Daily Wire Tip Oct. 27: Snapsets and Ring Designs

By on October 26, 2010
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
October 27, 2010

Question:

I would like to start making rings with snapsets in them to sell. I am interested in different designs, can you suggest an easy-to-understand book/DVD for me to get my business off the ground? Also, what gauge wire would you recommend for a beginner? Thanks!

-Terri in Wilson, North Carolina

Answer:

There are a lot of different ring styles on the Internet that utilize snapset stones. In addition to those, my Ring Series, including the Bonus DVD, has 3 specific designs for snapsets, and many others that can be altered to work with a snapset stone. If you are looking for the specific numbers, then Ring DVDs 2 and 4 are designed with snapsets. Most of my ring designs use 22-gauge square half hard wire for the main construction, and 20-gauge half round half hard to wrap the shanks.

I will say that although rings are a popular sales item, they can be one of the most difficult projects to master making well (which includes proper sizing). Therefore, if you truly wish to specialize in creation wire rings, and to become a true ring master, I recommend getting the entire Ring Series and working through it from DVD 1 on, as all of my DVD classes are progressive, meaning each lesson goes into the next. The entire series teaches you 11 different designs. As you progress from DVD 1 through the series, you will notice that I show and talk about how many ways these designs can be varied, often showing examples as your “homework.”

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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2 Comments

  1. avatar

    jake

    October 27, 2010 at 11:01 am

    i’d just like to say that Dale does a wonderful job of explaining every step and that the video quality is excellent – there is no guesswork at all when watching Dale go through an example. i also appreciate that the instructions are progressive, as it allows you to build on your skills and you never feel like your work is getting ‘stale’. Great job, Dale, and keep it up!

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      October 27, 2010 at 2:58 pm

      Jake – thanks so very much! I often try to convince folks that they really need to ‘work through’ the DVD series, rather than try to jump into, say lesson #3, without having done #1 and then #2, as I AM a progressive instructor and my goal IS to teach you all types of ways to use and then to combine the huge variety of techniques. I would love to see some of your work – are you a friend on facebook? If not, check it out and look for wire-sculpture.com where you can post pictures of your work as well as on my page, Dale Cougar Armstrong.
      Stay twisted!!
      Dale