The Soldering Tin Wire Ring

Ever wanted to create a piece of jewellery with materials around house?

I'm sure you have seen that it is possible, but what if we want a metal ring with a gemstone on it?

We can, using soldering tin wire and a gemstone that has an excellent look and costs just about 2-3 couples of coffee.

Except the gemstone, we will use only materials and tools that almost everybody has already around house, that is always a good thing, beacuse trying to do something using only things that you already have leads to more Efficient use of resources, less waste and this is a good steep toward a greener planet... and also cut down costs ;)

Not to mention you don't have to out to buy materials and tools...

DISCLAIMER:
1) Use Lead Free Tin Only.
2)This instructable is for entertainment in making a piece of jewellery.
It is not supposed that you make a ring that you will wear for the rest of your life.
Instead it should be an item that you place on some cushion and say "I made it", or for your girlfriend to say "my boyfriend made it for me" when friends will come to your home

Step 1: Materials

Here are the materials you will need.

-Soldering tin wire

-A 3v battery, or 2 AA batteries, it doesent matter as long as it gives enough power to the

-Small electric motor (Usually requires 3v) to spin with enough power.

-Soldering station

-A metal bottle cap and a small metallic object with a cilindrical shape
(Later we will discuss about it)

-The gemstone

-Extra: some electric wires, small pieces of PVC or similar material, paper and pen, a solid cutter and some grinding paper.

Comments

[wasty]

whoa ..... this instructable is great ....But be careful what kind of solder you use .....lead solder is bad... cadmium, beryllium also bad and if worn on a sweat ring finger will absorb into the skin ....copper and brass can be bad too... ever wear a copper ring skin turns green, not good for you, same thing with other metals skin change or not.... love the technique.... i dont know if jeweler silver solder (which is a combination of metals)could be used or not... ask a jeweler.....pewter, aluminum, copper, and other metals as jewelry can be toxic depending on how the metal was made....metal companies sometimes put lead and beryllium (and probably cadmium) into metals like brass, copper, and pewter to make it melt at lower temp .... pewter made for drinking goblets or to cast into jewelry should be safe ..... ask a jewelry professor at a state college pa colleges forbid the use of toxic materials on campus not out of goodness of their hearts but because they don't want to deal with hazmat disposal ........like i said the idea is good but please check your metals ten rings full of cadmium is very bad ten rings made of safe metals are cool

[pudtiny]

Skin turning green with a copper is fine, that is why copper is sold in bracelet form to aid with joint pain.
http://www.ilovecopper.com/pages.php/page/why/osCsid=aaf04863227721defb6d9d47708fba90

Unless you have a rare reaction to it

[jtobako]

While jeweler's silver solder could be used, it's cheaper to use sterling or pure silver : ) As a jewelry student, I find step 12 (stone setting) a lot vague, but I haven't done much with bending tin alloys.

[RedIrishman]

Very much like the ones I make, although my way is much more difficult. lol. Anyways, I was wondering how to make one of my rings with a stone set. This is perfect for my my solder rings. Excellent work!

[wasty]

tin (Sn on periodic table) and antimony (Sb) and bismuth (Bi) can be ingredients in lead free solder..

tin cannot be used to make tin cans anymore because acids (probably salt or vinegar) in food break down the tin can(same as acid etching in jewelry making) and create tin salts that poison the food nausea vomiting diarrea symptoms of over exposure...

antimony also poisonous headache dizziness depression large doses vomiting then death...

bismuth poisoning black lining around gumline... which in this situation could also be signs of other heavy metal poisoning

small amounts of exposure can accumulate over time... i agree jewelry companies may add this stuff to kids jewelry but we shouldn't( see CA site) and we should clearly explain this to someone who would want to try this instructable.... i haven't been able get a solid answer on what is in jeweler's solder (silver solder) but it is not pure silver but some alloy with a low melting point not designed to be used for a finished piece...

look up lead free solder ask a college prof jewelry, chemistry... ask a professional jeweler... ask your/a doctor (medical) about lead free solder

wikipedia for metal info and bioaccumulation

california dept of toxic substance control
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/LeadInJewelry.cfm

osha fed gov website
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/metalsheavy/index.html

[jtobako]

Silver solder tends to be silver, copper and zinc. For more info, look up the MSDS. And remember, Dihydrogen Monoxide kills!

[mistdemon123]

how can water kill you? wait, I forgot to consider drowning...carry on.

[TheMadScientist]

LOLWHAT?!?!
copper's melting point is WAYYY too high to even be considered for any kind of soldering. not to mention if you've ever tried to braze with copper, it's got terrible whetting properties, e.g. it doesn't flow into the joint. silver solder is generally 5/95% silver/tin respectively. and tin is used in cans EXCLUSIVELY because of it's corrosion resistive properties. in fact most food packaging cans nowadays are tin coated steel, because tin is corrosion resistant, and steel has good mechanical strength. PLEASE know what you're talking about before opening your mouth and trying to sound smart.

[jtobako]

Silver solder has two different meanings-one is low temp tin alloy, the other (which I was taking about) is high temp silver alloy (called brazing instead of soldering if you come up from welding instead of jewelry).

Exclusively? Really? Is that why all the acid foods I buy in cans have a white, painted lining?

Oh, and whetting is what you do to sharpen a knife, wetting is what makes liquids flow. And brass/bronze flows beautifully.

[mistdemon123]

I believe that the white lining also has a lot of cow estrogen mixed into it, or at least that is what I was told. Apparrently that's why if you try to heat it up over a fire or use it to boil water in or something, strange/bad things happen.

[FunkNattidelic]

XD

id love to see someone respond to that in horror. or ask what things dihydrogen monoxide is in =P

[T-K]

Erm... is it just me, or is everything in the State of California known to result in harm or death? Just kidding, awesome idea, but still you have to be careful of which type of solder you use.

[Father Christmas]

actually, that seems pretty accurate. I think it is only a matter of time before toilet seats are labeled as such.

[lemonie]

It's a great piece of work. The ring is made of solder and wire - Is this OK with skin? L

[madaeon]

It is made by lead-free tin only. As far as I know, it has no cons about wearing it on skin...

[paqrat]

This would add cost to the ring but I wonder if it might be possible to either silver or rhodium plate the ring. As long as the plating remained intact the ring should remain safe . Unless the ring was made from radioactive material and then I think you'd need to lead plate it then silver or rhodium plate the lead.

[lemonie]

Tin is a toxic heavy metal, but I don't think it's that much of a problem in it's metallic form. Like pewter, probably alright.

L

[HeWhoMakesStuff]

As the instructions said just do not wear it a lot. Or if you want to wear it a lot just use jewelers solder it has very little if any toxic metals in it, that's why jewelers use it.

[paqrat]

I think that silver solder, even an easy silver solder will require more heat than is available from a soldering gun. Pretty sure you would need a torch of some sort. At the jewelry store I worked at we used natural gas and oxygen with either torch used.

[pigeonpants]

Wow, this is really fantastic! Wonderful job! =D

[jhonny]

the ring looks awesome.

[Lor]

Well, I like the idea -- just got a little mixed up after after a bit when you started calling out the pictures that aren't really numbered as you say and names of discs and this and that switch and blade and motor and brackets and such. Don't mind makin' a lead ring, I think, but maybe all this Mexican candy I ate got me confused. Dunno.

[jonathan95123]

When you melt the solder wont it stick to the metallic object you wrapped it around?

[DELETED_gabethegeek]

(removed by author or community request)

[jtobako]

Let's not forget that there is 100+ years of plumbing using lead solder, and 2000 years of using lead pipes that show that touching lead will kill you DEAD. Has drinking from lead based pewter cups for 300+ years taught us nothing?

[klee27x]

Most electrical solder is 40% lead and 60% tin by weight.

[kinghurt4]

what kind of tin solder is your solder?

[kinghurt4]

how many watts is your soldering gun?

[wasty]

clear coats can (will) wear off ....instead of a clear coating try a solid color see how fast it rubs off from regular wear.... small amounts of heavy metals are bad over time for an adult... and can poison... given enough time kill... i'm afraid some dumb kid or adult won't read this blog and get their daddy's solder out and make a toxic piece of jewelry that will end up at some point being given to a small child or pregnant woman as a gift now or 20 years later (clear coat worn off)... what if they put the ring in their mouth? cadmium lead beryllium right though mouth into the bloodstream ....small amount of heavy metals> small child very over time bad... jewelry metal suppliers put warnings on metals containing 4% lead and dont forget cadmium which is in some lead free solders which is just as bad as lead use a jeweler's (lead cadmium heavy metal free) casting metal bottom line good idea but if you cannot be sure about what is in your solder and if you use solder in a manner it was not made for you risk heavy metal contamination that may not kill you now but can kill you over time and or whoever you give a ring to you or put them in the hospital permanent organ damage... this is serious it's not a joke based on this blog alone i don't think people understand this and i feel if i say nothing someone is in for some bad times

[madaeon]

Hi. This instructable is for entertainment in making a piece of jewellery. It is not supposed that you make a ring that you will wear for the rest of your life. Instead it should be an item that you place on some cushion and say "I made it", or for your girlfriend to say "my boyfriend made it for me" when friends will come to your home. By the way, for these people that are spending so much time wondering about "small amounts of heavy metals are bad over time", i wonder if they know about the metals in rings that you buy for extra cheap vendors, that you WILL probably wear for years.

[Father Christmas]

i lol'd "corners of the disc" second pic of step eleven. made my day. thx.

[superhubbardman]

thats really well done man, good job

[guitarman63mm]

To everyone complaining about the lead: A simple clear coat would completely seal and nullify your arguments, as well as protect against oxidation and dulling. Just go buy a can of lacquer and be done with it.

[jtobako]

I've blown threw three layers of sealant in a matter of hours on a brass ring trying to keep my finger from turning green (very acidic skin). Thus completely nullifying your nullification : ) Not that I think that lead is as dangerous as some people seam to think...

[guitarman63mm]

Really? I've sealed metal before without problems, though I haven't tried it on brass. I agree, these minute amounts of lead are negligible. Everyone else makes it sounds like it's a loaded .45 at your skull.

[UltraMagnus]

as much as I love my environment destroying lead solder for electrons, as others have said, make sure you use lead free for this

[RavenShadow519]

Well done, i really enjoyed reading this. I've made simliar things over the years, but i really like this one! and will deffinatly be doing it myself in time!