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'''Created by clovishound''' '''Disclaimer:''' this is a technique I use as a hobbyist to make finger rings and are not intended to be a professional instruction, particularly where safety is concerned. You must make the decision whether any operations are safe for you to perform on your lathe. To begin laminating a finger ring, choose the woods you wish to use and the number of bands of each. Cut squares of each in 1 1/4" plus squares with each square being at least a little thicker than the desired thickness of that band. Orient the grain running parallel to the face of the square (bowl blank orientation). You will need to have a base that can be mounted either in a chuck, or on a faceplate. You can either use a thick piece of the first lamination, or glue up the first lamination to a piece of scrap. If you are going to mount it in a chuck, be sure and leave a shoulder so that the base won’t shift in the chuck when applying pressure during glue up. This has the first two bands already glued to a scrap piece which has had a tenon cut into it. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3604-1/1-ring1j.jpg To prepare the base for the first lamination hollow a small recess in the middle. This makes getting a good glue joint easier by minimizing the amount of surface area during the glue up. Just make sure the hollowed area is smaller than the finished inner diameter of the ring. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3609-1/2-ring4l.jpg I use a 1" square nosed scraper to joint the surface in preparation for the first glue up. Make sure the surface is completely flat and square. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3612-1/3-ring2h.jpg Joint one face of the square you will be using then glue it to the base using the tailstock with the point removed to provide clamping pressure on the glue up. Be sure and orient each lamination with the grain 90º to the previous band to increase the strength of the completed lamination. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3615-1/4-ring5p.jpg Continue laminating the bands until you have completed them all. When I have two bands of the same wood that need to be the same thickness, I make sure the second band is thicker and then trim it to match either by eye, or using calipers. Once the lamination is complete, remove the tailstock and hollow the ring with the tool of your choice. You can size it using a ring conversion table found on the web. Use a pair of calipers to check the size. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3618-1/5-ring7j.jpg At this point you can sand and then part the ring from the base. To clean up the parted end, cut a small tenon on the remaining base that will allow you to slide the ring onto the tenon with a snug fit. Don’t make it too snug, or you will break the ring getting it on or off. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3621-1/6-ring8.jpg You can now do final shaping and sanding. Check both sides of the ring for consistent inner diameter. If they are inconsistent, you can refine them at this point. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3624-1/7-ring9.jpg The ring is now complete, and you can finish it with the product of your choice. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3627-1/8-ring10v.jpg One quick note here. If you are using several bands of the same wood that has a prominent grain, cut the two bands from the same piece of wood. When gluing the second band of this wood orient the grain so that they are bookmatched. This will result in a much more pleasing appearance. It helps to rough out the band round to be able to see the grain clearly. I normally use more bands for more interesting patterns. http://woodworkerszone.com/wikigallery/d/3628-1/9-ringia.jpg You can certainly laminate the bands off the lathe, but jointing both sides of a very thin piece of wood can be difficult. You can also use this same technique to do larger pieces such as napkin rings and bracelets. Keep in mind that the larger pieces are more difficult to properly joint on the lathe and get good glue lines. Have fun, and be careful. [[category:Projects]]

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