After posting for advice concerning bending 3.5mm square section silver I had as usual a number of suggestions. Thank you all. Dennis suggested getting hold of a simple and relatively low cost tool. Ring shank bending pliers TP191 from Walshes of Hatton Garden. He did feel that 3.5mm might be on the upper limit of this tool, so I looked further and found its big brother in the same shop but costing over twice as much. I mulled this all over and descended to take the cheaper option as it wasn’t a fortune. 2 days later it arrived in the post. I am delighted to say it works a treat. Easy to use and above all took away all the sweat and pain of hammering on a mandrel, only a few taps needed to perfect the circle. I unfortunately have damaged and arthritic hands and this tool has been a “life” saver.
Once again shows the value of our forum.
Ring Shank Bending Plier - TP191 For £30 odd including postage! The beauty of it is that being like a largish pair of pliers it stores in a rack on the workbench and takes up no valuable space.