Can someone tell me how to make a stainless steel ring?

Question:

Can someone tell me how to make a stainless steel ring?

i have a good idea of what the task involves, but if someone could give me a good, somewhat detailed outline of the whole process, that'd be great.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The ONLY practical way is to turn your ring on a lathe. I can't imagine the difficulty in trying to make one, out of stainless no less, by another method.

Explaining how a lathe works is an entirely different email. Here are some tips that I offer, based on the experience of making my own wedding band out of stainless, quite a long time ago:

Be sure of your finger's ring size. Once you find it, you need to know the corresponding diameter, so you know what size hole to bore. You then need to pick a piece of stainless bar that is thick enough to bore your ring size's hole through it, and leave enough wall thickness to create the ring shape you like. Mine was made from 1" diameter round bar, and it worked great. Don't make your ring too meaty, or it may become uncomfortable to wear.

I used a drill bit that was a little smaller than my finished ring size, because I wanted to file the ring for a custom fit, and because I wanted a bit of a comfort taper, which I filed around the inside edges. Once you drill, you can't put metal back, so it pays to err on the slightly tighter side, which you can ream out to fit you.

Shaping the ring depends upon what shape you're after, and what lathe tools you are comfortable using. When it really all boils down to it, you can actually use just one crude lathe tool, and end up using files and emory cloth to reach the final shape. Cut the rough shape out with the tool, and then just let the ring spin on the lathe, while you draw file it. With such a small item, you can shape very quickly with some good files. You can even get it sanded to a near perfect shine, before you even part (cut) the ring from the stock.

Then it's just a little touch up filing, and some finish sanding and polishing, and you're set. Be advised that once the ring is cut from the bar, it's now tiny and a pain to hold on to, so do as much quality finish work as you can while it's still on the lathe.

If you were a lathe operator, I would guess that you would not have asked this question...so if you're new to using a lathe, make this ring project a great learning experience. Maybe try making a few rings, and learn as you go. Also study up on lathe use, and safety, and apply what you learn.

If you don't have a lathe, and were thinking of bending and welding one together, or just drilling one on a drill press, I would tell you to save yourself the nightmare, and just buy one online. They are super-cheap nowadays and they are common. When I wanted mine, you could not find a ring made in stainless to save your life.

Good Luck, and have fun.