy]

This is the ring, reheated and shaped but still wonky, slightly! You cant see in pic

[Dennis]

When you say wonky. I presume you mean it doesn't sit flat.
You can correct that in a vice lined with masking tape, rubber, or fibre jaws. Dennis.

[JewelleryByMandy]

When you say wonky. I presume you mean it doesn't sit flat.
You can correct that in a vice lined with masking tape, rubber, or fibre jaws. Dennis.

No, just the shape isnt round. It looks perfect in the pic. Certain angles look wonky as hell!!! Sits flat. I think the thickness doesnt help. Its ok though. Im ok with it. I just like things absolutely [emoji108][emoji16]


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[china]

I would invest in a rawhide mallet, this will have a little bit of give, plastic hammers although not as hard as the metals are hard enough to produce flat spots causing items like rings to become out of round
especially if you are not experienced.

[Dennis]

Or just anneal and tap tap tap and turn tap tap tap, rotate, going on very gently gently. Dennis.

[enigma]

I cheat and use the ring stretcher, but I do work with 2.5 and 3mm thick sheet.
You should be able to get this perfect if you do it as Dennis says, I hold the ring mandrel upright in my lap when I do that to ensure the ring always sits as far down as possible.

[eekoh]

Another ring shaping query...
I've made a plain band ring using 0.7mm x 5mm wide sterling silver. Its nice and round so no problem there but when i've started polishing its become clear that the outside surface is actually very slightly concave rather than flat - like a spinner ring would be if you exaggerated the shaping. This means that whilst the edges are coming up beautifully shiny there's a duller strip in the middle that obviously isn't getting equal contact with the micromesh sheets.

I'm assuming this slight shaping must be from the ring mandrel being cone shaped rather than a straight tube, so that where I've turned the ring over to try to get an even shape its pushed the outer rims outward ever so slightly. Does anyone have any tips on good technique for avoiding this, or is it inevitable and just fixed by coarser grade paper before polishing?
Thanks,
Hazel

[CJ57]

Hi Hazel it's just a case of constantly turned the ring round so that it doesn't widen on one side. Turning as in taking it off the mandrel and reversing it as well as constantly turning if you get what I mean. So much easier to show rather than tell

[Dennis]

Two things Hazel:

That anticlastic shape is quite attractive and if you like it, the best means of polishing it to a high finish is to use 3Mm radial disks on your machine (yellow, red, blue and then green).
If you just want a high satin finish, a wet and soapy brass brush will do it.

If you want it completely flat, then as Caroline has said, gentle tapping of the body and turning several times will improve it, but at this stage will also tend to enlarge it, so better wait for the next ring, I suppose.

Higher up this thread you will notice that Sara enlarges her rings with a ring stretcher, as many of us do, and this gets an even result without bashing skills but still the need for turning.

See my recent 11.0mm ring, brass brush finish. Dennis.

[eekoh]

Thanks Caroline, I am turning the ring frequently and also flipping it the other way over on the mandrel to try to avoid working the same spot too much, but obviously I need to refine my technique to get a better quality finish.
I'm wondering whether its they way that I'm holding the ring onto the mandrel that might be the thing? Lets see if I can illustrate the question.
1103711036

When you hold the ring flat against the mandrel (left pic) it looks level with the size marker, but if you turn the mandrel a little (right pic) the ring is no longer horizontal - because the mandrel tapers the side facing away from you will always be slightly lower. I think I've been trying to hold the ring completely horizontal so that the bottom would be level with the size mark whichever way it was turned, but that means that the top edge of the ring isn't flush against the mandrel - it doesn't notice that much at the time because its a narrow ring, but would be more pronounced with a wider band. If I allow the ring to sit 'wonky' like in the pictures then the side being hit will always be in full contact with the mandrel but I'm not sure whether it would have a different affect on the size.

[CJ57]

I would be keeping it horizontal to the mandrel which is why you keep turning it but as already said it will be sizing up and may have reached the point of no return for this ring. I generally use a plain mandrel so can't answer about the line as I'd be doing it by eye. I don't know if the thickness of the metal might have made a difference to it splaying more than usual. I would use a thicker gauge and have always used a hide mallet . It's still possible to get a finish with the micromesh rubbing into the curve by hand and if you're happy with the ring in general then wear it and I'm sure the next one will be better. I've come to accept that we are making handmade items and if its not a commission then who says it isn't what you intended:) I call it serendipity!

[eekoh]

Oh I'm generally quite pleased with the ring, the solder join is practically invisible and its perfectly wearable, though not quite the right size for me as I cut the blank slightly too short for the approx size I was aiming at. (I've since found a very handy chart for being more accurate with that.) It isn't too much of a problem for this one if it gets bigger, but going forward its definitely something I need to be aware of to try and keep size changes a bit more controlled/intended. I haven't got a stretcher at the moment, but will probably get one at some point.
I like the 'serendipity' approach, a lot of my arty/creative projects seem to evolve as they go along anyway so why fight it?! :Y:

Dennis - I'm still working up to getting the dremel out! Thought I'd try and get a feel for manual polishing before heading to the power tools. Btw I love the different finishes you put on your work and the contrasting high polish & textures so thats something I'm definitely going to experiment with - the one you posted recently with the triangular green stone was just beautiful. (Need to add brass brush to my shopping list.)