Southwestern Style Sterling Silver Necklace

Step 5 Forming the large rings

We need to form the large jump rings into what I'll refer to as dogbones. I do this using two pairs of pliers--one a pair with rounded noses and one set of parallel jaw pliers. I use the rounded pair more like a spreader, then compress the middle of the jump ring using the parallel jaw pliers. Since the parallel jaw pliers won't open wide enough, I use a rawhide hammer first to flatten the big rings a bit. You should end up with a bunch of dogbone like things. Note, I tend to try and put the soldered joint in the middle of the dogbone. Later we will wrap the flat center section and it will hide any soldering irregularities.