Inlay Rings

Students will create eight rings that combine to form two inlay rings. Students will use the cutting pliers, sandpaper, ring mandrel, rawhide mallet, solder station, hand files, buffer, polisher, ultrasonic, and jewelry saw to make the rings.

This unit has four parts research & design, prototype (practicing), final project, and documentation. 

Overview Unit Goal

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Overview of Steps

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MAKE A SHEET METAL RING
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MAKE TWO OUTER RINGS
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SOLDER THE THREE RINGS TOGETHER
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FILE EDGES UNTIL FLUSH & SEAMS ARE INVISIBLE, THEN SAND TO 200
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ADD INLAY
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SHAPE, BUFF, POLISH
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MAKE 2 INLAY RINGS

Composition Concepts

  • Contrast
  • Color
  • Smooth Texture

Technical Skills

  • Hammering
  • Soldering - Multi-part pieces
  • Sanding
  • Filing
  • Buffing 
  • Polishing
  • Gluing

Tools & Supplies

  • Rawhide Mallet & Mandrel
  • Soldering Station
  • Jewelry Saw
  • Sandpaper
  • Hand Files
  • Buffer
  • Polisher
  • Resin Tools
  • Lapidary Machine
  • Lapidary Saw (optional)

Technical Skills Videos

Order of Work

Determine Your Ring Elements
  • Decide on the wire types you want to use for your ring
  • You can use any flat sided wire for the outer rings and sheet metal for the inner ring (half round, square, triangle)
Ring One: Prototype
  • Choose Copper, Brass, or Nickel
  • Determine the width for the sheet metal (outer ring widths plus inlay gap width)
  • Make the sheet metal ring first (use hard solder) and form into perfect circle
  • Measure the outer diameter of the sheet metal ring to determine the sizes for the outer rings
  • Make two outer rings (use hard solder) and form into perfect circles - sand to 200
  • Test the fit - ask to use the ring expander, if needed
  • Solder the two outer rings onto the sheet metal ring
  • File sides of ring until joining seams are invisible. Then, sand all surfaces to at least 200 (up to 800)
  • Choose inlay materials & set up inlay gluing station (clear tape on plastic mandrel, wax paper underneath mandrel)
  • Use a tiny amount of super glue to attach inlay materials
  • Use resin to fill in all gaps (resin needs to harden for 48 hours or be heated to 130° for two hours)
  • Once hard, use the lapidary wheels to shape, buff, and polish the inlay parts of your ring.
    • Lapidary wheels must be wet the whole time you use them. Use all of the wheel (sides as well as middle). The sponge must be soaking and the wheel wet. Once finished, move the sponge away from the wheel and empty & clean the tray.
  • Buff and polish ring at the buffing / polishing station for the rest of the ring parts.

Ring Two: Final Ring
  • Choose Copper, Brass, or Nickel
  • Determine the width for the sheet metal (outer ring widths plus inlay gap width)
  • Make the sheet metal ring first (use hard solder) and form into perfect circle
  • Measure the outer diameter of the sheet metal ring to determine the sizes for the outer rings
  • Make two outer rings (use hard solder) and form into perfect circles - sand to 200
  • Test the fit - ask to use the ring expander, if needed
  • Solder the two outer rings onto the sheet metal ring
  • Sand to 800
  • Choose inlay materials & set up inlay gluing station (clear tape on plastic mandrel, wax paper underneath mandrel)
  • Use a tiny amount of super glue to attach inlay materials
  • Use resin to fill in all gaps (resin needs to harden for 48 hours or be heated to 130° for two hours)
  • Once hard, use the lapidary wheels to shape, buff, and polish the inlay parts of your ring.
    • Lapidary wheels must be wet the whole time you use them. Use all of the wheel (sides as well as middle). The sponge must be soaking and the wheel wet. Once finished, move the sponge away from the wheel and empty & clean the tray.
  • Buff and polish ring at the buffing / polishing station for the rest of the ring parts.
​ ​Documentation
  • Photos, Reflection, Email, Drive Folder

Ring Planning & Asking for Sheet Metal for Inner Ring

WIDTH MEASUREMENT
  • Measure the width of the outer ring wire
  • Estimate the inlay gap you want
  • Add those three numbers together (2 outer rings + inlay gap)
  • That is the width measurement for your sheet metal

You also need the length measurement (select a gauge: 16, 18, 20, 22)
When asking for your metal, use the following order:

METAL (Copper, Brass, Nickel, Silver)

WIRE TYPE  (Round, Half Round, Square, Sheet)
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LENGTH (Number from the ring length chart)

Ring Sizer is for the Sheet Metal Inner Ring Only

Sanding & Forming the Metal in Preparation for Soldering

Soldering Rings Using Hard Solder

Form into a Perfect Circle

Outer Rings #2 & #3

Fitting & Soldering the Rings Together

Inlay - Choose Something Meaningful or Attractive
  • You can select rock pieces from the stone cabinet (plastic trays on top shelf)
  • You can select a stone slab that you can cut using the lapidary saw and/or circle grinder bit on the drill press
  • You can select wood 
  • You can bring in items from home that are meaningful to you that would fit in your ring channel

Fill all gaps with Resin

Choose either clear or colored resin.
Glitter can be added to your resin should you desire it.
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This must be done on top of cardboard!
  • Ask for the resin color you want
  • Use a small stick to put a small amount of resin into a measuring cup - no more than 10 ccs of resin!
  • Add half that much hardener
  • Mix well without adding bubbles
  • Pour into a squeeze bottle and attach the tip
  • Squeeze resin into all the gaps, then add any extra you want on top
  • Excess resin will be used to create more gems, cabochons, or skulls (silicone molds)
  • Clean all tools with isopropyl alcohol (watch the end of this video)
Leave the Resin to cure for 48 hours
​or turn it in to be heat hardened after class - then test the hardness with your fingernail before moving on to the next step

Finishing the Inlay

Finishing Your Rings

After sanding the inside of your ring (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000), you are ready to buff and polish your ring. 

Use the inner ring buff to buff the inside of the ring and the larger wheel to buff the sides of the ring.

The top of the ring should already be polished from the lapidary machine.

4 Photos of your Rings

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from ring only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with ring centered
  • One photo of each ring separately
  • One photo of both rings together
  • One photo in use
  • Four photos in total

Email an image of your Inlay Rings

Grading Criteria