Tension Set Forged Silver and Onyx Ring

This ring was made for a family friend as a wedding band. The stone is a 5 mm onyx bead that is tension set.

To make the ring, I started with a smaller ring that I constructed from 4 gauge sterling silver bar stock. I then forged the ring into its squarish profile on a ring mandrel.

The sequence of change in shape is shown in the images below:

Ring with quarters marked and some hammering done

Ring is starting to get more square

Profile of ring after initial forging

After side of ring were hammered flat

When the ring was enlarged to the correct size and profile, I cut the ring at the soldered joint and then removed a slightly smaller amount of metal than the width of the onyx bead. (no images, sorry)

Before I set the stone, I created seats for the stone to rest in with a ball burr on each side of the opening. To set the stone, I slid the ring onto my ring mandrel to spread the opening slightly then placed the stone in the gap and slid the ring off of the mandrel to allow the ring to close onto the bead.

The ring had tremendous spring to it since I did not anneal the metal during the forging process. The heaviness of the setting and the work hardening of the metal is essential to the security of the stone in a tension setting in sterling silver.

Sapphire Ring

This ring was commissioned by a co-worker who wanted a ring for a 10th anniversary.  The ring is constructed entirely of 18K yellow gold and has a yellow sapphire in a bezel setting.

Sterling Silver and Chrysoprase Earrings

These earrings were made as gift earlier this year. The earrings were constructed from sterling silver with a hammered finish and set with chrysoprase stones. The earrings were designed to have hand made french wires that attach them to the wearer's ear, but can be made with a post earring if desired. Email if interested in ordering.

New Earrings

Here are some new earrings I made. They are constructed of sterling silver that was roller printed using Cordura nylon and my Durston rolling mill. They measure approximately 1cm x 1cm.

Embossed Silver, Gold and Pearl Pendant

This pendant was constructed from sterling silver and 18 K gold. The embossed texture was produced by rolling the silver with a piece of nylon mesh in my rolling mill. The pendant is set with a post-mounted freshwater cultured pearl. The back side of this pendant is embossed with the same pattern.

Functional Art

Here is a tool that represents a part of my initial foray into what some term as 'functional art'. The functional part is definitely here and I think of it as having art like qualities with the angles and random drilling. This tool is made from 1/8 " O-1 tool steel and is 3" long. The tool features two different pry surfaces, a small flat-head screwdriver in addition to the obvious bottle opener.

Tension Set?

I made this ring a couple of months ago while still in Seattle, but it turned out so well that I decided it should find its way in to this new blog space. The ring was fabricated from square, sterling silver, bar stock and a faceted garnet. I started by forming the bar stock into a small ring, soldered it and then marked out into quarters which allowed me to evenly forge it out into its final profile and size. When I had hammered it out into the size/shape that I intended it to be, I cut the opening for the stone along the original solder line and then removed slightly less metal than the amount needed to create the space to seat the stone. I then cut the seats for the stone with a setting burr, slipped it onto my ring mandrel to spread the opening to set the stone and once the stone was in place, I carefully slipped the ring off of the mandrel to snugly capture the stone. The forging of the heavy stock provides enough security for the stone to stay in place....