Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist_-_February_2016_

WOOD/SILVER RINGS

Q

I have to make my own engagement ring. My partner and I are a

bit non-traditional, and my idea is to make a wooden ring with

a groove in it, then get a jeweler to fit a simple engagement ring in the

groove. I am wondering if this is even possible to do without ruining the

wooden ring, and if this could work. Can a jeweler fit a ring around a

wooden ring as in this photo?

A

It should be easy to fabricate this wood and silver ring if you

turn your thinking process around — instead of trying to

force a silver ring into a groove in the wood ring, make the wood

ring in two parts that dovetail together. Epoxy the three parts

together, sand and fi nish the wood, and you’ll never see the joint.

You can show it to your friends and mystify them as to how you got

the silver ring in there!

The next diffi cult decision is how do you select just one wood

from all the beautiful wood grains of the world? You might want

to combine your top two wood choices with the silver to create a

ring that signifi es the two of you

becoming one. It most defi nitely

would be a unique ring... but who

says you can only make one? It

could be the start of a whole new

trend! Good luck with the ring and

the marriage.

BARELY A MEMORY?

Q

I made three hollow form pieces in high school, but that was eight

years ago, and I can’t for the life of me remember how I bent the

walls of them so nicely. I’ve made several efforts to recreate these pieces

but so far have been unsuccessful. What advice can you offer?

Name misplaced

Note: We apologize for misplacing the individual’s name who submitted this question.

A

As it has been eight years since you took jewelry-making classes

and you say you’ve forgotten everything in the meantime, it

would be impossible for us to cover all you need to know in a few brief

paragraphs here, nor would we want to run the risk of confusing you

and possibly causing injury. The best solution we can off er is sign

up for a jewelry class and start anew. You’ll be surprised how quickly

your skills will come back to you, plus you’ll meet other people with

the same interest.

52

lapidary journal )( Jewelry artist

By Tom & Kay Benham,

contributing editors

ASK THE EXPERTS

questions, answers, & tips

TIP: TOOL

STORAGE AND

PITCH CLEANUP

We recently ran into a former student,

Tres Lennep of Ocean Springs, LA, who

shared his solution for holding the many

chasing and repoussé tools he’s made

since taking our workshop. He found

this plastic ammunition box at a local

sporting goods store. It works — though

some of us may require more than one

box!

Another student, Thomas Hammett of

Sonora, KY, emailed us to ask about

the stainless steel containers we use

for storing acetone in our chasing

and repoussé workshops. (Some of

his work is shown here.) We’ve found

that acetone makes quick work of

removing excess pitch from the metal,

while the locks on the pans help retard

evaporation.