How to finish wedding ring?

[riffraff]

I made my wife a wedding band by turning a titanium sleeve and an oversized turned african blackwood sleeve. I used loctite brand all purpose to glue them together.

 

I knew at the time that it was a short term solution. She has to take it off when she is washing dishes or taking a shower because the wood isn't protected at all.

 

I just purchased a CA glue kit from Rockler woodworking because the reviews looked like it worked well with pen making kits.

 

In your opinion and experience, what is the best way to shield the wood from the elements to keep it from cracking and expanding/shrinking every time the humidity changes?

 

This is the kit I have on the way.

http://www.rockler.com/stick-fast-ca-glue-dry-box-kit

[AceHoleInOne]

CA will break down from the oils of our skin. General Finishes has a product called Wood Turners Finish and has been reported, will actually hold up better to the oils of our skin than CA glue.

 

Just a thought. 

 

 

-Ace-

[wtnhighlander]

I'm curious about this as well. CA makes a very hard finish, but I was not aware of the reactivity with skin secretions.

[riffraff]

Thanks for the reply! The rings I made have the titanium on the inside so in theory the wood wont be directly on the skin. Indirectly the ring will be contacting skin when the hand is opened and closed and such.

 

Do you think it would be wise to glue the wood to the Ti then coat the outside with the wood turners finish?

[AceHoleInOne]

Cant speak to "TI" don't know what that is?  Yes use "WTF" AKA Wood Turners Finish

 

-Ace-

[wtnhighlander]

Ti =titanium

[AceHoleInOne]

Thanks for the "TI" information. 

 

CA is not a finish, it's a glue and will react to the oils of your skin, so does furniture finishes to an extent. Some furniture finishes are more resistant than others to the oils of our skin.

 

An example would be a wood kitchen chair. The top portion of the chair from moving the chair in and out from a table. This, as it breaks down, becomes soft gummy or tacky. I have especially noticed since folks are using hand sanitizers, the finish is breaking down faster. 

 

-Ace-

[wtnhighlander]

I have used CA as a finish for some wooden jewelry pieces (pendants), and for wood guitar picks. So far it has worn well, although in neither case is the skin exposure nearly as high as in a ring. Really well on the guitar picks, as it is super hard.

[bob493]

 If you need some peace of mind, I would use an oil (BLO or TO) and dip it in and submerge it for 24 hours, then let it dry for a week (or a day with BLO) and buff it with 0000 steel wool. BLO isn't "food safe", but a little bit on a ring isn't going to hurt anything. 

 

If you're looking for a hard finish, or shiny, epoxy would be the way to go. Blackwood doesn't need sealing at all, as its very closed grained, but t he epoxy will certainly make it water proof. 

 

All of that aside, apart from getting actually wet, blackwood is naturally very strong and oily, so humidity changes won't do much to it. The finishes would only be if she wants to do the dishes or take a shower with her ring on.