Finishing Rings with CA (Superglue)

Wooden rings benefit from a good tough, protective coating both for visual appeal and to keep them safe from scratches and knocks. CA (superglue) is perfect for this. It dries very hard, very tough and super glossy.

The process for finishing a ring is pretty easy. It's as simple as building a few layers on the ring, sanding flat and then polishing to a shine. The ring featured below only took ten minutes from start to finish, which is helped by using an accelerator spray on the CA, but even without that you can do the whole job in well under an hour.

Before starting, the ring has been sanded to 1500 grit, dusted and cleaned with white spirit, then mounted on my turning jig (OK, OK, it's a power drill clamped to my bench - but it works!). This process can be used for metal rings too - a coat of CA will protect a gilded finish, or stop copper from tarnishing.

For a change, I've made a video of the process rather than photos. Here we go, apologies in advance for dodgy editing. Click through to YouTube for lovely HD quality version. Royalty-free music courtesy of Dan-O at danosongs.com



And here is the finished ring.


This ring and more available to buy at my Etsy store. Custom orders very welcome, at no extra charge.

Comments

  1. Wooden Hooks6 September 2015 at 01:23

    How do you finish the inside of the ring? Any tips and tricks would be appreciated! Btw your rings are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mat6 September 2015 at 01:26

      Thanks! Inside depends on the wood - with something like padouk or cocobolo, which can stain skin or cause a reaction, I'll usually wipe a couple of coats of CA on the inside with a q-tip, the sand flat and polish as with the outside. With a more skin-friendly wood, I'll generally just put some beeswax on the inside, so the texture of the wood is still able to be felt. Hope that's useful!

      Delete
  2. Jordan Elise25 March 2016 at 01:55

    What brand of CA glue do you use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mat25 March 2016 at 01:58

      Screwfix "No Nonsense" Superglue. Basically the cheapest stuff I could find. All superglue is basically identical so there's no need to pay for the fancy stuff.

      If you're doing bigger pieces it might be useful to have some thinner glue - which you can get from woodturning suppliers - but at this scale, there's no point.

      Delete
    2. Chad Beebe27 June 2017 at 09:46

      What type of fabric do you use to apply the glue? My glue seems to dry way too fast.

      Delete
    3. Mat27 June 2017 at 10:39

      I just use kitchen towel - cheap and disposable. Even in the height of summer I don't have a problem with it drying too fast.

      Do you live in an area of very high humidity? That might be a problem.

      Delete
  3. L. Coil24 November 2017 at 23:09

    What is that tool in your drill that is holding the ring? It looks like you're just slipping it on and off, and it's magically holding it firmly.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mat26 November 2017 at 21:25

    It's a hex chuck socket, wrapped in masking tape to provide a friction fit. I've yet to find a faster and more adaptable means of chucking rings.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cory Enderby18 July 2018 at 19:52

    Thanks and Jesus bless you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EverBrite ProtectaClear Metal Finishing Coat - Test and Review

Image
I recently acquired a small bottle of EverBrite's ProtectaClear coating, a skin-safe, one part coating for metal jewellery. Supposed to be tough, hardwearing and so on, to keep metals safe from tarnish and oxidation and other damage. It's simple enough to use - a light, clear liquid which brushes on easily and dries fast - but does it work? Time to run some tests. I prepared a few bits of copper, as that tarnishes quickly and I have scraps kicking around my workshop. Also a chance to try out my new letter punches. Nice and clean, not 100% polished by hey - just a test, right? Fully degreased and prepped for coating. Coated and dry and ready to go. The zero band has no coating, the one a single coat, the two a double coat. Time to put these things through some punishment.   OK, top to bottom: A - On my keyring. Two days of being bashed around in my pocket with assorted bits of metal in close contact. B - Tied to my shoe. An afternoon
Read more

Resin-inlaid Wood

Image
A non-jewellery post, for a change. We were running a bit short on shelving in the kitchen and wanted somewhere we could store all the preserves we're going to make from the garden this year, so we went to the timber yard to see what they had. They had this, 155cm long piece of chestnut. It was pretty heavily cracked and pitted, with knotholes and so on. But, I had a plan. Resin inlay. A technique traditionally used with a colour-matched epoxy to the wood, to give an "invisible" repair. I'm taking a slightly different approach. First job, seal off the holes from the bottom, using aluminium plumber's tape. It's super sticky so it seals well, and it won't be damaged by the resin either. You might need these seals to hold for a few days, depending on the weather. Make sure the wood is level, otherwise you'll end up with wonky resin bits. Now it's time to mix the resin. Give it a good mixing and then add your pigment. If you warm i
Read more

The Amen break ring

Image
A set of silver stacking rings featuring the famous "Amen break" More on  the Amen break here . Of course it's relatively simple to apply this technique to any other sound sample. Maybe the Apache break, or Funky Drummer. Or even something which isn't a breakbeat. 
Read more