A Ring Fit for a King ( ...it's Made of His Throne)

I recently tore the toilet out of the half bath in my condo so I could replace the rotted subfloor below it. After rebuilding the subfloor, I felt like I needed to replace all of the hardware in the toilet before I reset the toilet so that I could be sure to never have to do it again. Trust me, working in a 30 inch by 5 foot room is not fun!

After all was said and done, I had these two seriously oxidized 3 inch solid copper screws. How could I let them go to waste. I decided to take a screw from the toilet and put it on my finger.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Tools:

- vice

- rotary tool and bits

- hack saw

- screw driver

- needle nose pliers

- soldering iron or torch

Materials:

- toilet bowl screw

- metal polish

- rag

- lead free solder

- clear lacquer to coat the inside of the ring

Step 2: Cut the Screw in Half

I set the screw in a vice and use a rotary tool with a cut off disc to start the cut. Then I used a hack saw to finish the cut.

Step 3: Split the Halves

Very gently, use a screwdriver to start dividing the two halves. Slowly bend each side down flat.

Step 4: Solder the Split

You will want to solder the split halves to the head of the screw at this point because, odds are, they will be a bit fragile and close to breaking off.

To solder, a torch would be the best way because, for the solder to adhere to the copper, the copper needs to be heated up.

Or, if you're like me and inexperienced with a torch, use a soldering iron to put solder where it needs to be and then heat the whole ring in the oven at about 450 degrees for a few minutes. This will fuse the solder to the copper.

Step 5: Bend the Halves

Very carefully, bend the two halves around into ring shape with two sets of needle nose pliers. Use one hand to hold and one to bend.

Step 6: Size and Solder Joint

Once you have a ring like shape, put the ring on the finger you will be decorating and mark where it needs to be cut. I used a cut off disc. Refit to your finger to check the size. Cut more as needed, or stretch to fit; you can fill the gap with solder.

Step 7: Grind Down and Shape Solder

I used my rotory tool with a wood shaping bit to grind down and shape the solder to my liking.

Step 8: Polish

It's difficult to see the difference in these two pictures, but I used a metal polish from my Dremel kit to remove all of the tiny surface scratches and bring it to a silky smooth, mirror-like finish. Just a rag, the polish and a lot of rubbing, easy!

Now just spray the ring with clear lacquer so it won't turn your finger green. :)