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turning a ring

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Dec 3, 2005
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Hi folks. I'm a newbie to turning, and have only turned a few pens. I am trying to turn a wood/ivory ring, but have had some trouble. The ring will be walnut with a thin slice of ivory in the middle (assuming I can sand it flat and glue it). When I tried this before, using wood glue, the ring split when I tried to bore it out. Should I try CA next time? I bought a chuck to use on the lathe (Jet Mini), but it doesn't bore it in the exact middle. Should I just use a small tool to bore it out? Should I drill the hole even before I mount the block for turning? Anyone turned a ring before? I appreciate any advice!

ps. It's for a very small finger - 3 1/2 :)
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2004
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Yes turn the hole first.

Make sure you have loads of waste material to work around. This is to say that the walnut can be an inch long on either side of the ivory so there is plenty of wood to chuck.

Drilling for the hole will usualy leave a rough surface. Turning and sanding the inside of the hole will let you smooth the inside.

Please note that walnut is a mild alergen. If the ring is meant for a young person there is a good posiblity that they will develop an alergy to walnut. If the ring is meant for awedding band the same alergy issue is a concern. As an ocasional ring for an adult this will make a stunning turning.

I would rough turn the ring, warm the roughed out ring in your oven to about 120 degrees. Then with the wood still warm apply epoxy. The epoxy will soak into the warmed wood. That way finish sanding will primarly be sanding of epoxy. You can sand this to a very high grit to good effect. The epoxy will also encapsulate most of the walnut which will lessen the alergen issue.

As for glueing the walnut to the ivory, I would use epoxy.

There is a matter of what epoxy to use. I would use West System epoxy with the "slow" hardener. I find this epoxy to be of consistent high quality than the "slow" hardener is very nearly clear. The other hardeners tend to be more amber.

Good Luck

Richard
 
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cyanoacrylate as a finish...

Fantastic! Thanks for the reply. I will definitely try those suggestions. I have heard that cyanoacrylate, when used as a finish, can be very nice and glossy. I thought this may also add some extra strength to the ring (as there are three pieces). Anyone have suggestions for using CA as a finish?
 
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ng,
Sounds like a small scale version of my napkin rings, solid or laminated. I bore the hole first with a forstner bit, using round but oversized blanks. Then mount the blanks on a home made mandrel and turn the O.D. and square the ends so they are perpendicular to the bore. Several ways to make the mandrel. One of mine simply has a VERY slow taper, and the ring is judiciously forced onto the taper. Too much force and the ring breaks, or it is very difficult to remove. Too little force and there is insufficient grip to hold the ring while turning the O.D. Sounds funky, but functions well.
 
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Right on. Thanks for your advice, everyone. I will check back often, so please feel free to post any more ideas or comments.
 
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Apr 15, 2005
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Another Mandrel

ngwalter
I have used a piece of threaded rod or a bolt with the head cut off in a chuck as my mandrel. The trick is to use some stiff but slightly flexable covering for the mandrel like auto heater or vacuum hose. I chuck up the bolt, slip on the heater hose and mount the wood over the hose add a washer and nut onto the end of the bolt and snug it up enough to force the hose to expand and grip the inside of the ring. Then bring up the tail stock.

I turned several minature birdhouses that way. The hose gives you an advantage of being able to finish both ends easily. After a few turnings the hose can be simply replaced with a new section after it gets nicked a few times.

John Taylor
 
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John T.,
Very cool idea. As long as everything is a fairly close fit the centering will be good, and the O.D. will turn very nearly concentric with the I.D.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2004
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I would follow Richard's suggestion and use epoxy rather than CA for this. CA is more brittle so more susceptible to failure if the wood and ivory move at different rates. Probably not a major factor on something the size of a ring but I just have more confidence in epoxy overall.

Graeme
 
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Failure #1...

I used epoxy to glue this together...

walnut>ivory (thin stripe)>walnut

The end popped off as I was turning. I glued it back on with wood glue. I haven't heard any suggestions for using that, but I used it last time I turned something with an ivory stripe. It was a pen with

walnut>ebony>bloodwood>ivory>walnut

and it seemed to work just fine. I will post if I fail again or if I actually finish it!
 
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The wood glue has worked well! After sanding it smooth, I began boring it out with a small tool, then put a thin coat of CA on it. That will be covered with many coats of laquer, and then I should be able to part it off tonight. Here's a picture with just the CA...
 

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Joined
Dec 3, 2005
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All done!

Done! Walnut and ivory, finished in lacquer. Thanks to all who gave advice!
 

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