Cut rings out of pipe?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi,

Today was the first day I had some shed time since my surgery.

My pickle, Pripps Flux, wash water, and rinse water were all frozen
stiff so I decided to not do anything with sterling today.

The washers I cut out of the sterling block for rings may have far
too much mass to wear comfortably. On the other hand, I am glad to
have more mass than less. and I think my solution will be repeating
the forge and anneal cycles over a cylinder of wood adjusted with
masking tape for exact inside diameter and just the right thickness.
Then I can cut several rings, not just one.

I’m going to use the scraps from my sterling block for ear wires and
finding. anything which requires structural strength, and I’ll use
the fine silver for pretty where strength is not required.

No soldering yet, at least not until my chemicals thaw out :slight_smile:

Question 1: do I use a jeweler’s saw or a pipe cutter to cut rings
out of pipe? Or something else?

Thanks,
Andrew Jonathan Fine

2

Hi Andrew, great to see you back in the saddle. Hope you’ll will
recover and be able to go on. I guess I am lucky to be in the south,
I don’t worry about freezing my chemicals or water. Since I don’t
have a pipe cutter, my choice is made by the proverbial Hobson, I
would have to use the saw. For rough cutting, I believe, either
could work.

John

3

Hi Andrew,

Its good to hear that your back, up and raring to get on with things
in your place of work.

long may your recovery progress.

As for cutting pipe, well, it depends on the pipe dont you think? At
the end of the day what ever is easiest for you and what ever tools
you have to hand.

For example,. you could use a power hack saw machine or an angle
grinder with the 1.5mm cut off disks available now.

Or as you say, cut with a jewellers saw or pipe cutter.

Now take a piece of 1/4in wall thickness by 4in dia water pipe, yes
you could cut with a jewellers saw but it might take you a week to do
so.

Depends wether you want to struggle or take the easy way to do this.

Its horses for courses and theres no substitue for having a go.

Try a no of ways and go with whatever you like the best.

Theres one thing about your posts here, there always great fun to
read!!.

It gets a bit too serious at times.

Keep the posts coming.

If I read you correctly, are you serious about forging silver on a
tape covered piece of round wood? If you can get that to work I love
to know how.

Folding fine silver foil like oregami is a neat idea.

Before trying it with the real stuff, have you had a go with
aluminimum kitchen foil? I had my 5yr old grandson here to stay for a
few days, we made lots of paper aeroplanes AND also made them from
kitchen foil.

too thin so we then got out some 10/1000 in ali foil which was
stiffer. that worked fine.

Ted
in flooded Dorset
UK.

4

Hi Andrew Glad you had a chance to get out to your shop. I would use
a tubing cutter or a jewelers saw for rings like that. Good luck.
Sheri

5

Hi Andrew,

I'm going to use the scraps from my sterling block for ear wires
and finding. anything which requires structural strength, and I'll
use the fine silver for pretty where strength is not required. No
soldering yet, at least not until my chemicals thaw out :) do I
use a jeweler's saw or a pipe cutter to cut rings out of pipe? Or
something else?

If you use a pipe/tubing cutter, I’d suggest the tubing cutter. It
is a lot lighter in weight and would be easier to use.

One problem you might run into using a tubing cutter is that the
pressure of the rolls may cause the diameter of the tube to increase.

If the tube is cut with a saw the thickness of the rings may vary &
the sides of the ring may not be parallel. This would require the
rings to be filed or milled to make the sides parallel.

One other option you might consider is using a sheet the correct
thickness & then a hole punch of the correct diameter. A saw could
also be used to saw the ring.

Have you thought about taking the frozen items in the house &
letting them thaw out before retuning them to the shed?

Dave

6

I’ve tried to cut copper pipe with a jeweler’s saw, and even with
the largest blades I had on hand, I decided it wasn’t a time saver at
all - I could make rings out of copper sheet WAY faster than I could
cut lengths off the pipe.

Since then, I haven’t gotten around to getting a pipe cutter, so the
pipes are in my closet :wink:

7 
I would use a tubing cutter or a jewelers saw for rings like that.

Granted that it’s easier said than done, but I’ll just point out
that that’s what lathes are made for.

8

I make wind chimes with copper tubes, using 3 different size i. d.
and after struggling along, I decided to use wood dowels of the same
i.d. inside the pipe, put it in my vise to hold and use a blade for
metal on my hack saw.

It keeps its shape well, and won’t crimp or bend in. I have ended up
with various lengths 5" to 3" dowels, and use those when I’m at the
point of putting anything decorative on the tubes. My vise has old
hard leather covers over the brass ones.

It takes me a few minutes to cut one starting with the 6’ length of
the pipe. I use my anvil or my shelving to hold the longer end so
the pipe doesn’t dip down when I’m cutting them. hope this helps.

Dinah