{"id":6634,"date":"2013-05-05T18:35:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T02:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/?p=6634"},"modified":"2023-02-22T14:36:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T22:36:24","slug":"free-project-for-smart-bronze-solid-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/05\/free-project-for-smart-bronze-solid-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Project for Smart Bronze – Solid Ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

New media seem to bring new inspiration. I’ve always leaned toward hollow forms. It never occurred to me that I could work with solid forms, mainly because I was put off by their weight. As it turns out, Smart Bronze is very lightweight after it’s been fired (although not as light as Low-Shrinkage Steel XT<\/em>), so I decided to give it a try. Once I started, the possibilities seem endless.<\/p>\n

Here are instructions for making this ring. <\/p>\n

\"Garnet<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The ring weighs 11 grams after firing. The instructions are long, but only because they are very detailed. It’s actually pretty simple.<\/p>\n

1. From the ring sizer, pick a ring that is 2\u00bd sizes bigger than your desired size. Trace the inner diameter of the ring with a pencil. (Tip: if you don’t want to separate the ring from the sizer, do it on a corner of a table; this is the only way it’s going to lay flat).<\/p>\n

\"Trace<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Find a tube whose outer diameter is the same as that of your traced circle.<\/p>\n

\"Find<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Or: Find a circle template with the same diameter.<\/p>\n

\"Find<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Here is the template for the ring:
\n\"Template\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4. Roll a large layer of Smart Bronze 3 craft sticks thick (18 cards). Cut a circle in it using the tube or the template.
\n \"Cut<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cut<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5. Remove the circle. Place the template on top of the layer.<\/p>\n

\"Template<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

6. To cut the shape of the ring, it’s better to use cutters rather than a knife. Using cutters will help ensure that the cross sections are vertical. Pick a circle or oval cutter that fits the curve on the top right of the ring. Cut this section out.<\/p>\n

\"Cut<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cut<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7. Use a tissue blade to cut the next straight line.<\/p>\n

\"Cut<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

8. Use circle cutters to cut away the excess from the layer on the right and left side of the template.<\/p>\n

\"Remove<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Remove<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

9. Remove the template. If you used a tube to cut the shank, put it back in the hole. This will help prevent the circle from distorting while drying.<\/p>\n

\"Return<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

10. Dry the ring thoroughly, then sand it smooth.<\/p>\n

\"Sand<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

11. While the ring is drying, set the stones. You can use any fireable stones. I used an oval natural sapphire and a square natural garnet. For the oval stone, press the stone into a thick patty of clay. Squeeze a drinking straw into an oval shape and cut an oval around the stone. Dry, then sand the bezel to the perfect oval shape.<\/p>\n

\"Set<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

12. Set the square stone the same way, only use the scraper to cut the bezel around it. <\/p>\n

\"Setting<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

13. Attach the bezels to the ring with thick paste. Dry.<\/p>\n

\"Attach<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

14. Place the ring in carbon, on top of thin fiber paper. Place a piece of fiber paper on top of the shank as well. Cover with carbon, and fire.<\/p>\n

Brick kiln: ramp at 1400\u00b0F\/778\u00b0C per hour to 1440\u00b0F\/782\u00b0C. Hold 2 hours.
\nMuffle kiln: Ramp at 1400\u00b0F\/778\u00b0C per hour to 1490\u00b0F\/810\u00b0C. Hold 2 hours. Make sure the overall ramp time is at least 1:00 hour!<\/p>\n

15. After firing, finish the ring following the instructions in the document entitled “Finishing Fired Metal Clay<\/a>,” available on the right-hand panel of this blog. You can polish it to mirror shine.<\/p>\n

\"Finished<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Finished<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Finished<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New media seem to bring new inspiration. I’ve always leaned toward hollow forms. It never occurred to me that I could work with solid forms, mainly because I was put off by their weight. As it turns out, Smart Bronze is very lightweight after it’s been fired (although not as light as Low-Shrinkage Steel XT), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6634"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9388,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions\/9388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/artinsilver.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}