Turned my first ring

[cjsib]

I tried my hand at turning a ring. It got some defects here and there but I'm still pretty happy with it and it was just for practice.

The wood used is Cocobolo and the ring core is an artisan comfort ring core from Craft Supplies USA.

 

[Woodchipper]

Very nice.

 

[WriteON]

Nice job. What are the defects?
Coco is my all time fave.

 

[RunnerVince]

Looking good!

I've done a fair few rings, and they can be finicky. My tips:

• Absolutely take your time when sizing the hole for the insert and when actually turning. The better the fit between blank and insert, the fewer problems you will have with turning. And when you're getting close to final dimension when turning, you're working with such little material that the slightest catch can blow the whole ring up.
• Cover the interior and sides of the insert with tape when gluing into the blank. This will save a lot of cleanup later.
• With a film finish, unless you're dipping the whole ring, go with many super-light coats of finish to avoid getting finish on any of the metal. Rings get heavy wear, and many finishes can delaminate from metal if everything wasn't perfect when the finish was applied. Wearers also have a tendency to pick at finish that comes off the metal, and they can accidentally remove finish from the blank (or cause tear-out) while trying to get finish off the metal.

 

[cjsib]

Looking good!

I've done a fair few rings, and they can be finicky. My tips:

• Absolutely take your time when sizing the hole for the insert and when actually turning. The better the fit between blank and insert, the fewer problems you will have with turning. And when you're getting close to final dimension when turning, you're working with such little material that the slightest catch can blow the whole ring up.
• Cover the interior and sides of the insert with tape when gluing into the blank. This will save a lot of cleanup later.
• With a film finish, unless you're dipping the whole ring, go with many super-light coats of finish to avoid getting finish on any of the metal. Rings get heavy wear, and many finishes can delaminate from metal if everything wasn't perfect when the finish was applied. Wearers also have a tendency to pick at finish that comes off the metal, and they can accidentally remove finish from the blank (or cause tear-out) while trying to get finish off the metal.

Thank you! And thanks for the tips, I appreciate it.

 

[cjsib]

Nice job. What are the defects?
Coco is my all time fave.

I got some CA on the ring core itself on the sides. I got most of it off but there was still a rough feeling texture on the ring core.

Next time I'll make sure to be careful to get any CA on the ring core.

And yes cocobolo is a beautiful wood.

 

[cjsib]

Very nice.

Thank you!

 

[WriteON]

I got some CA on the ring core itself on the sides. I got most of it off but there was still a rough feeling texture on the ring core.

Next time I'll make sure to be careful to get any CA on the ring core.

And yes cocobolo is a beautiful wood.

Not a flaw. You'll learn to polish the glue off. I just started using dental base plate wax to keep the adhesives off. You'll be fine. I want to suggest keep using woods … if using acrylic use blanks that are not translucent. The rifling's and glue shows through. My biggest complaint.

 

[Woodchipper]

I was thinking of Play-Doh as Hobby Lobby carries it. Anyone use it?

 

[WriteON]

I was thinking of Play-Doh as Hobby Lobby carries it. Anyone use it?

Using the PlayDoh to seal the ring? If so I do not feel it will work but try it… maybe it will. Just my opinion.

 

[Woodchipper]

I was thinking Play-Doh would be more available than dental wax. Good idea to protect the ring center.

 

[WriteON]

I was thinking Play-Doh would be more available than dental wax. Good idea to protect the ring center.

Experiment with a cheap core. I don't think the play doh will seal. The glue will leak through. Dental base plate wax is available from Amazon and fairly cheap.

 

[RunnerVince]

Experiment with a cheap core. I don't think the play doh will seal. The glue will leak through. Dental base plate wax is available from Amazon and fairly cheap.

I put the ring down on a piece of masking tape, then trim. This way I cover both the sides and the interior of the core. This only works for gluing the ring into the blank (not turning), but I think you'll run into that no matter what method you use. I've used silly putty to seal off the tube ends in pens; that might work better than play doh, but I agree you'll probably get better and more consistent results with the base plate wax, sheets of beeswax, or something similar that you can get easily and cheaply from Amazon--plus those won't dry out and become useless over time.