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Hi! I am a relatively new jewellery maker and a friend has asked me to make a ring that would be a band of diamond shapes. I've drawn that quick pic attached below. I guess I am wondering the best way to do it. I am not very experienced in wax but I think that might be 'easiest'? Abit worried about getting all of the diamonds consistent size. Is there any advice on what more experienced jewellers would do? Thank you.
You could cast it however you need to make a pattern/mould first, by the time you have done this you will have already made it, other ways would be to make a series of straight wires and solder them together, or pierce it from a flat strip with a Jewellers/piercing saw,or make two zigzags of wire, lay one on top of the other, then flatten with a hammer and solder together, or you could interlace them to give woven look.
I’d do the zig zag wires lay them flat and solder them at each point. Then shape round a mandrel before soldering the joint. This is where the sizing of the diamonds would be crucial to fit with the ring size if you don’t want the joint to be misplaced.
If you are not accomplished with a saw it could get a bit messy to pierce it from sheet
Caroline has indicated that you need to start with it flat, but it is quite a daunting task for a beginner, because you need
1, To find some tapered (snipe nosed) pliers that you can mark with a saw to end up with even squares.
2. Some graph paper to check them as you go.
3. A way of keeping all the wires in contact for soldering (ordinary pins in a vermiculite board)
To make it easier, I would start with some heavy soldered jump rings, about 6.0mm inside diameter made from 1.0mm wire or near. Using marked pliers, I would flatten them in four places to form squares making sure the solder joint was on one corner.
Next I would mark some tram lines on a soft board and pin the squares in a row, touching one solder joint to one plain joint. You will need about 55mm.
Make a ring with this stock, so that the squares are intact. Snip off the surplus, aiming for about one size too small. Once made, the ring can be stretched to size on a mandrel, which will also harden it.
The squares will end up slightly lozenge shaped. Practice with copper first. Dennis.
Yes that would be simpler for a beginner Dennis.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis
I wasn’t thinking in those terms tbh I was going for quickest but if you did have the skills to go down the wire route then the wires could be held in place at the joints by pins. If the wire is quite thick then a tap with a mallet would probably make them level enough to stay in place and pin each set of end joints to keep them in place
I suppose it all depends what level of skill if any he/she has.
Friends are good at saying will you make this and then it turns out to be harder than it looks. It’s not a design I would be making without experience