Goldsmithing Skills and Tools - Mandrels

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

Being able to achieve a perfectly round ring, or oval bangle, is incredibly important in jewellery. And it has to be the right size, shape and depth too – so many things to think about! This is where mandrels come into their own!

A ring mandrel is a slightly tapered length of round steel which precious metals can be forged or shaped against. This forging is carried out by hitting the metal with a hammer while the metal is supported by the mandrel. This hammering action is what makes a lot of the noise in a jewellery workshop!

A ring is made by piercing out the correct length and width of the right metal from sheet or bar. This length is bent loosely into a ring shape, with the two ends touching. The two ends are then soldered together (we’ll cover soldering further down the line…). Once the two ends are joined, this loosely round shape needs to be made beautifully and perfectly round – this is when we reach for our ring mandrel and our hammer (hammers, in all their glory, will be studied in our next blog post).

The material of the hammer is important. If you forge a ring with a steel hammer, the metal in the ring will stretch as well as being shaped every time it’s hit – maybe that’s what you want!? As steel is harder than the precious metals that we work with, the ring will yield rather than the steel. If you don’t want to stretch the ring, but do want to knock it into shape it around the mandrel, then it’s better to opt for a nylon or rawhide mallet. This will move the metal without altering its structure – i.e. it will make a ring round, without causing the metal to also become thinner.

Ring mandrels are round for rings (obviously!) and the tapering is very structured in relation to different finger sizes. When it comes to bangles, the mandrel can be oval or round. Here in Stonechat Jewellers we tend to make oval bangles, as they fit and sit better. A bangle mandrel is shorter and much wider than a ring mandrel, in keeping with the range of sizes required.

Given the variety of convex curves, from shallow to deep, available to goldsmiths on the ring and bangle mandrels, it’s not unusual to see a craftsperson using a mandrel to help shape another piece of jewellery – they are incredibly useful!

For a further glimpse of mandrels at work, have a look at the bangle making demonstration that world renowned jeweller and silversmith Séamus Gill gave in our shop – now there’s a man who knows how to get the most out of his mandrels! He also gives us an excellent feel for how much you can do with hammers. We’ll be looking into this more next time around!

Happy viewing!

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