When you’re in the business of producing handmade jewelry, time is just as valuable as money. Because of this we get really really excited about new tools that will reduce the amount of time it takes to do something. Like REALLY excited.

We recently picked up a ring stretcher/reducer and it has definitely lived up to the hype. It’s not the most inexpensive tool, however if you factor in the time you save, it’ll start paying for itself pretty quickly.

 

Working with the Ring Resizer is pretty intuitive, however here are some tips to help you get up to speed.

-This tool only works with plain bands, such as wedding bands with no gemstones

-Always anneal your piece before stretching/reducing! You’ll want to fire coat your piece to protect the finish: brush on flux and heat the piece with a low soft flame until it starts to anneal or glow slightly red. Quench and pickle to remove the boric acid coating

-Don’t stretch or reduce too quickly – you may crack the metal

-always anneal between sessions

For reducing:

-place the ring in the circle that’s just slightly too small – the ring should sit slightly above. Push on the arm to squish it down, turn over the ring and repeat the process

For enlarging

-Layering a piece of paper on the inside of the band prior to putting it on the enlarging mandrel helps to reduce the stretching marks on the inside of the ring. Saves you time during clean up.