There are lots of possibilities with this metal rose flower ring made from copper sheet. Have fun with this light soldering project by our own Kelli Vanyek!
Recently Kelli Vanyek, our Business Development Specialist, visited our in-house studio and taught the crew how to make copper rose rings. The end result looks beautiful, so I'll bet you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy the process actually is. The ring shown above cost less than $3 in materials but it looks fantastic, also the fun is in forming, shaping and even texturing the petals. Here's how to make your own metal flower ring in seven easy steps:
Time: 1 hr
Materials:
- 2 = 24.9 mm 24ga Copper Circle Blank
- 1 = 1/4in 22ga Copper Circle Blank
- 1 = 4.9mm Plain Flat Copper Ring Band
- Silver solder (hard, medium & soft)
Tools:
- Acetylene/air torch
- Soldering pick
- Crockpot with pickle
- Flux
- Quench bowl
- Rawhide hammer
- Bench block
- Sheet shears
- Needle nose file
- 600 grit sandpaper
- Round nose pliers
- Dapping punch
- 3rd hand
- Optional: Liver of Sulphur
Project Steps:
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Step 1: The circle in the center of the ring is tiny, so we used our disc cutter to cut a 1/4in round blank using scrap pieces from the studio. What a great way to recycle copper! You can texture this little blank now with texturing hammers or dapping punches. After you are finished, flatten the blank with a bench block and a rawhide hammer. | |
| Step 2: Draw your petals on one of the 25mm circle blanks. The great thing about rose petals is that no two are alike, so don't worry about being perfect! Cut your petals out using sheet shears, but remember don't cut to the center, leave space in the middle as shown in the image above. |  |
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Step 3: Repeat the previous step with the other 25mm circle blank. |
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| Step 4: Use needle nose files to clean the edges of the petals. After you are finished, flatten these blanks with a bench block and a rawhide hammer. Clean your pieces before the next step. I lightly run 600 grit sandpaper over all of my pieces before soldering to remove any oil and dirt. Touch the metal as little as possible after you do this. |  |
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Step 5: Head to the soldering station. Place one 25mm blank on the soldering block. Flux it and drop one piece of hard solder right onto the center of the piece. Place the other 25mm blank on top of this one, rotating the petals so they don't line up with the bottom petals. Solder these two blanks together then pickle, quench and dry. |
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| Step 6: Lightly sand the copper Finger ring band on the top, place it upside down in the center of the petals and solder using medium solder and then pickle, quench and dry. Last but not least, flip the ring right side up, flux the center of the petals then drop one piece of soft solder into the center. Place your small 1/4in blank on top of the piece of solder and heat it until the solder flows. Pickle, quench and dry. |  |
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Step 7: Shaping the petals is easy! The copper is so annealed that you should be able to just lift each petal up using your fingers. To bend and shape the petals, use the round nose pliers. Now is the time to remove any visible solder, so grab a rotary tool with 3M radial brushes or grits of sandpaper. |
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Tips for Success
Tip 1:Before you begin, put some thought into what you'd like to do with the petals. You can texture them using a multitude of hammers, drop the piece into a crockpot of warm Liver of Sulphur, throw the ring into a tumbler to create a beautiful shine... just have fun! Tip 2:To create additional petals, simply cut more blanks. You can change the size and numbers of petals on each blank and stack them one on top of each other in descending order. |
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Additional information:
For more tips on soldering copper, read Erica's article Soldering Copper & Brass.
We can't wait to see what you create! Post them on Instagram with the hashtag #HalsteadMakers to share them with us!
Continue Reading:
Intro to Jewelry Stakes: Fold Forming Leaf Earrings
Texturing Metal with Candie Cooper
Intro To Jewelry Stakes: Fold Forming Leaf Earrings
Got questions? Email our studio coordinator Erica Stice at studio@halsteadbead.com. We’d love to hear from you. Sorry, studio support is not available by phone. Emails only, please.
