How to Create Your Own Initial Ring
An initial ring is a piece of hand jewelry featuring any kind of design centered around the wearer's initials. Because an initial ring must be personalized, most rings are custom-made. Instead of hiring a professional to build your initial ring, you can create your own from real silver using home-fired silver clay and any initial design you like.
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Things You'll Need
- Paper and pencil or computer image editor
- Scanner
- Printer
- Silver clay
- Dish of water
- Dull-tipped metal sculpting tool, such as a nut pick
- Sewing pin
- Ring mandrel
- Creme brulee torch
- Brick
- Fine sandpaper
- Stiff-bristled brush
- Burnishing tool, polished stone or spoon
Instructions
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1
Create a initial design for your ring. Either draw the image freehand or design it using a computer program (this gives you the advantage of choosing a computer font), but make it life-sized.
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2
Make a mirror-image of your design on paper. Either flip the image upside-down and trace it from the reverse side, or use the "flip" command in an image editing program before printing on from your computer.
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3
Remove silver clay from its package and soften it in your hands by kneading it. If the clay is dry or crumbly, add a few drops of water.
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4
Form a basic ring shape around the mandrel. Roll the clay between flattened hands and your work surface to shape it into a long, thin snake. Wrap this snake around the mandrel, fitting it tightly at the right spot for the size ring you want (because silver clay shrinks, make your wet clay ring a size and a half larger than you want your finished ring to be). Connect the loose ends of the clay snake by rolling them into a ball on the ring shape; this will become the signet.
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5
Sculpt the signet form. Gently remove the ring shape from the mandrel and press the outside of the ball section against your work surface to flatten it.
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Use the paper image of your initial design to make an impression on the signet. Place the initial image on the signet with the backwards, mirror-image side facing out. Trace the initial image by pressing it firmly with your sculpting tool. Remove the paper.
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7
Let the ring dry. This will take 1 to 3 hours. Drying is complete when the clay is hard, white, and dry and rough to the touch.
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8
Sand the ring. Rub the dried clay ring with fine-grain sandpaper to smooth away any rough edges.
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9
Fire the ring. In a well-ventilated area, place the dried ring on a brick or firing block and use your creme brulee torch to directly flame the ring just until it glows red-hot. Turn off the torch and let the ring cool for one hour.
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10
Brush away the ash. Briskly rub the ring with a stiff-bristles brush to remove all traces of white, chalky ash and burnt organic clay base, revealing solid silver beneath.
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11
Burnish the finished ring. Rub the surface of the silver firmly with a polished agate or the back of a metal spoon. This will compress the silver particles and make the ring shine.
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