A New Ring for Myself
by Jim Osment.
(Brisbane Australia)
I thought I’d share a ring I made fairly recently for myself.
I always have problems with brass, copper and nickel-sliver rings because they always leave stains on my finger so I decided I needed a stainless steel ring to attach my brass and copper bits to.
I grabbed an odd stainless steel tablespoon from my cutlery drawer (as you do) and cut the handle off it and shaped it to form the ring.
I should explain that I have big hands and at times do heavy dirty work and tend to wear rings 24/7 whatever I’m doing, pretty much, so it has to be thick and strong.
I also left it open so it can be adjusted if required and perhaps might be a little safer if it catches in something.
The design is my usual sort of thing, a mix of metals, an old clock gear a hammered heart and some rivets.
I cut out the heart hole in the brass first, riveted on the silver and then hammered it through the hole.
Next I soldered on the cog and the copper bit and cut and shaped it to fit the ring.
I also put some extra solder in the back of the heart to thicken and strengthen it so it doesn’t get dented in while in use.
It can get pretty thin as you stretch it out by hammering, so best to start with a reasonably thick bit of metal for the heart.
The whole thing was then silver soldered to the ring. I love it and wear it continuously.
Jim Osment
Hammered Hearts
