Bubble Brass Ring, the Piercing Saw Method - 6 Steps

Hello guys I'm new to this and my laptop is really slow so for this one I guess I'll have to improvise. I promise next time I'll shoot more photos during the video! Feel free to ask me anything about the procedure, materials or anything I ommited

Supplies

For this ring I used:

85/15 brass sheet
Iris jeweller's saws
A drill with 1mm point
A piercing saw
Wax
Various files
A ring mandrel
A propane flame torch
Silver 50% solder wire 0.7mm
Borax soldering paste
A grinding wheel for polishing with a brass wire round brush and a cotton round brush
Yellow abrasive paste for brass
A wooden hammer

Step 1: Designing the Bubbles and Drilling

So I first got the brass sheet and hand traced the bubbles with a permanent marker. I made sure the design was long enough to make a 17-18 size ring. I then made holes with a fine (1mm) drill to help with cutting the internal parts.

Step 2: Cutting the Bubbles

I then went on to cut out the design with a piercing saw wearing Iris Jeweller's saws (my favourite). (keep in mind you'll have to lubricate the saw with wax to avoid breaking it)

Step 3: Filing

Once cut, I carefully filed every edge. To file successfully you'll have to do it one way without pressing the file on the metal, it takes time...I know but the result pays! I used three different sized files for convenience and to be able to reach every spot

Step 4: Rounding the Ring

Afterwards I rounded the ring on the mandrel by hand (the metal is quite malleable) and put the edges together.

Step 5: Soldering

For the soldering I use a borax soldering paste I make with borax powder and distilled water, this paste is an antioxidant and without it soldering brass is almost impossible. So I give a generous dab of borax paste.

To solder with a propane flame torch you have to warm up the brass untill is red hot and then go in with the silver solder wire touching the edge meeting point for a fraction of a second. Then I just dump it in water to cool it off.

Step 6: Polishing

So now the ring is quite almost complete, the only step missing is the polishing.

I go in and do the first round without any paste just to clean off the soldering point and excess borax on a brass wire round brush.

Then I put the ring on the mandrel and hammer it lightly all over to harden the metal before the final polishing round.

I then put some abrasive paste for brass polishing on the cotton round brush l and go in to polish the ring till it's quite actually a mirror. And that's it.