Bending brass tubing around the ring mandrel was the hardest part of this ring. I put copper wire inside to prevent the tube from crimping, but didn’t lubricate it. A little graphite or oil would have made removing it much easier. The cracked crystal bead was chosen by my gemologically attracted wife. Her main criteria: Pretty, Shiny, Sparkly.
13/365
I have a pair of pewter femur bones for sale at POTUS31.com that this ring is based on. The “marrow” is hollowed out for size and comfort. As it turns out, the ring is my first adjustable (since the ends don’t join).
12/365
A simple sterling silver band made up of rings. I’m considering revisiting this concept with several sizes of rings.
11/365
O.K., so I had this great idea for a ring today, and, well, it didn’t work. I was forming a piece of copper pipe on the ring mandrel and didn’t anneal it. After a half hour of work, it fractured and split in 3 places. I’ll try again later, but while I was wondering what to use to fix the problem: voila.
EPOXY!!!
I have lots of epoxy from making Ice Cream Sandwich, Cheese Cracker, and Chocolate Sandwich Cookie filling over the years. I grabbed the copper-filled epoxy and happened to find a screw in the bin. What an apt metaphor! I wrapped my ring mandrel with plastic wrap and formed the epoxy to a size 10.5, and then embedded the screw. Minutes later I had a Steampunk Icon.
Although the results from this quick setting plumber’s putty aren’t so aesthetically pleasing, I will definitely revisit epoxy. My favorite by far is Magic Sculpt with it’s slow setting times that allow you to refine your work before it sets up. Who knows, this may be a stepping stone to metal clay creations!
10/365
