Rings on Woodsphere are made of a big variety of materials but the ones I make from the beginning are the bentwood rings, so what are bentwood rings?
Bentwood rings are made with a special method, in which wood veneer, which is basically thin sheets of wood (usually around 0.6 mm thick) is cut into strips which are bent using water/ steam. These strips are kept in this shape until dried, this causes them to maintain their bent shape.
Once dried, the veneer strips are glued (commonly with CA glue) in a spiral direction creating several layers and forming a ring.
Then, the ring is sanded to size and width and sometimes even inlaid with whichever material desired.
When the ring is in its final shape it is coated with several layers of CA and then polished, the ring is now waterproof and ready.
Watch the full process on my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HcLlEGjBJQ
Bentwood rings Vs. Wood rings
There are two main differences between wood rings and bentwood rings: The strength of the ring and the time required to make it.
In order to make a normal wood ring, you would use two hole saws and cut a ring out of a block of wood, then sand and coat it. The main problem with this ring is that the grain of the wood is cut in the process and thus the ring has two weak spots where the grain is connected (wood is very strong in the direction parallel to the grain but is weak in the direction perpendicular to the grain), in order for a wood ring that is made in this method to be rigid, the ring has to be thick or with a liner (All wood rings I sell has a steel or carbon liners so that they can be thin but still rigid).
Wood ring with weak spots marked:
In bentwood rings the grain of the wood is not cut but is rolled around the circumference of the ring, thus, no weak spots and the ring can be very thin and yet strong (most of the bentwood rings I make are 2-3mm thick and can barely break).
Bentwood ring:
Some words about veneer:
Veneer's most common use is for furniture, veneer makes it possible to create unique shapes and art making the furniture stand out. The veneer I use to make rings include walnut, zebrano, eucalyptus, ebony, mahogany and many many more.. head over to the bentwood section in my shop to see all of them.
Check out how veneer is made.