Retro-Futuristic LED Filament Ring

1a. Cut one brass rod in half — this is probably too much length but you’ll want to be able to customize it to your finger size.

1b. Using the needlenose pliers, bend the rod around the halfway mark to about 90°. This will be the V shape on the front of the ring.

1c. Hold the bent rod in between the Big Wrapper Pliers, aligned with the 20mm barrel. Bend a curve outward on one side, so that it forms half of the V shape.

1d. Do the same on the other side to complete the curved V shape. At this point, you can form the brass by hand so that the straight lines on either side of the V will form a straight line with one another.

1e. Place the V in between the 20mm barrel and the other side of the wrapper pliers. Bend both sides. The wire will form a diameter slightly larger than 20mm, but this will give you a good shape to start customizing to your ring size.

1f. Using either a ring mandrel or your own finger, form the circle so that it fits your ring size.

If you’re using a ring mandrel, you could use a ring sizer kit to figure out what size is most comfortable and then use the ring mandrel to get to the desired size. I recommend sizing up at least a half size so that you can account for the thickness of the LED filament.

1g. Cut the excess brass rod, taking care to use the flat side of the cutter to achieve a flat cut.

1h. Professional jewelers will think this is crazy, but I’m going to say it: It’s OK if you have a gap in the ring! Take as much or as little time as you want to close this gap.

Now do steps 1b–1g again to get two of the same V-shaped ring.

2a. Using your third hand tool, position one V-shaped ring under the solder pad that touches the negative (–) side of the battery, roughly perpendicular to the battery holder. This can be tricky, but take your time — remember that this is an art, not a science.

2b. Brush on a tiny bit of solder flux in the joint between the rod and the battery holder’s solder pad. This will help the solder adhere to the brass rod better. Using water-based flux will help with easier cleanup since you can just rinse the ring after soldering.

2c. Heat up the joints, and wait for a bit of the flux to heat up and release smoke. When you think it’s hot enough, touch the solder to the joints themselves and not the soldering iron (as much as possible) — this will help to ensure a strong connection. Let the solder flow, and release.

2d. Ideally you’ll end up with the V shape roughly centered on the battery holder. Also, it’s OK if you don’t end up soldering the gap shut, the alignment is a bit more important.

WARNING: These LED filaments are quite fragile and will break if not handled carefully. They might still light up, but will flicker if broken.

3a. Identify the polarity of the LED filament. Each end has a solder pad, and the solder pad with a hole is usually the positive (+) side. Currently, the top piece is soldered to the negative (–) side of the battery holder, so you want to solder the ring to the pad without a hole.

3b. Slightly bend the LED filament’s solder pad and position it against the center of the V, making sure the solder pad is on the inside of the ring, and position the filament so that it’s roughly parallel with the battery holder. Take your time here, it can be a little challenging to sufficiently align the filament. Try to get the brass rod as close as possible to the LED filament so that much of the solder pad is hidden behind the brass rod.

3c. Dab a bit of solder flux in this joint, then heat both the rod and the solder pad with the soldering iron, and patiently wait for the solder to melt.

3d. Double check that the filament is aligned well enough. Remember to be kind to yourself — you’re making a unique object!

3e. Do steps 3a–3c for the other two filaments, positioned on either side of the center filament. You might consider using heat-resistant Kapton tape to help you align both sides. Keep going, you’re doing great!

3f. At this point, you can test that your solder joints are good and the orientation is correct, using alligator clips and a 3V power source. Here I’m just using two alligator clips connected to a 2032 coin cell battery to make sure each filament will light up properly.

4a. Using the same incredible maker tenacity you’ve been demonstrating this entire time, carefully position the bottom ring so that the front V touches the ends of the LED filaments and the backside touches the battery holder’s solder pad. This can be tricky; again, take your time and try not to break any of the filaments.

4b. It’s OK if there’s a small gap between the ring and the battery holder pad — you should be able to fill this gap with solder.

Dab some flux on both the battery holder’s solder pad and the brass rod. Heat up both the rod and the pad, and apply solder.

4c. Bend each filament’s solder pad outward and ensure that they stay inside the ring (behind the brass rods). Three more solder points with more flux here, and you’re done! You can use some fine-grit sandpaper to smooth any pointy bits, and steel wool to get the brass to shine.

Now you can put the battery in the holder and see your creation glow!