I am about to make a thumb ring out of wood

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:59 am

Hello,
I ordered a hard maple wood online. I am about to make a sugakkji. I read an article, that I need to boil the wood, and dry it under the shade a few days. Is this true?
After finish making it, what kind of finish should I use for the ring?
If anybody who has made thumb rings out of wood, please share your experiences.

Thank you.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:43 am

Usually, you would use it as it is. Carve it and either seal it with varnish or oil the wood. Make sure the grain is running in a direction across the direction of pressure from the string. Don't make it too thin.

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 3:34 pm

Bede wrote:Usually, you would use it as it is. Carve it and either seal it with varnish or oil the wood. Make sure the grain is running in a direction across the direction of pressure from the string. Don't make it too thin.

Thank you so much for the reply.
The advice on grain and string is very useful. I whould have never known this.
This should work?

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:45 pm

The hole looks a little too oval to me. Most sutggakjis I've seen are a little less oval and relies on a shim to secure it rather than relying on a joint lock like normal thumb rings.

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:53 pm

Mule wrote:The hole looks a little too oval to me. Most sutggakjis I've seen are a little less oval and relies on a shim to secure it rather than relying on a joint lock like normal thumb rings.

Thank you for the advice!
Ill fix the shape of it.

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 5:16 pm

Wow, I dont know whether this maple wood is the right wood. Its so hard that I have hard time cutting into the shape. I am going to order a table vice before I cut my fingers. I had no problem with my dramel tool, and a saw when I was making thumb rings out of a billiard ball.

J. Bergkvist · Post by **J. Bergkvist** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:54 pm

I prefer to make wood rings out of root or burl. No straight grains makes it so much stronger, and even more beautiful. And I also prefere to finish of with ordinary oil.
Here is a link for a ring I made out of a birch burl.

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:06 pm

J. Bergkvist wrote:I prefer to make wood rings out of root or burl. No straight grains makes it so much stronger, and even more beautiful. And I also prefere to finish of with ordinary oil.
Here is a link for a ring I made out of a birch burl.

Beautiful ring!
Is it stronger than hard maple wood? I am using a dremel tool to make a rough shape, and it takes long time! What kind of tools did you use?
Here is a working in progress picture. I will continue making it tomorrow.

Pat Menzies · Post by **Pat Menzies** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:59 am

Just get a larger drill bit and a rat tail file. A dremel is not the tool for the rough work.

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:03 am

Pat Menzies wrote:Just get a larger drill bit and a rat tail file. A dremel is not the tool for the rough work.

I have a flat, half round, and round files. Ill use them to shape more, and make the hole, fit to my thumb.

J. Bergkvist · Post by **J. Bergkvist** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:05 pm

Joomong wrote:
J. Bergkvist wrote:I prefer to make wood rings out of root or burl. No straight grains makes it so much stronger, and even more beautiful. And I also prefere to finish of with ordinary oil.
Here is a link for a ring I made out of a birch burl.

Beautiful ring!
Is it stronger than hard maple wood? I am using a dremel tool to make a rough shape, and it takes long time! What kind of tools did you use?
Here is a working in progress picture. I will continue making it tomorrow.

Cant say. I have never worked with hard maple wood. Maple is very hard for sure. In my experience harder then birch.
But hard is not the same as strenght. as I said, the uneven structure of the grains in root and burl makes the wood very strong, even though it might be soft.
The birch burl is very easy to work. I use a sand belt for the big stuff, a drill a few mm smaller then the hole should be, and then a dremel with diffrent sanding rolls. Then of course fine gritt sandpaper of diffrent kinds for polish.
With the sandnig belt I can make a ring in a few hours. With no belt takes much more time..

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:10 pm

Could you post a link (again) for the burl ring? For some reason I can't see the link in your comment above

J. Bergkvist · Post by **J. Bergkvist** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:38 pm

Maby it's better for you to follow the link to the original URL?

http://www.nocklaget.se/pub_images/orig ... 8)_220.JPG

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:40 pm

Thanks. Sorry it was my adblocker blocking the image (and link) for some reason..

Joomong · Post by **Joomong** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:15 pm

I have been shooting with my new thumb ring, and I love it. I forgot that I posted WIP here.
This is my finished thumb ring. I just use tung oil, 3 coated.
After I have used it several days, I am thinking to use a prophane torch to burn the surface of it, make it darker.
Can I do this even I coated it with tung oil? I do not want to ruin my thumb ring. I just can not find the answer.

Thank you.