Jewelry Making: Beading Q And A (9/16/2011)

BeadGal answers:

I’m not familiar with the 767 but Walmart and large hardware stores like Lowes have plenty of accessories for Dremel. I have a Dremel model 1100 Stylus and a model 754. Both are cordless. If I had it to do over I would have bought plug in models. It needs to have variable speed like 5,000-25,000rpm, not just a single speed or two speeds. A set of drill bits for it is about $7.00.

Oh, all Dremels use the same collets and the same chuck. The chuck is what you tighten when you put a tool in the Dremel. The collets come in different sizes for different tool shafts or bits. If you unscrew the chuck and take it off you can pull out the collet and put in a diferent size one.

BeadGal answers:

Hello there,

Not sure exactly what style ring you hoped to make by flattening the coin out thin. I think it is easier to tap into the shape of a ring by hammering down the rim and then removing the center. With a coin this large, you can hammer it down to make a pretty wide ring for a man.

Before you start, you need to get your tools ready. You need a hammer and something to pound on. Any hammer will do, but the surface needs to be smooth. If there are dents and marks in it, those will show on the silver after you hammer it. Pick a hammer with as few marks on the pounding surface as you have. Then take some emery paper to smooth it as much as you can. It takes a long time to sand steel so this is not fast. Now find something solid you can pound on. If you have an anvil, great. If not, you need something solid and pretty heavy so it does not bounce around when you beat on it. A chuck of rail road rail works.

You tap on the edge to do 2 things, widen it and to reduce the overall size. Then you remove a center section. I have a video that shows the steps. This guy cuts the center away. I don’t do it that way because you waste so much silver. I cut a hole large enough to work a steel rod into. Then I hammer the silver donut shape against the rod to increase the center hole. The rod I use is tapered and works just fine. You probably won’t find anything like that. If you do, use it. If not, just cut away the center like in the video.

Http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Ring-from-a-Silver-Coin