carving rings...

[flanneltrees]

just has a few questions about carving rings... I am pretty new to wood carving but have a lot of fun doing it. I am very interested in carving rings and have done a few already but want to know what the best woods are for the job and maybe some other tips on how to carve rings best. Thanks for your help and if you know of any places I could get wood for carving that would be great too.

Thomas

[wildhare]

Hi Thomas,
What kind of wood have you carved rings out of so far?
You might tell what part of the country you live in so members could respond on native wood in that area.

Wanda

[schizoidlogger]

Hi Thomas,

Any dense wood makes a good ring. I have had luck with using power to route out a shallow groove either on the inside where it won't show or on the outside and filling it with a brass/silver/gold wire or contrasting wood inlay set into 2 part epoxy. Makes a strong attractive ring.

Thanks,

Merv

[flanneltrees]

Thanks for the advice... I currently live in downtown Chicago but am going back to mid-Michigan for the summer in five weeks; they don't know what wood is in Chicago. I have a Dremel 400xpr to use for routing and stuff so that is a great suggestion. Thanks again for your advice and if you have any more please let me know.

Thomas

[wildhare]

Can either of you tell me how you make your rings? I would love to try it.
Wanda

[schizoidlogger]

Hi Wanda,

Here's a few suggestions:

Decide on what size finger you want it for and how active the wearer will be, ie: man or woman, activities when wearing ring etc. or just for decoration.

Remember that finger is going to flex so allow a bit extra diameter and taper it to allow movement.

If possible leave the ring blank attached to a larger piece of wood. Drill a hole smaller than you need and then finish it by hand - slightly oval shaped. It is important to establish the hole first, so that the rest of the ring blends into the design.

Obviously it is easier to hang onto a larger chunk of wood while shaping it. Putting it in a holding device is another option, but I find it better to be able to move it whiile workng it, view from all angles, etc.

If the ring is very delicate or will see hard use, either do an inlay with wire, etc. or saturate the ring with a high viscosity epoxy (this penetrates the wood and makes it very strong).

Anything - mount for a stone, etc. should have a recess hollowed out in a way that allows the glue, etc. to grip the wood in a mechanical way, not just a flat glue joint.

Try to keep it attached to the larger piece of wood as long as you can, even for most finishing, and then finally cut it off and finish the bit where it was attached.

Hope this helps.

Merv