A common question we get in the studio is how to size a wax ring for very small sizes. Most ring blanks come in a size 5 – so that pinky ring you’ve always wanted to make will require just a few more steps than your average ring.
How to Carve Small Ring Sizes in Wax
Suggested tools
Via Otto Frei
1. Starting with a solid wax tube in the color of your preference, cut out a ring blank to your desired width and evenly file the sides.
2. Measure the width of your ring blank.
3. Figure out the middle point by dividing the width, or diameter, by two and marking that point with a scribe.
4. Make a bulls eye
5. Using a drill bit and your flex shaft, drill a hole where the lines intersect (don’t forget your safety glasses when operating your hand drill or flex shaft!).
After drilling.
6. Widen the hole using a wax bur.
I like to do this holding the flex shaft perpendicular to the wax blank. Always hold onto your piece while drilling.
7. Continue to widen the hole more with the same wax bur, or a cylinder bur.
I like to make small and gentle circles on the inside of the hole with the bur to slowly open it up.
8. Using a ring mandrel, continuously check your work while opening up the inside. Make sure to push the piece gently down the mandrel to ensure accurate sizing.
Et Voila! A size 2 ring for a pinky ring or otherwise teeny tiny hands! Learn more wax carving techniques in our in 6 week wax class listed here.
LILOVEVE 