Hello! Hoping this all makes sense, I am trying to get a mirror finish on my pieces but I keep getting this pooling in areas that the dremel can't get to for example under bails like pictured or on the back plat under the ring shank. My process is after taking out of the pickle, give it a light brush with a brass brush then add patina/polish back highlights. Then put in the tumbler for an hour to work harden and go in with tripoli on a calico mop in my dremel (note: it takes a LONG time and compound & the metal gets really hot) then brush it with washing up liquid / brass brush and then fi ..read more

A couple of years ago I made this ring. One spinner in a standard doming punch ended main ring. The owner is worried the spinner will come off the main ring and wants me to expand the ends a bit more. I really can’t see the spinner escaping in any way but she is insistent. Advice please….always mindful that splits could occur any ideas on local annealing either end or any other tricks? ….other than saying no, too much of a risk and probably loosing a “client”? Suppose I could measure size carefully and make another! David. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ..read more

If a client gives you a piece of jewellery with a specific job to do, do you just do that or do you do other work that wasn't asked for? I've had 2 rings now that have come back rather different from how they went. Different jewellers. One was a garnet and moonstone ring which needed a garnet replacing. The jeweller decided that the moonstone needed repolishing so just did it. The ring looked significantly different and not actually the better for it. The cloudy whiteness of the stone looked far nicer than the bluish transparency of the highly polished state. The second was a ring that was ..read more

Did anyone else have problems getting into this site last evening? I got nowhere so emailed help. I was asked if I had used my registered email address….I had. Well this morning it is working normally ……I think! So probably big thanks to the warrior I talked to last night. David…..Ruedeleglise. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ..read more

I have this really lovely little band ring in 18ct gold. It's bead set with tiny angelskin coral cabs and diamond chips. It's very delicate and needs some TLC. It had to be cut off so I need to close the band again. I've never soldered 18ct but if I use a gallon of thermogel to protect the stones will I get away with it? Otherwise I'll be looking for someone with a laser IMG_9982.jpg Attached Images IMG_9982.jpg (19.4 KB ..read more

I made a sterling ring from a wax carving that I created last year, and somehow my finger shrunk and now it is too loose. I like that ring a lot and would like to cast it again in a slightly smaller size if that is possible. I have a rubber mold for it as well as a few wax copies. I guess enlarging the size would be easy by simply filing away a bit from the wax molds, but making it tighter? I am a bit stuck :( Any ideas ..read more

Hi I'm very new to this hobby and am really keen to learn. I have only finished 2 pieces that I'm happy with. (Attached) I love both of these pieces from a distance but the photos really show up the scratches and and marks in the silver. I guess working a lot cleaner will hopefully come with experience but I would like to learn more about how to get the best finish as possible on a piece. I'm on a small budget so I'm restricted to hand tools and a rotary tool. Any advice, top tips or video recommendations would be appreciated. Both of these are a mixture of silver clay and silver wire (Not su ..read more

My lovely daughter has just had her 21st birthday. She very much wants a signet ring and I've managed to lose my last 'family' one, which I'd always intended to giver her. Normally, this would be something I wouldn't hesitate to make and then have engraved (lion rampant), but my ongoing and very boring health issues mean that it's not an option at the moment. I could do with a recommendation of where to find one (finished, not a stamping, but I'm happy to arrange engraving separately if necessary) as I've been a bit horrified at the prices I'm seeing when I search! Any advice would be very m ..read more

Hi, I have been struggling with my sheet metal cracking while rolling for a long time now, and I can’t seem to find a solution that works for me. I have tried different annealing temperatures, rolling while reducing the pressure only slightly, quenching in water and alcohol. Once I melt it, I roll it down without any issues until I anneal it for the first time. The cracks form in the sheet after this (when I pass it through the roller). This seems to happen almost every time with 18 karat gold, with not much luck. Sometimes randomly it works without any issues but I don’t know what I am doin ..read more

Any advice please about the amount in cms of circumference to subtract from the bangle circumference so a bangle can be squeezed up that little bit for security. I find that many people prefer torques for that reason. My wife as an example has really slim wrists but is quite broad across the knuckles. A bangle that just slides over her hand/ knuckles is a bit large on the wrist. David….Ruedeleglise. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ..read more