Ring tutorial (mandrel made)

[Art of Hand]

Hi all,
I have a new ring tutorial on my blog using ring mandrels. Please look, and if you feel that I need to write it better/clearer, please let me know. Also, if you want any additional info, I will try and help where possible!

I also have another tutorial on my site, also in the November chapter ...

Kindest regards

[swamper]

Nice, thanks. I'd have never thunk it myself.

[kitkat]

Diana:

Very nice tutorial. Was able to follow well and I'm a newbie. Now I want to play! Where do I get mandrels for rings if you don't mind me asking?

Kat

[Beadbug]

Thanks for the tut I have to go home now and print it out. Great instructions.

[Puddy Tat Glass]

I have a graphite ring mandrel and never thought about using the big hole mandrels for ring making. Where do you find all the sizes (or do you have a special someone who makes them for you) ? Thanks so much for the Tut. =D>

[Janetlee]

Thank you for the tut. I too wonder where you get the different size ring mandrels in U.S.A.
Thank you again,
Janet

[Art of Hand]

Hi all, thank you for the compliments. please use it, and post pictures!

I had them made for me, here is South Africa. At one stage I did offer some in a swap, but I really do not have enough time to do it again. A machinist shop could do it, that is what I did - ok, my b/f knew the guys, but still. and then I just had the big thingies welded to mandrels

[theglasszone]

Very nice...!!!!

I would love to get my hands on some of those ring mandrels (wink!); maybe someone else can host a Bulk Buy on them (no, not me - I'm already scraping for torch time!)

I'd love to see some photos of finished rings - I have one I can post here, just to kick it off! This was done WAY BACK - when I'd only been torching for a few months (wonky dots and all!), so I know once you get the "footprint" and "heat bath" (maintaining even heat) concepts down, you can do it, even if you're fairly new!

This is a plain old one - simple yet it IS in my wedding colors, so here you go - a bit of inspiration!

Now show some pictures, peeps!!!

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/theglasszone/Bead%20Photos/BHB2.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/theglasszone/Bead%20Photos/BHB1.jpg

De in CA

[Art of Hand]

DeAnne! thank you for posting you lovely picture! Love it!

Here is some of the rings that I have made (and what I did with the ring mandrels other than making a ring ...):
136820
143878
128635
114555

[theglasszone]

Ooo, so pretty!!! I remember drooling over that Ivory/Silver Glass and Silver Toggle/Leather bracelet when you showed it in Gallery not long ago! Love all the rings!!!!

Woo Hoo...gettin' the par-tay started!

De

[parisgal]

Thanks for that! That's going to help my wonky rings ;-)

[ukiacat]

I liked you Wavy Ribbon tutorial. Both of the tutorials are great...clearly explained with great photos. =D>

[beadmama]

Wow thanks for another good tut! Becky

[Birdy]

You can just use a regular jewelers' steel ring mandrel, which makes everything from sizes 1 to 15 or so. I talked to somebody at Arrow Springs about it, and they suggest using them as lampwork mandrels. Theirs is $22 and does not have size markings, so you have to buy a cheap set of ring-sizers from just about any jewelry-making supplier, usually for just a few dollars. I used my wedding ring to mark my size so I could try it out while waiting for a sizing set. They are slightly awkward to use, as the large end is over 1" across, but it works! Just coat the desired section of the mandrel with bead release, and go for it. Scroll down the page to see at http://www.arrowsprings.com/html/shaping_tools.html

Birdy

[Art of Hand]

Birdy, that could work, but would be so damn heavy, and you will have a lot of heat transfered to the end of that thick stick. Also because of the continued thickness of the 'mandrel' you will battle to maintain a hot area to work with. I really work these mandrels in the flame, and things do get hot in my studio!

I had my ring mandrels made for me. Any machine shop will be able to cut/grind the hardened steel ring bits for you, and then have it welded onto a thinner mandrel. I used some 3 mm mandrels that I had. The first lot were all on old slighly wonky mandrels.

I would love to see what you are all coming up with, and if you need any advice, just pm me. Thank you for the positive comments!

[Janetlee]

Diana,
You said the harden steel was 20mm wide , what is the the size of the harden steel (ring size) around it.
Thanks for your help.
Janet

[MardiGrasGlass]

You can just use a regular jewelers' steel ring mandrel, which makes everything from sizes 1 to 15 or so.

Wouldn't this produce a ring that was not exactly "flat" on the inside. I use to work at Friedmans jewelers and the ones we used were tapered. Woudn't this produce a ring that was slightly larger on one side than the other?

[barbaracollins]

Somewhere I saw a chart that matched mandrel size to ring size. Anyone have it?

[Art of Hand]

I do not have that chart, but I use mandrels that is 16, 17, 18 and 19 mm in diameter. It gives my clients a good choice. For bigger sizes I will make a ring slightly thicker and just grind it down a bit with my flex shaft tool. (similair to a dremel, but easier to use!)

[Janetlee]

Thank you for the info on the diameter size. :grin: I appreciate your help.
Janet

[joansown]

Thank you for this tutorial. It is very clear. I also enjoyed the stripy tutorial and your blog. Congratulations on your climb. Joan

[Birdy]

Wouldn't this produce a ring that was not exactly "flat" on the inside. I use to work at Friedmans jewelers and the ones we used were tapered. Woudn't this produce a ring that was slightly larger on one side than the other?

Yes, it does make a slightly tapered ring - but it's a very slight taper if the ring is narrow, like 1/2" or so.

This type of mandrel isn't the "perfect" tool, but it is an inexpensive way to try glass ring-making. You can invest in better mandrels if you find that you like making them. Besides, the tool is really useful for all sorts of wire work and general jewelry making. I use mine frequently to form bails, large jump rings, etc. that I want to make an exact size.

Birdy

[helensharvest]

That is exactly the way I make rings, too. Thanks, Diana, you Sweetie, you! ♥

[Art of Hand]

Thank you everyone for the nice comments regarding my tutorials. I really enjoy playing with glass and fire, it it is nice to give a bit back.

[hooked on glass]

would love to see more pics of rings for inspiration.
tutorial was very easy to understand, thanks for sharing.
barb

[Gayetha]

Thank you for the ring tutorial - it has actually helped me with some issues I have in making BHBs. I also really enjoyed the other tutorial of the wavey ribbon bead - must have a go at that! I love making gravity beads.

[volkanokaren]

Fab Tut,thank you so much.

Karen
Volkano Exotik

[Glassy]

Thanks for the tutorial, as soon as my kiln is fixed I'll give them another go - I got totally frustrated last year when glass and beadrelease joined and continued to come of the mandrel](*,)

Glassy

[pandora]

I know you7 posted this quite a while back... but I have not been around much, and just saw it.

I really enjoyed your tut!
and the pictures on your site. What a beautiful place you live in.

Thanks for posting it, and your generosity in taking the tiem to do it.
Aloha,
Elise

[Art of Hand]

Elise, it is a pleasure!
Everyone, please feel free to contact me whenever you have problems with the ring tut. I have easily made more than a 1000 rings to date. I have experimented a lot with different styles, etc. And wear a soft glass ring every day. I am sort of deliberately hard on the rings, and never remove then - a quality control thing ...

One thing I can say - never hit a mozzie on the wall with a glass ring on your finger! It will break. But we play ball in the pool, and although I always tell people to remove the ring when in water, I never do it myself, lol. Most of my glass rings is scratched from wear and tear, but still intact.
Please rather sacrifice a nice thin comfortable ring for a thicker band, as it will ensure that the ring last longer ...

[Hot Glass Oasis]

I was wondering if anyone could let me know how much to heat the glass before adding it to a big hole mandrel. Should I make it molten or heat a larger amount of the rod evenly?

[honey*bee]

Ok, I think I'm an idiot... I can't find it.

[gbratton]

Click on 2008 then start going down the page. It's there. Sunday November 23, 2008.

[Art of Hand]

Hi Hot Glass
I normally just melt a smallish blob of glass, and touch it to the VERY hot mandrel. This is one place where you really need to heat the mandrel red-hot. The mandrel takes much longer to get this hot in the flame, due to the amount of metal ... Just take your time, and heat the bugger till it glows!

To apply your glass, keep your mandrel just below the flame, your rod in the flame, and turn the mandrel SLOWLY in the flame. Touch the mandrel with your glass and continue to turn the mandrel. Because you heated the rod so much, it should retain enough heat, to make sure that the beginning of your footpath does not shock off when your complete the first layer of glass.

I really battle to keep a nice and even application of footrpint glass if my blob is too big. I work with a minor, jfyi. But I am sure that the same could be done with a HH.

Show those rings!

[NT]

Hello everyone
I am new here. Just applied your website last night.

I have been google-ing on 'how to make bead rings' and came across your beautiful website!

I am soo excited, (i will faint).
I have ordered thick mandrels to work on rings.
I am quite new on flamework business, been working on fused glass more than anything and my main passion has been painting!

If i need any help, could you be around? I took this course only 1 day course, and ended up buying my own tools and trying to experiment. I am a bit frustrated though, it's sooo hard to work with fire!!!!
Please let me know!!! xx NT=P~

[Alisa]

Is it just me? i can't find the tutorial on your blog or your website. What am i doing wrong?

[Art of Hand]

Alissa, here is the link. it is in the 2008 section. http://deesignedbeads.blogspot.com/2008/11/rinig-tutiorial.html

[Tsaiyi]

Thank you for the tutorial. It is very generous of you. Although I have not tried to make any glass rings yet, I have found your technique very helpful for making big hold beads for Padora bracelets. I do have a question about how to correct a wonky edge. Do you use marver to push the edge straight or add more glass? Maybe I just have to learn how to laydown the initial footprint straight....

[Art of Hand]

I use 2 methods, Tsaiyi.
If the edge is a bit lopsided, I will use a sharp scalpel blade and make a bit of a cut in a spot that I heated, where the glass is not even, to push it out a bit. I make the cut about 1 mm from the edge of the glass, and I normally do this while I only have a thin layer of glass on the mandrel. (this is done when I have flattened the glass already)

Where the glass has not been flattened, I make sure that the footpath of the glass is wide with glass, and then I will try and straighten the wonkyness with my marver. I described this in the tutorial too.

[Carols Glass]

very nice tutorial and funny advice there at the end, lol!

thank you for your generosity.

Carol

[Tsaiyi]

Thank you for the tips for fixing the edge. Never thought about doing that... I need to get on the torch and try it. Thanks.

[giovannafigari]

Hi Diana,
I´ve been trying hard but for some reason i can´t make the rings...., i´ve tried after watching this website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTlIyWqjQ-0 and believe me, I´VE TRIED...
I´m from Perú, and i will be travelling to Orlando on October, do you know someone there who can teach me?.... I will appreciate very much all of your help.

thanx
Giovanna

[Art of Hand]

Hi Giovanna
I live in South Africa! Come here :-)
Corina taught a friend of mine to make glass rings on the mandrel. Perhaps you can contact her?

Here is a link to my ring tutorial. I do not know if you have seen it? If you want, you are welcome to contact me, and explain what you do, and where you are struggling with it?

http://deesignedbeads.blogspot.com/2008/11/rinig-tutiorial.html

[flamemoth]

Found this great link (http://www.jewellers.net/ringsizer.htm) while hunting for mandrel diameter/ring sizes. I thought I'd put it in here for anyone else looking for the same!