# First wood ring. trail and error



## endacoz (Apr 8, 2015)

My first two attempts at making a wooden ring failed. 1 ended up having some pith in it so it cracked the next one I made too thin and it cracked.  Third time was a charm at first.... 

I have been asked by a customer to make a wooden ring. I figured I would make one for myself and see how the fit and finish worked and lasted. I finished this lilac wood ring with pens plus. After wearing it for a few days and playing with it a lot intentionally to see how the finish lasted, I will not use pens plus again. I think due to playing with it and the warmth of my hands helped to remove the finish or at least dull it within one and a half days. 

I then put my hand in a fist and pushed my body up off of the ground and the wooden ring cracked. Granted I am very rough on things and should not have had the ring on outside while working under my car. but my goal was to put this ring to the test.

So I searched the forum and found the bangleguy.com.  I love what I see on his website but I need to make a ring that is a size 9.5.  It appears he only sells full sizes, not half sizes.  

What's the best way for me to make a size 9.5  preferably with a metal core in it for stability. Any other websites that sell metal course? Please help.


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## ELA (Apr 8, 2015)

You might try www.bangleguy.com.


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## Marnat3 (Apr 8, 2015)

Maybe this would help. I love the site. found lots of little tricks for stuff.

Bentwood Rings with Stone Inlay

Hope it helps


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## endacoz (Apr 8, 2015)

ELA said:


> You might try www.bangleguy.com.



Read my whole post and you would see that I went there but they don't have half sizes.


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## Dale Lynch (Apr 8, 2015)

A CA finish holds up just fine.A pain to apply,but durable.


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## wood-of-1kind (Apr 9, 2015)

The 'trick' to giving strength to making a wood ring last is cut a groove/tenon and use a veneer strip(band) to keep the ring together. You may think that a thin veneer strip would not be very strong but in fact it creates a strong reinforcement to the ring. It also adds great contrast and a decorative effect to really make your designs stand out.

I have always attached the veneer strip to the ring with CA. Have some pics if you wish to see some of results using this method.


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## lyonsacc (Apr 9, 2015)

Glue/laminate 3 pieces together for the ring (cut the ring blank in half and stick a 1/8 inch thick piece of something else in the middle).  Make sure the grain on the middle piece is turned 90 degrees from the other.  That should help it hold up some.


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## Dale Lynch (Apr 9, 2015)

Here's a great article on wooden rings.Woodturning Online :: Index - Woodturning Online offers wood turning projects, woodturning plans, articles, and information on wood turning, bowl turning, pen turning, the wood lathe, segmented turning, lathe tools, and more for the woodturner.


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## jaywood1207 (Apr 9, 2015)

Bentwood will be very strong.  Laminated is not bad but not as strong.  Laminated are minimum 3 layers glued together with alternating grain as mentioned above.  Unless you find somebody that will make the core for you there aren't a lot of sources out there.  I have sold probably close to 300 rings and have only had 2 failures due to breakage and I still believe they were not taken care of as they were both from a couple.  They are wood and they need to be treated as such and they will last if made correctly and taken care of.


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## KenV (Apr 9, 2015)

Try 

2 Groove Brushed Stainless Steel Center rings

but not half sizes --

There is a link there to a site with tutorial on making rings with those cores.   David Mueller is a nice fellow - even if he is not a rabid pen turner.


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## jeweler53 (Apr 10, 2015)

These are Sterling silver. They come in whole sizes, but sterling should "stretch" with a ring sizer or by "tapping up" on a ring mandrel. I don't know if you will be able to see price, but they are about $10 plus shipping. I could split it in half for you. 

Sterling Silver 6mm Channel Ring


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## endacoz (Apr 10, 2015)

I assumed the laminated piece(s) were more for looks than strength. Making dull wood "pretty"  The lilac wood is so beautiful on its own I didn't want to make it uglier by adding something to it.  Looks like that is my option if no one sells half sizes metal ring centers/ cores.

What would you suggest as a color or wood or guitar pick material that might actually compliment the lilac colors instead of subtract from it?


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## endacoz (Apr 10, 2015)

jeweler53 said:


> These are Sterling silver. They come in whole sizes, but sterling should "stretch" with a ring sizer or by "tapping up" on a ring mandrel. I don't know if you will be able to see price, but they are about $10 plus shipping. I could split it in half for you.
> 
> Sterling Silver 6mm Channel Ring




Think I could somehow take that size 9 and and it down to a size 9.5?


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## jaywood1207 (Apr 10, 2015)

endacoz said:


> I assumed the laminated piece(s) were more for looks than strength. Making dull wood "pretty"  The lilac wood is so beautiful on its own I didn't want to make it uglier by adding something to it.  Looks like that is my option if no one sells half sizes metal ring centers/ cores.
> 
> What would you suggest as a color or wood or guitar pick material that might actually compliment the lilac colors instead of subtract from it?



Put a bentwood liner in it so you don't interfere with the lilac. Here is an example. 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/162036455/wood-ring-natural-stone-and-wood-ring?ref=shop_home_feat_3


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## wyone (Apr 10, 2015)

what about going to a jewelry store.. and buying a cheap band??


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