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Jump Rings Made Easy: Your Step By Step Guide

Jump rings form a central part of many pieces of jewellery and, although they may be small, your jewellery’s integrity and quality rely on them.

Master Goldsmith Mike Taylor has created his Jump Ring Former designed to save you time and money by making batches of bespoke jump rings. Check out our step by step jewellers’ guide to making sturdy jump rings; you will never buy them ready made again.

The Durston Ringer is designed to mass produce jump rings quickly and efficiently. In the Jump Ring Set, you will find a coil winder, a flexible shaft holder, 20 mandrels (2.5mm – 12 mm in diameter), a double-sided coil holder, lubricant, Allen keys, a blade and blade holder.

Step by step jump rings

The coil winder has its own holder which can be attached to the bench or held in a vice depending on your preference.

  1. The first step is to make a roll of wire coil. The coil winder has its own holder which can be attached to the bench, or held in a vice depending on your preference.
  2. Once you have secured your winder, select a mandrel to match the diameter jump ring that you would like to make.
  3. Place the wire in the hole in the coil winder and tighten up the keyless chuck to secure it in place. For smaller wires, there is no hole, so you need to hold the wire in the chuck jaws.
  4. Gently turn the mandrel clockwise, using your thumb to guide the wire, so that there is no gap between each ring. As you proceed, you can go a little faster. As you approach the end of the length of the wire, slow down and hold the wire firmly to prevent the wire from springing back and cutting your thumb.
  5. Once the coil is formed, remove the mandrel from the coil holder and clip the uncoiled end of the uncoiled wire that went through the mandrill hole. Gently slide the coil off the mandrel. You now have a smooth coil, and you need to prepare your flex shaft to turn this coil into jump rings.
  6. Next, you want to arrange your blade so that you can cut the coil to form jump rings. Take your flexible shaft and slide the shaft holder over the handpiece. Secure your blade to the shaft and slide the adjustable shaft holder back to the end of the shaft, so that the blade is in the centre of the cutting gap. With the blade in the correct location, tighten the locating screws to secure your flexible shaft in place. Check that the shaft is correctly placed by putting your coil holder lid over the blade; it should fit easily in the gap, with the blade coming through the slit down the middle of the lid.

OK, you are half way there!

  1. Secure your coil holder – you can screw it to the bench or place in a vice; this is a matter of personal choice.
  2. Place your coil in the secured coil holder, resting against the key at the end. Lubricate the coil using the lubricant provided, for a smooth cut and to preserve your blade.
  3. Using the two bolts provided, secure the coil holder lid over the coil, keeping the same tension for both screws. Be careful not to screw too tight – you don’t want to squash the jump rings.
  4. Take the flexible shaft handpiece and place it in the end of the coil holder.
  5. Using a firm, fluid motion, cut all the way down the length of the coil holder.
  6. Undo the top plate to reveal your length of jump rings, hand made by you in minutes!

The Durston Ringer is an example of a jewellery making tool that is beautiful in its simplicity, but which can save jewellers time and money. If you have a tool that you think could benefit other users, check out our Jewellery Tool competition; your improvised tool could be professionally manufactured and sold to professional jewellers around the world.