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rgyoung — Cuttlebone Ring
Published: 2010-02-05 22:35:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 4058; Favourites: 44; Downloads: 116
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Description
Sterling silver ring. The shank was made using the cuttlebone casting method: [link]This project was my first time casting anything using cuttlebone and I am really quite pleased with the results. You can get some really beautiful shapes using this material.
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Comments: 9
This looks like a really neat idea! I saw a comment on another of your rings suggesting that you made them by casting a flat strip and then shaping/curling it. I'm not really set up to solder stuff, but I'd be interested to see how well something like this would work with pewter, just with a gap in the ring or overlapping ends. The impression of the cuttlebone certainly looks more impressive when it's not laid out flat.
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Pewter probably would work the way you've described, though its malleability might work against you, to some degree, once you've shaped it. I hear you about not being set up to solder--I miss having access to a good torch/solder setup.
In theory, you could always cast the ring shank in silver, overlap the ends (after tapering their thickness with a file), and then rivet them together instead of soldering. Then again, the shank would be nice and work-hardened after shaping, so you might not even need to solder or rivet it at all, if that makes sense. You could round the ends of the shank and simply make it an adjustable ring.
In any case, thank you for the great comment--it makes my day to know that something I posted is giving you ideas about making a cuttlebone ring of your own. 
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Thanks for the advice.
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I didn't know you could use cuttlebone for that, I love how that ring ended up!
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Nice! I've been meaning to try out cuttlebone casting, love the texture it creates. What sort of torch did you end up using?
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Okay, that is frankly amazing! I had no idea cuttlebones could be used for anything other than giving my pet birds a tasty calcium distraction. The layered effect is really lovely and organic.
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Thank you!
I was also pretty surprised when I found out that they could be used to make jewelry. Apparently, cuttlebone casting dates back to the 7th century.
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