[Jewelry making - Article 00160] - Re: [Orchid] Making a Two Piece Ring

[Peter W . Rowe]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


>        The only time, I ever found the ring bending tool to be
>     difficult, was when one of my apprentices neglected to properly
>     anneal the metal being worked on, and tried to compensate by using
>     the ring bender; like a jack hammer.  Used properly, the ring
>     bender is extremely accurate and provides consistent alignment for
>     parts, as complicated, as those for fine pierced, cluster or
>     ballerina rings. 

    The bench mounted ring bender is indeed an accurate tool.   In most
    cases, it does a  fine job.  You'll find the mandrel and the wood
    block to leave less of a tool mark on the outside, when using very
    heavy gauge metal, especially with softer metal.  The example I'm
    thinking of is bending up ring shanks  from, for example,  2 - 
    2.5mm thick platinum stock.  The platinum is resistant enough that
    some force is needed,  but soft enough that the bending die surfaces
    will leave somewhat of a mark on the outside of the ring.  the wood
    block and mandrel won't.   This is somewhat of an extreme example,
    though. More of a problem are the hand held "bow bending" heavy duty
    bending pliers.  Again, they're often just fine.  But because the
    inner and outer jaws aren't hitting the metal in parallel except with
    quite thin stock, if one is bending wider stock into a shank, the
    bends form a slight conical form, not a cylinder.  In a few cases,
    this can cause a slight problem, such as bringing a seam closed for
    soldering, since the edges don't want to quite line up from side to
    side, requiring then some additional tweaking.   And the bow benders
    leave very definite marks on the outside of the bands unless you go
    to some care to cover them with something soft, such as leather.  I
    have a pair of benders where the outside jaw is nylon, and these are
    much gentler, but there are still plenty of times I just use the
    grooved block of wood and the mallet. 

Peter


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________