turtle dove ring set
I made this ring set out of sterling silver , my hubby is not sure if guys would like a ring in the shape of a bird , but I like them maybe you guys like them too the stone I used is a swiss blue topaz
out of this :)
I used 18 gauge sterling silver
drew the birds directly on the sheet
cut them out with a jewelry saw
the saw I use is a 6 inch saw ( distance between blade and the back part ) and 1/0 saw blades - my eyes are getting a bit weak so I have to feel now with my thumb to make sure the teeth are in the right direction
sawed out birds with extra length so that you can make a ring shank
added texture
formed the rings so that the ends meet
the fun part is soldering
I love fire and my small welder ( its a hydroflux welder I got 2 years ago for my birthday - safer than a torch ) normally the flame is green but my flux solution is in need of replacing
soldered rings
the blackness comes from oxidation
after bathing the rings in a cleaning solution
the solution is called Pickle and will get rid of the blackness turning the metal white
now the rings are getting formed
ring mandrel and a nylon hammer will make sure you get a perfect round shape
I wanted to add a stone to the smaller ring
I am lazy so I used a bought bezel cup to hold the stone and soldered that to the ring
almost finished they just need to be polished
I use a so called flex shaft ( dremel with a hose ) which is basically the same thing your dentist has for the drills
cleaned rings
added some black max ( patina )
polished again
added the stone
i saw that the ring with the stone did not have the patina for the eye so I had to do that
ring for her
ring for him
hope you liked it :)
nici laskin