Daily Wire Tip May 5: Pharaoh Ring Cabochon

By on May 5, 2010
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
May 05, 2010

Question:

I’ve tried doing your wonderful Pharaoh’s Ring dvd but my cab always ends up under the side wraps so it leaves the decorative sides of the ring peeking about 1/4 inch above the top of the stone.  What am I doing wrong?  My desired size is 8 1/2, bending on mandrel at size 6 1/2.

Answer:

My first question is: are you remembering to shape the ring on the mandrel, rounding the wrapped sides with the mallet before locking the four corners in? If not, then the wires you are bending up to lock the stone is are going to be heading on an angle away from the stone and the front of the ring, instead of shaping round the front.

Second question: are you sure to bend the connection wires at a nice 90 degree angle, immediately over the connection rings, toward the inside of the ring, before directing them down and then pressing them inside? If not, then your connection wires will indeed end up taller than the stone.

You didn’t mention what gauge wire you are using for the desired finished size 8 ½ ring, or the size of the cab. If the cab is larger than 18x13mm oval, try using 10 wires, 22g. If you don’t have enough side wires to lock in all the way up to the stone, you can always add additional connection wires at the end. Hope this helps!

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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2 Comments

  1. avatar

    Patricia Whitlow

    May 5, 2010 at 10:31 am

    Great Answer!

  2. avatar

    Alex Netherton

    May 6, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    Also, try shaping with your thumb as you go along. Once you introduce the cab into the setting, you need to shape the bindings toward the stone as Dale said. Do this on the mandrel after you put the stone in. The stone should be set in place before you start placing your corner wires – there are 8 corner wires that will have nothing to do with the size of the ring. Keep manipulating the cab if needed while placing these wires. Now, after these 8 wires are set, place the ring on the mandrel and size it to whatever size you need, and afterward keep putting on the side wires, going from one corner across the setting to the other side of the ring, putting it on the mandrel from time to time to check that your size is staying correct. Once finished, place the ring on the mandrel and lightly tap with a rawhide or plastic mallet to “set” the ring, and gently hammer to get the final size right.
    Now, for different size cabs, sometimes you have to vary the distance between the wraps at the beginning, on the bundle you start with. If the wraps are too close together for the size of the cab, it either won’t fit, or the wraps will stand up over the cab. There are books that give you a rule of thumb on the distances between the wraps for certain cab sizes. I suspect that you have the wrap bundles too close together.