Ring Shoulder Jig

Well, here I am, at the last project of Stage 1 of the Silver program at Jewellery Training Solutions! There are 10 stages in the Silver program. This project is a ring shoulder jig, to help with making sure the shoulders of rings are symmetrical and the mounting is centered. One of the goals of this project is to test whether you can cut a straight line. Precision. These projects are all about precision! And this one had a big learning curve in soldering brass (as you can tell by the mess of solder in the image!).

What were the challenges?

The big challenge for me on this project was soldering the brass. I learned that it reacts completely differently than silver, and I had trouble getting the solder to flow. Well, at least to flow where I wanted it to go.

Where could I improve?

I could improve the soldering step. Since I had trouble getting the solder to flow with the brass, it ended up flowing all over the inside of the jig and filled the lines that I had scribed. It flowed, it just didn’t flow where I wanted it to!

What did I learn?

I learned the coolest trick about starting a cut with the jeweler’s saw. If you lean it at a 45 degree angle when you start, it doesn’t jump around like it normally does. I usually do a backwards stroke before cutting to get the blade seated in the cut, but this worked even better! I also learned how to make a neat corner like the one at the top of the jig. I knew about using a square file to make a miter, but if you need a smaller angle than 45 degrees, you can use the jeweler’s saw to cut into the corner as you fold to free up more space. I also learned that when soldering brass, it needs to be pickled with super pickle (regular pickle with hydrogen peroxide added) to remove the pink!