Garbage Disposal: 1. Ring: 0

Garbage Disposal Aftermath. (1 of 3)

(2 of 3)

(3 of 3)

Step 1: Reshaping

I used pliers to force an opening big enough for the ring to fit on a ring mandrel.

Ring Mandrel

Just large enough to slide on the mandrel

Hammer Time

Once the ring is on the mandrel, I am able to use a goldsmiths hammer to see quick results. As I am hammering on the ring, I pull the ring tighter on the mandrel to restore its round shape.

Roundness restored!

Now that the original shape has been restored, I can focus on taking care of the gouges and dings.

Step 2: Refurbishing

I used a ring file to take out surface scratches, as well as restoring edges.

Improvement

It is important to note that filing removes a bit of material from the ring. I wanted to make sure that thinning was minimized, so filing was only used for scratches and dings that were not very deep.

Gold filling deeper gouges.

In order to preserve the integrity of the ring, I filled the deeper gouges with 14kt gold using a hand torch.

Step 3: Replace Broken Diamonds

Unfortunately the two diamonds in the center did not survive the crushing blades of the garbage disposal.

Broken Diamonds Removed

I popped out the two broken diamonds and prepared to replace them.

New Diamonds Set!

I replaced the broken diamonds with the same size and clarity of the previous ones.

Step 4: Polishing

This diamond felt lap restores the crisp edges on the sides of the ring.

Buffing Wheel

This buffing wheel completes the polishing processes, restoring the high polish of the ring.

Restoration Complete! (1 of 3)

(2 of 3)

(3 of 3)

This was a fun project for me as it is not often I get to work on something that has been destroyed that badly. The gentleman was very pleased to have his wedding ring back good as new!