Place the ring mandrel in the vise. Using a wooden mallet, bend the ring in a circular shape over this mandrel till the two ends meet. Try the ring on the finger. Snip off the ends so that the ring fits rather tightly. This will allow for stretching the ring after it is soldered.
To put on the bezel: Bend a piece of No. 28 silver, 1⁄8 × 11⁄2 ins., around the stone. This can be done with the thumb and finger. Make the silver fit around the largest part of the stone. Snip off the ends.
Bind the two ends with binding wire, wash with borax, put a little piece of silver on the inside and heat over the bunsen burner; which is hot enough for this kind of work. Cool off in water, remove the binding wire. Each end of this bezel must be filed to fit the circle of the ring.
Bezel for ring
When this is done bind the bezel on, and at the same time bind the lower part of the ring so that the open ends fit tightly together. Solder the bezel and the open part of the ring at the same time. Wash all the joints. Place silver solder on the inside of the bezel, say one half-dozen pieces (small), round on the inside, and also one or two small pieces on the joint of the ring itself. Place the whole ring in the bunsen flame. It will all heat up about the same time. Watch the solder carefully. See that it runs all around between the bezel and the body of the ring. Cool off. Take off all the binding wire. File the inside and outside of the bottom part of the ring.
Place the ring on the mandrel and go over it gently with a steel hammer, shaping it around and making it to fit the finger. File the edges around smoothly. Go over it all with a small square file and file out all imperfections in the slots. Place a piece of fine emery cloth on a tapered round wood peg. By revolving it around this you polish and trim up the inside of the ring. Using the same emery cloth twisted around a flat stake or file, go over the outside until the ring is free from scratches.
Stone: If the bezel has been carefully made the stone should drop right into place. If by chance some of the solder should have filled up the bezel space and made it smaller, take a sharp tool like a pocket knife blade and scrape the inside of the bezel till the stone fits. Place the stone. With a smooth piece of steel or very hard wood press the bezel against the stone. The bezel is thin enough to yield to this pressing process. It will cling to the sides of the stone and prevent its falling out. Polish the ring by rubbing it with pumice stone and a piece of cloth. This finishes the work.