Introduction: DIY: Wooden Ring
I have always liked rings but they never fit me right and they seem cost to much. So I decided to make my own ring. I had some beautiful scrap wood lying around and I thought that it would look amazing as a ring. I made two rings then thought 'Hey this would be a cool instructable'. The rings fit me perfectly and were free except for the tung oil and the sealer. This is how I made them.
You will need:
-A Rotary Tool or Large Drill Bit
-Sandpaper
-Steel Wool
-Tun Oil
-Lacquer
-A Saw
Step 1: Step 1: Finding Worthy Wood
For this step you will need to find some thick sticks. I found my stick in our firewood in my backyard. If you can't find one in your backyard I would take it as an opportunity to go on a hike. I chose a stick without and side branches because I couldn't cut a straight ring blank with a branch with side branches.
Step 2: Step 2: the Start of the Ring
For this step I clamped the stick down and sawed off about 1/2 of an inch. This will be the ring. I left the bark on because later on it gets taken off as the shaping of the ring begins.
Step 3: Step 3: Rough Shaping
Next I took the ring blank and used my rotary tool to do the rough shaping. Make sure to make it a little SMALLER then what you want the final ring to be. In the next step I did a lot of sanding that plus the stain and sealer will make it fit just right. I used three main rotary tool bits: a flat sanding one, a round tip sanding one and and flat tip skinny sanding one. Make sure to leave about 1/8 around the edge for sanding. If you're using a drill bit just drill out a hole that is a little smaller than what you want it to be. If you don't have a rotary tool then you can just sand away the excess wood around the edge.
Step 4: Step 4: Sanding and Sealing
This is the most time consuming part of the instructable. So I knew that I wanted this to be super smooth, so I made sure that I spent a longer time on this part then I probably should have. I started out with 80 grit sandpaper and then moved all the way to the highest grit I had then went to steel wool. But its up to you how high you want to go. For basic shaping I used 80 grit then slowly moved up to steel wool. Make sure to sand the inside. Then I stained it with Tung oil then allowed it to dry then applied the sealer.
Step 5: Step 5: Finished
I'm really happy with how the rings turned out, I will definitely make more in the future. You could engrave the ring with a message or a name. If you do make a ring of your own please post pictures of it because I would love to see them! Thank you for viewing this as it is my first instructable!

Participated in the
Great Outdoors Contest

Participated in the
Hand Tools Only Contest
5 People Made This Project!
- those7782 made it!
- BloodyAngel88 made it!
- MikB made it!
- JimRD made it!
See 1 More
34 Comments
6 years ago on Introduction
Tried it yesterday and they came out great. I did cheat a bit by using my drill press to "turn" the blanks down to a decent circle.
Reply 1 year ago
that is what did as well
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
Wonderful! I would love to see pictures!
Question 1 year ago on Step 5
what is the price of matrials if i buy a chuck of wood doing this for C.T.F
Question 2 years ago on Introduction
How does the steel wool do to help create the ring and if it does help how is it done?
4 years ago
my bf asked me to make a pair of these, ill update you when i get round to making them
5 years ago on Introduction
I made one today
6 years ago on Introduction
Making this as a present. I'll post updates when I finish!
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
Great! Thanks for posting pictures :)
6 years ago
looks good bud.. was curious what ya used as a sealer. .
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
I used just some basic wood workers polyurethane, from a local store. You could find it at Lowe's or Home Depot
6 years ago on Introduction
Ever have the wood crack on you as your drilling or sanding the hole? My two attempts both cracked as I was sanding.
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
Sorry I didn't reply back faster. Yes my first few rings did crack as I was sanding them. One I tried drilling and it cracked then shot across the room. I like to do just the rough shaping with my rotary tool then use sandpaper, and when rough shaping I keep the rotary tool on a medium to low speed to avoid cracking. I would love to see pictures of a completed ring, hope this helped!
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
My first attempt cracked too.. But I used a soft wood and it was just about 2mm thick
6 years ago on Introduction
Thanks for sharing! You could also use a wood burner to add a name or designs before sealing.
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
That's a great idea!
6 years ago on Introduction
Wow! great job showing how such an item can be made without needing a lathe. This is exactly what Instructables is all about.
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
Thank you!
6 years ago on Step 5
i recently saw an Instructable for Glowing Shelves; there should be no reason why one couldnt use a rotary tool to carve out letters or designs on the ring, place tape around the inside of the ring (to prevent it flowing through, of course), and pour a small amount of the glowing epoxy in the patterns.
Reply 6 years ago on Introduction
That sounds like it would perfectly!