Making a ring (finger size) out of wood

[Andy Pratt]

I'd like to make a wooden ring for someone and I'm not sure if this is feasible or not, has anyone done it? I've read that using PEG can help with movement problems for this sort of thing, but I'm already using dried wood, so is that necessary?

This would be a simple round ring, sized for the ring finger and probably made out of a 1"X1" slice of an ebony turning blank I have. I was thinking I would turn the outside on a pen mandrel on the lathe, slice off the portion I need for the ring, then screw it down onto a larger (clampable) piece of stock and cut around the screw with a plug cutter or small hole saw to make the inside hole, then smooth everything out by dremel or hand sanding.

I'm worried it's going to change shape and not fit the finger with humidity changes, or that it will split easily and not be worth the effort.

Thanks,
Andy

[Ken Massingale]

They're fairly easy to turn on the lathe with a captive ring tool, but they are somewhat fragile. Sizing is tricky, for me anyway.
ken

[Lee DeRaud]

I've made blanks for slightly larger rings (like napkin rings) by gluing up thin slices of dry wood at various angles (sort of like plywood): much stronger than a solid piece and very stable.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you make the ring from a simple block of wood, you're going to have sections with very short grain. That is, it will be very fragile -- certainly nothing you could wear regularly. However, if you can avoid the short-grain problem, it will be stronger. Think about making the turning blank by winding a piece of veneer on a mandrel, with glue holding all the layers together. Now the grain runs around the periphery of the ring.

[Jamie Buxton]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57665&highlight=ring

[Paul Downes]

You might think about making the ring with a stabilized wood. I'm thinking like a bottle stopper sized blank. I don't think a pen blank would be big enough. This wood is plastic impregnated and might be better against the skin over the long haul. But I wouldn't assume that. Many woods have toxic or irritant, resins or other compounds in them. I would also think that the ring wouldn't hold up against normal abuse. Probably why rings are made of metal or stone.

[Mike Henderson]

Think about making the turning blank by winding a piece of veneer on a mandrel, with glue holding all the layers together. Now the grain runs around the periphery of the ring.
Jamie's right. Make the ring out of veneer wound around a form. Make it too small and use a small rasp to bring it to size. Just safer than going through all the work and finding it too big.

You can get a piece of commercial banding and wind that on as the last layer. Makes a nice decorative ring. Try wetting the banding and bend it slowly, over several days. The banding is not as flexible as regular veneer.

And if you have trouble with the veneer breaking, try wetting it before bending.

Mike

[Andy Pratt]

Thanks for all the comments guys, glad I didn't waste my time by starting without checking here first, that would have been disappointing.

I was hoping to make this something that could be worn for most things, hopefully including in the water/shower. Is that an unrealistic goal, or is there something I can do to make that feasible?

I'm worried that a veneer approach would flake over time or look bad as layers are worn through, have you guys tried this before?

Thanks,
Andy

[Jamie Buxton]

...
I was hoping to make this something that could be worn for most things, hopefully including in the water/shower. Is that an unrealistic goal, or is there something I can do to make that feasible?

I'm worried that a veneer approach would flake over time or look bad as layers are worn through, have you guys tried this before?

...

Wood doesn't like getting wet, then dry, then wet, then dry, etc. Wearing the ring into the shower and out will damage it eventually, no matter what glue and varnish you use on it.

The veneer approach would wear okay, presuming you do a good glue-up. A good glue-up should give you very thin glue lines, and a good waterproof glue will be as strong as the wood surrounding it. That is, as the wood wears away, the veneer will stay together as a lump. It'll just abrade away.