How to Make Wire & Fused Glass Rings
Fused, colored glass and wire wraps are a means by which home crafters can create jewelry art from metal and glass without the need for professional glass blowing or metal smithing tools and equipment. As wire wraps are generally used to create settings for centerpiece decorations, such as a fused glass cabochon, creating a wire-wrapped ring with a fused glass center stone is an ideal combination for a jewelry artisan.
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Things You'll Need
- Mandrel
- Pencil
- Ring that fits your finger
- String
- Dressmaker's tape measure
- Wire
- Wire cutters
- Two sets of needle-nosed pliers
- Fused glass cabochon
- Jewelry glue
Instructions
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1
Mark the mandrel in pencil with your ring size by placing a ring that fits you comfortably on the mandrel and tracing around it, top and bottom. Alternately, wrap a piece of string around your finger to measure it, then trace this.
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2
Measure the ring's circumference using the dressmaker's tape measure, wrapping it around the mandrel at the point you marked.
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3
Cut six lengths of wire, each measuring the same length as that of twice the ring's circumference measurement.
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4
Bundle the wire lengths together, side by side and lining up the ends of the lengths with each other on both sides.
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5
Twist a section in the middle of the wire bundle together into a single, tight coil using the two sets of needle-nosed pliers, gripping the section at either end and twisting. Make this section as long as the circumference of the ring.
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6
Wrap the coiled portion of the wire bundle around the section you marked on the wring mandrel, bending the coil into a ring shape.
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7
Flatten the coil against the mandrel by pressing it with the side of one of the needle-nosed pliers.
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8
Remove the ring from the coil. Use the pliers to bend two of the loose wire ends on each side into a wide, flat circle stretching across the gap between the flattened, coiled ring band. Twist the ends of the wires together to join them, creating a flat wire circle between the band.
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9
Glue the wire circle to the bottom of the fused glass cabochon using metal and jewelry glue or epoxy. Bend back the remaining eight (four on each side) tails of wire so that they don't get glued down.
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10
Twist each of the remaining wire tails into a tight, flat spiral using the tip of the needle-nosed pliers.
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11
Bend the wire coils around the edges of the cabochon, forming decorative arms to encircle it. If the coils are too large for the cabochon you're using, uncoil them, trim the wires, and re-coil them until you get a size you like.
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