Purchase one of our Swan Ring Jewelry Components Blanks:
These blanks are unfinished. You can finish them anyway you desire. This tutorial will show you Metal Maven's process for finishing and forming these rings.
This is a close up photo of what the piece will look like when you receive your blank. There will be some dark carbon on the edges and slightly discolored areas on the surfaces that is easily removed with sandpaper or a Jool Tool.
Sand Your Piece:
Our Swan Ring blanks are made from 16 gauge sterling silver. Use 600 or 800 grit fine grain sandpaper to sand the surface and smooth the edges.
This shows the whole blank after sanding the surface and edges.
File the Neck:
Metal Maven used a round needle file to smooth the tightest curve of the inside of the swan's neck. She then used an oval shaped needle file to smooth the other curved areas of the swan's neck.
Here are photos of the needle files Metal Maven used.
Add Patina:
Metal Maven used Gosiba patina to darken the engraved areas on the swan. You can use any patina you wish to darken those areas.
Remove Patina from High Areas:
Metal Maven used a Jool Tool to remove the Gosiba patina from the high areas. She also used the Jool Tool to smooth the sides and further smooth all the sharp edges.
If you don't have a Jool Tool you can use 800 grit sandpaper, and then 1000 grit sandpaper to remove the patina and further smooth the surfaces.
Polish the Inside of the Neck Area:
Metal Maven used a cone shaped felt mandrel bit and some polishing compound to polish the inside area of the swan's neck. This step is important, especially if this ring will be used as a yarn guide for knitting or crocheting. The inside surface of the loop made by the swan's neck needs to be smooth so that the edges will not snag or cut the yarn.
Forming The Swan Ring:
Metal Maven used a Pepe Ring Bender to form the swan ring. She held the blank at a slight angle as she formed it so that the neck would not overlap the wing.
Tumble Your Piece:
After forming, you can use a rotary tumbler with steel shot, water, and a drop of Dawn to put a nice finish on your ring. If you want a higher polish, you can buff it with a polishing machine or hand polish using a Sunshine Polishing Cloth.
Finished Piece:
Here is the final piece. The 3" long blank creates a size 9-10 size ring that worked well for Metal Maven to create a thumb ring. Other sizes are available.
