Wooden Wedding rings help needed.

[hanau]

I was asked if I could make a mens wedding band out of wood. The guy says he has a reaction to any type of metal on his finger.

I told him I would try to make one for him, no guarantee that i can.
Any one have any information on turning one?
I watched a few videos and got a couple of ideas to try.
What woods would be ideal for a ring.

I have cocobolo right now, I am not sure if he looking for a dark or light color wood.

any advice will help.

Thanks
John

 

[plantman]

John; No matter how you turn it, you are going to have two very weak spots on the ring if you use a single wood blank, that will have to be reinforced in some manner. I have made rings and bracelets using thin veneers laminated together with the seams overlaped. I think I would suggest using an acrylic to make the ring if possable. There are a lot of beautiful blanks out there for bottle stoppers that would give you the thickness you will need. You could also use antler, bone, or ivory for a different looking ring. If he insists on wood, I would segment the ring like a bowl so you don't have any endgrain, than turn it to size. There are some people on this site that make rings out of wood. Check the library or past tweats. Look on the home page in the upper left hand corner under Google search, and type in wooden rings. Take your choise of ideas. Jim S

 

[hanau]

Thanks,
after all this time being on the board i never noticed the google link. Found some good info there.

John

 

[wood-of-1kind]

I have made a few wooden rings. The key is to "reinforce" the wood (your choice) with a thin band of veneer down the middle on the outside.Create a groove(channel) for the veneer strip to attach to the ring. A good douse of CA glue will make the ring stronger as well as keeping it shiny.

Scroll down to the end of this link page to see what the rings look like.

Variety Gallery - Wood-of-1-Kind

 

[hanau]

would it have to be a piece of wood veneer?
I was thinking about a piece of silver solder in the groove that you would put the veneer
Like this on this duck call.

Also any suggestion on mounting it to turn ?

 

[Rodnall]

I would be careful on the wood you use. Some people develop a reaction to some woods like cocobolo.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

If he's got sensitive skin and an aversion to metal touching it, cocobolo is going to be a nightmare!

 

[wood-of-1kind]

The "reinforcement" band does not have to be made out veneer. Relative to strength and weight factor it just makes good sense.

Here is a good article/technique to get her done. Not difficult at all to make but it takes a bit of practise.

Woodturning Online :: Turning a Wood Ring with a Veneer Inlay

 

[hanau]

Thanks for the link that was very helpful.

I will mention that the cocobolo might still be irratiate to his skin. he is researching what type of wood he would like to use.