How to Make Men's Jewelry Rings
Throughout human history, people have made a practice of adorning both themselves and their loved ones with jewelry. Jewelry has never been limited to any age group; children wear it as often as adults. Likewise, jewelry has never been restrained to one gender, and both women and men wear it. In the U.S., one of the most common types of jewelry for a man is a ring. Rings are symbols of matrimony, but they can also be everyday accessories. Men's rings are available for sale at virtually all jewelry retailers. It is both fun and easy, however, to make them yourself.
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Things You'll Need
- 20-gauge sheet metal
- Flexible measuring tape
- Paper
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Sandpaper
- Leather-coated mallet
- Ring mandrel
- Silver solder
- Propane torch
Instructions
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1
Wrap flexible measuring tape---such as the type used to take measurements for sewing---around your finger to determine what length in millimeters your ring will need to be to fit comfortably. Visualize a ring cut open, uncurled and laid out flat; you are determining how long your ring would be if it were uncurled and laid out flat.
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2
Determine how wide you want your ring to be in millimeters. Note that a man's ring can range from as few as two to as many as 10 or more millimeters in width. Remember that the wider you make your ring, the bolder it will be.
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3
Draw a one-dimensional outline of your ring in pencil on a sheet of paper, using the measurements for length and width you determined in Steps 1 and 2. Cut around the outline with scissors. Use it as a template.
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4
Place the paper template on a piece of sheet metal. Trace around it in pencil. Cut the ring form out of the sheet metal using scissors.
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5
Smooth the edges of the metal ring form with sandpaper. Soften away any sharpness, which will make the ring uncomfortable to wear and more likely to catch on clothing.
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6
Hold the metal ring form against a ring mandrel---a conical cylinder form made of metal or wood that is used to shape and measure rings. Hammer the ring form into a circular ring around the mandrel by striking it with a leather-coated mallet---a special hammer that can bend and shape metal without marring it.
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7
Hammer the ring form around the ring mandrel until it is perfectly circular and its two opposite ends meet each other. Slide the ring off the mandrel.
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8
Place a bit of silver solder on the seam where the two ends of the ring meet. Heat the solder using a propane torch until it melts over the seam and connects the two ends.
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Tips & Warnings
You can choose from a variety of metal types when obtaining sheet metal. Sterling silver is an ideal metal with which to make men's rings; it is durable yet easy to work with, attractive and popular.
Embellish your men's rings by hammering or stamping them before you hammer them into circles. Use a chasing hammer to add decorative indentations to rings. Use letter, numeral or symbol stamp sets to embellish rings with initials, words, numbers or other designs.
References
- Photo Credit ring image by Joanna Redesiuk from Fotolia.com
