Eggshell Ring

I have seen people casting eggshells in resin before, I absolutely loved the way it looked.

What better way to try out a new material then to make a ring.

Rings are simple and this one is no exception. It looks good even if you're new to both ring making, and resin casting.

• 2 Eggshells
• 40 drops (or as desired) Food colour (colour of choice)
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• Baking sheet and tray
• Resin (I used polyester resin as it cures fast and hard, but you can use whatever you like, just make sure to give it plenty of time to get nice and hard)
• Mold Release
• (optional), colourant (alcohol ink, mica)
• Small round molds (I used leftover takeout sauce cups)
• Hot Glue
• (optional)1/2'' wooden dowel, or you can use one that is just a bit smaller than you want the inside of your ring to be.
• Popsicle stick

Making the ring:

• Safety glasses
• 3/4'' Forstner Bit (or one a bit smaller than the size you want the inside of your ring to be.)
• Belt sander
• Bandsaw (or any saw, a belt sander will also work)
• 220g, 320g, 400g, 800g sandpaper
• Caliper
• Polishing paste.(I used FLITZ)
• Soft Cloth

Wash the shells on warm water.

Split them into as many containers as you want colours.

Mix the water, vinegar, and food colouring into the eggshells.

Let sit for 10-15 minutes for a rich vibrant colour, (If you want a pastel colour skip the vinegar)

Remove eggshells from water, place on baking sheet and bake for 5 min at 350* or until dry.

Gently crumble into containers for later.

Here you have quite a few options, I used takeout sauce containers, you can use whatever you want as long as it's about 1/2' bigger than you want your ring to be. You will need the support when your drilling out the middle.

As for the dowel, I'm cheap so I added it to save resin, However if you want you can use a dowel as your hole, simply glue in the dowel, wrap it in smooth tape and spray with mold release.

I simply sprayed the containers with mold release, and glued in the dowel with a tiny drop of hot glue

Make a mark on the side of how wide you want your ring to be. You will want to fill it generously over this mark.

Mix the resin, as instructed by the Manufacturers. If desired you can add colour or micas, I chose to keep it clear so the eggshells will be visible.

Pour a small bottom layer of resin place half of the eggshells and pour a very thin stream of resin over them,

you are trying to minimize bubbles so go slowly, use the popsicle stick to tap down the shells, you want as many shells as possible. Now add the rest of the shells, and slowly add more resin, repeat until it is past the fill line.

Tap it down, and leave to dry in a warm, dust free location until it is hard without being bendy or rubbery.

I forgot to take pictures so kindly ignore the colour change.

This is a step that I added that looking back was entirely unnecessary, in fact it made the next step a bit harder. I am including it here simply to be transparent.

I recommend that you just move on to the next step.

I added a screw to the dowel and using pliers to hold it, I sanded down the top and bottom on the belt sander until smooth.

If you used a dowel to mold the inside hole simply remove it, and move on to the next step.

I used a clamp to hold the blank, then another clamp to hold it down on the table.

Remember to wear safety glasses

Use the forstner bit to drill a hole in the middle. This was complicated by the bits tendency to 'walk', the one blank I didn't sand was easier since it had something to bite.

Go slowly, stopping to clear away the shavings.

Now I used a bandsaw to slowly shape the ring, the best way I found was by cutting of the edges till I was left with a square, then cutting of the corners.

You can just use a belt sander if you want.

Then I used a belt sander to smooth out the corners, and jagged edges.

Don't take it to far as, while the rings aren't fragile, they can crack, as you see in the pictures.

Starting with the 220g sandpaper start smoothing out the shape, and belt sander marks both outside, and inside the ring.

You can cup the sandpaper in your palm and rub the ring into it this will give it a nice curve.

Use the caliper to keep the edges even and the inside symmetrical.

Now you can use 320g to smooth it out further.

When your satisfied with the size and shape, the ring should fit you since your not going to be adding a finish.

When polishing resin wet sanding works best, so give it a light once over with wet 320g, then move on to wet 400g, dry for the ring and if you can see scratches, lightly sand with 320 then repeat with 400g till you can't find any more. (try not to remove too much material)

Finally give it a thorough once over with wet 800g both inside and out, go as hard as you want since 800 won't remove much just smooth it out.

I chose to only buff the outside and edges of my rings, you can do the inside if you want, but I like the frosted glass look.

Using a soft cloth, coat the ring in polishing paste, and rub the living daylights out of it, you may need to apply more paste.

Wash your ring, if it doesn't shine, repeat these steps until it does. If you can see scratches you may need to go back to sanding.

It may take awhile but it's worth it.

Use a clean soft cloth to remove the extra paste, and buff the ring into a glass like shine.

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a one of a kind ring.