#BenchTipTuesday – resize a ring

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How to resize a ring is probably one of the most frequent questions that I get. Resizing the original piece can be a lot easier than creating it again from scratch.

A general rule is each ring size is 2mm. To size a ring down, cut out a portion of the material from the back of the ring. If the ring is a size 8 and being sized down to a 6, cut out 4mm.File both ends parallel and use a half round plier to join them back together. There should be no gap between the two ends. Use a jeweler’s saw frame with a metal blade to saw through the seam to get all of the nooks and crannies out. Keep sawing through the seam until there are no gaps and it looks perfect. Solder the seam back together and finish.

You can achieve the same thing while working in wax.

To size a ring up, you can anneal your ring and quench in water. Using a metal ring mandrel and plastic mallet, hammer the ring further down the ring mandrel. Flip the ring and hammer the other side. If hammering the ring to the correct size won’t work, saw through the ring and add a portion of the material to create the size larger. There should be no gap between the ends. Use a jeweler’s saw frame and blade to saw through the seams to get all of the nooks and crannies out. Keep sawing through the seams until there are no gaps and it looks perfect. Solder the seam back together and finish. You can achieve the same thing while working in wax.

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