Steampunk ring

Yesterday I made another ring.This one is in a steampunk style.it is made from 1mm nickel-silver brass,copper,cogs and rivets and a tiny bit of silver wire. I made it to fit my own finger again which means it is big.The internal diameter is 26mm or 1 inch.It was a very fiddly and time consuming design to make but I'm reasonably happy with the result.

I used a nice new sheet of 1mm nickel silver sheet from A & E Metal Merchants. They are a Australian company and pretty good to deal with. Only takes a day or two to get most items.

The silver ring is hand formed and so is not particularly round or symetrical, but then neither is my finger, and it feels quite comfortable to wear.I made the brass rectangle first, then the copper bits.The copper is riveted on with just a little silver solder applied from behind which wicks up the rivet and under the copper if done right.The rivets for the cogs were soldered in and the whole piece then soldered from behind to both join the band and attach the brass rectangle.The cog rivets were then hammered down last of all so no heat damage to the cogs.

This last photo shows one of my more useful tools which I made myself.As you can see it's a big block of wood with various steel shapes stuck into it.These are used for bending curves,coiling wires folding sheets etc. For instance to finish the rivets on this ring I just hung it on the biggest round rod to use it as a mini anvil.There is also a piece of hammer head set in the top which I mainly use for riveting. All my hammered hearts have been hammered using the various hollows in the wood surface.The block has some rounded edges. some square edges some recesses and holes which all come in handy at times.I also have some homemade dapping type tools, which fit in the holes in the top, which I also use like mini rounded anvils.