Ring Mandrels

[twiasp]

Just wondering, do you guys own ring mandrels. Is it part of your must have items that you keep at home for listing items on ebay so you can tell the sizes? Is there a particular mandrel to get, I have been interested in buying one. Eventually someday I am thinking of trying to make some Coin Rings so assuming I will buy a nice steel one or something.

Here is a random simple video i pulled off of Youtube to show how to make coin rings if anybody hadn't heard of them. (Fyi some of the foreign coins that you could find at flea market bins would make very cool rings because of the designs around the edges of the coins)

 

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[Omega]

I need to try this!

 

[gunsil]

Well, I have made jewelry for a few decades so naturally I have ring mandrels. If you need jewelry tools Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M. is a very good supplier. Their whole line is online, or you can order a printed catalog.

 

[twiasp]

Gunsil are they just made out of steel, or are there particular types you would want to have if making a coin ring, to make sure it isn't damaged when being beat on.

 

[RustyGold]

They are hardened steel. I have two of them one is smoother than the other as far as lines and numbers engraved on the steel mandrel. I use a leather mallet to shape the gold and silver to the rough size I want!
Good luck!

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

I have a mandrel...for shaping and sizing rings...
leather or wooden mallet is how I shape a bent ring...

this is similar to the one I own.

 

[gunsil]

Yes they are made from steel, although it isn't hardened steel. They are mild steel or they'd crack from heavy hammering. If you miss the ring shank with a steel hammer it dents the mandrel, and it wouldn't do that if it were hardened steel. Believe me, I wail on it with thick rings when I want a deep hammered surface on the ring.

 

[RustyGold]

Mine are hardened steel!
Silver and gold are highly malleable so they stretch and bend quite easily!
Amazon.com - SOLID STEEL RING MANDREL 12"S

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Awesome video thanks for putting that on here.

 

[silverdollarbill]

I love this forum. I was literally watching this video yesterday thinking how cool it was and I wanted to try. Please let us know if anyone tries this.

 

[Omega]

I ordered everything to make them. The stuff will be here today or tomorrow.

 

[packerbacker]

I have a mandrel to make the rings with but still haven't taken the time. There is a thread on this site that shows how to make them step-by-step. I think it's called "coin rings" or something like that.
The video might be a little more useful as in the thread that was on here, the guy didn't use a punch. The punch looks much easier.

 

[Omega]

This is a lot harder than he makes it look

 

[twiasp]

Omega i did see a video once that the guy talked about annealing the metal, (basically heating it so much, which makes the metal softer and easier to work into a ring without damaging the details) After which he would tumble the ring in a rock tumbler with some steel buckshot i think and it would harden the metal back again. The guy also did some antiquing looks with "liver of...something" and a blowtorch.

The drilling a hole in the middle of the ring and hammering forever around the edges method, looks like it just flat sucks and isn't a good method to me. I personally think the punching a hole and spreading over a ring mandrel seems much easier with a much better finished product.

 

[Omega]

 

[Joe777Cool]

Omega - make me one out of a Morgan

 

[twiasp]

Go through your process of making it Omega. Learn anything about do's/dont's? Maybe change in technique to keep more of the details?

 

[Omega]

Ya, I definitely did things different from the videos. I want to try a few more these upcoming days, then I'll let you guys know the best way to go about these. I'll also try out eBay

 

[Omega]

 

[Omega]

I've got this