Alright!!
So today I’ll be showing you guys how I make resin (or any material) rings without a lathe!
Below is a list of some tools you’ll need
Drill press
Drill
36-2000 grit sandpaper
Polishing compound
Ring sizing mandrill
Diamond hole saws

Step 1: Drilling the Blank

Now to start it doesn’t really matter what material you choose but it has to be strong enough to survive the daily abuse of a ring. I’ll be using resin. (a type of acrylic plastic)They key to getting a nice evenly centered blank is by clamping an piece of material to a drill press table and not moving the material throughout the whole process. For drilling the inner diameter and outer diameter I used diamond hole saws that I got on amazon for $20. Drill the inner diameter that corresponds to the size you want then change the bit to a larger whole saw without moving the material on the drill table. Once the outer diameter is drilled (accounting for the .125” wall thickness) the rough blank can be popped out and it’s ready for shaping.

Step 2: Shaping the Blank

In order for us to polish the ring and shape the ring we have to make a homemade “lathe” of sorts. I’ll clamp my drill (cored in this case) in a vice. I take a bolt and chuck it up in a drill. I’ll wrap electrical tape around the bolt at a slight taper to act as a chuck. More tape for bigger rings and less for smaller rings. Now this might seem very strange and undorthodox but it produces really nice rings. Now the good thing about using the holes saws is that it leaves is with not much heavy sanding to do. We want the wall of the ring to be at max .125” thickness. I find that any thicker then that leaves a very bulky ring. So I use very rough sandpaper starting at 36 grit to remove lots of material, moving up to 220 to get out all the scratches. With the drill in a vice, press the tigger with your left hand while you sand the ring with your right hand. In total the range of sand paper will be 36-2000 grit. It’s imprrant to constantly monitor the rate at which you are removing material. Begin to round the ring and make it to the shape you so desire.

Step 3: Polishing the Ring

This step is the same as the previous step although you are using higher grits of sandpaper. Starting off at 220 and finishing at 2000 is a good range. Make sure the sandpaper is wet and you remove all the scratches from the pervious grit. Keep the speed of the spinning drill at a constant and make sure you slow down so you can watch what you are doing. Also note that while going though the grits take the ring off the chuck and sand the inside with your finger. Being very careful not to drastically change the size of the ring. After grit 2000 and all the previous scratches are out you can use polishing compound on a paper towel to buff out the scratches and give the ring a nice shine!

Step 4: Show of the Ring!

Enjoy your ring!
I also have a YouTube video of me going though making a ring you can check it out in my you tube channel @bitterbladeco. And if you have any questions make sure to dm me on Instagram @bitterbladeco

https://youtu.be/sbiCms2TsOU
^ video of this process
Thanks for following along!

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15 Comments

bodgerjfr

4 years ago

What is the source for the multicolored resin blocks? Did you cast them, buy them, ?

I could see making neckerchief slides for my Scout troop with this.

Thanks!

nytowl520

I'm not about to buy anything on amazon (I avoid amazon like the plague), but I will certainly shop around for those hole saws, and give this a try. I don't have a lathe, either, but we have plenty of drills, both corded and cordless. This looks like a great project to try! It would be really cool (and much more meaningful!) for a person to ~make~ a ring to give to their significant other, too, rather than just buy it!

montyryanbrent

Thanks for this, I have been trying to find a way to make a decent ring without a lathe for months now (also I like to see what other young people have made).

mickeypop

Tip 5 years ago

If you use a bolt & nut, 2 fender washers and a stack of rubber washers it makes a very good mandril. The rubber will swell when you tighten the nut making it adjustable.

I made a few rings years ago on a drill press, thought different material. The mandril worked great.