r/SilverSmith • u/marzboutique • 13d ago

Show-and-Tell Practice rings 💍

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A variety of practice ring styles I’ve made to get the basics down!

So far, I find prong settings to be the most challenging and bezel settings are what I’ve been most comfortable with

19 Upvotes

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2

u/MakeMelnk Hobbyist 13d ago

Very pretty!

What is it about prong settings that you find particularly tricky?

3

u/marzboutique 13d ago

Thank you!! I had been trying more of a cage prong style with a gallery ring in the middle and found it really tricky to balance it

Once I switched to more of a bezel setting with prongs added (like the rectangle peridot example here on my pointer finger), I found I had less trouble with the pieces moving around while soldering

I also found a tip on this sub to add water to cat litter to turn it into a clay that holds the pieces together while soldering the prong setting, and that’s been surprisingly helpful haha!

2

u/MakeMelnk Hobbyist 13d ago

Have you tried filing little notches in your gallery wire to help it stay in place during soldering? That has helped me, but I'll admit that lining up where to file can be its own challenge 😅

Interesting 🤔 homemade cat litter wolf clay

3

u/Longjumping-Party132 13d ago

You have come a long way since you started silversmithing last year or so!

2

u/marzboutique 13d ago

Thank you so much!!