The Fabric Alchemist

On May 13 Greg and I returned to With These Rings to complete our rings.

Our wax dragon scale rings had been cast in palladium. Before we could wear them, the rings required a bit more filing and sanding. Many of the file marks had transferred from the wax to the mold so those needed to be sanded out. The casting process also left a rough sprue on the inside of the ring.

Making our rings together really highlighted some of our personality traits. Greg moved much faster through the sprue-filing portion of the evening. I thought I was moving at a respectable speed, but every time Stephanie took a look at my sprue, her kinds words were, “Just a bit more.” I was worried I would file away too much and the ring would get too big.

We used incrementally-finer sandpapers to remove the scratch marks left over from our work on the wax rings. The goal was to make our rings as smooth as possible before polishing them on the Machine of Terror.

After three hours our session was nearing its end. The file marks had been mostly smoothed out and the remaining scratches were accepted as “makers marks”. Stephanie turned on this polishing machine. The brush spins at a high speed—keep hair and apron ties away!—and polishes the rings.

I was a bit timid in the presence of this machine. I don’t often work with power tools, so I did not trust myself.

Greg gave his ring a brushed look with steel wool. I opted for a polished ring to match the shine of my engagement ring. Our rings stayed over the weekend with Stephanie and she laser-engraved “Never Adventure Alone” on the inside. Impatience got the best of us once or twice while we waited for the day we could finally wear our rings. We may have done a few “test wears” around the house to make sure the rings “fit.”

We would like to thank all of our family, friends, and fellow geeks who helped us win this amazing opportunity. We will think of you when we look at our rings. Thank you for the support you have given us and our relationship.

*All photos courtesy of Stephanie Selle, With These Rings. (Except the photograph of our ring exchange.)