Wood Ring

This instructable will show you how to make a simple wood ring.

Materials:

-Piece of wood veneer, approximately 6 by 6 inches
-Wood glue
-Food coloring
-Clear nail polish

Tools:

-Scissors
-Drill
-Bandsaw
-5/8" drill bit
-Belt sander or sandpaper

Approximate time:

1 to 2 hours of work and about two nights of drying time for woodglue and dyes

Use heavy-duty scissors to cut chips that are about 1 inch on both sides. This ring has a thickness of 6 chips, but depending on the veneer you use and the desired thickness, you can adjust accordingly.

This step is optional. I've made rings in the past without dye. For those, I use a woodburner on low give the ring a slightly rustic look and polish. That aesthetic is more appealing to me, but I'll include the directions for the colored ring since it is more complicated.

Using a glass dish, mix a strong dye out of water and food coloring and let the chips soak in it overnight. I chose pink and teal for these chips - three of each color. After about eight hours, rinse the chips and let them dry completely.

These veneers will be glued together to make a very thin, strong plywood. Decide on a design for the ring, based on your colors, alternating the grain of the wood to make the ply stronger. Between each layer of wood, lay down a thin, even layer of wood glue, then clamp it all in place between two spare pieces of wood.

Choose a drill bit that is slightly narrower than the diameter of your finger. This will allow you to sand the inside of the ring smooth. I've found that a 5/8" bit generally works for an average finger. Drill a pilot hole, and then the final hole, making sure to leave room around the edges for the ring itself.

Then, use a band saw to carefully cut out the rough shape of your ring, leaving it slightly larger than desired so that it can be sanded smooth.

Using a belt sander or rough sandpaper, sand the ring to its desired shape and size. The ply is quite strong, so don't worry too much about keeping it thick for strengths sake. Then hand sand the ring using a fine sandpaper (something around 400 should be the last sanding). Now finish the ring. The finish should offer an aesthetic as well as functional purpose. For the colored ring, I liked something clear and shiny, so I used a hard clear nail polish. For the non colored ring, this is when I would lightly burn the wood.

Once the finish is dry, the ring is done!