How to make the DIY Concrete House Ring

Описание: Support the project here: www.archi-ninja.com/kickstarter

Using the gable roof design i'll run you through just how easy and fun it is to make a ring.

Preparing you ring:
1.a Remove the silicone mould and take off the lid. your silver piece will already be fitted around the silicone inner which protects the inside during the casting process.
1.b Take out the profile shape piece, lightly and carefully sand the internal edges using the middle grade sandpaper. This will ensure smooth side edges on the ring.
1c. Once you have finished put the silicone back in place, using the acrylic rods as a guide. Ensure this and also the silver is pressed tightly against the base piece.
1d. Leave your lid to the side, this will be placed on top after the concrete is poured.

Before you cast your ring think about what colour and texture you desire. Have a look at the colour chart on the kickstarter page this will give you a good idea of what is possible, you can of course produce something lighter or darker and anything inbetween. I will show you how to mix a medium colour concrete, keeping it simple by using an EQ part epoxy resin to concrete composite ratio and EQ part concrete aggregate to white pigment ratio.

Casting your ring:
2.a Put on your safety gloves. You will have two measure cups one for your dry mix and the other for your wet mix. Mix your dry components first as you will need to work quickly once you start mixing your epoxy and hardener.
2.b I am going to mix 5ml of concrete and 5ml of white pigment creating a ratio of 50/50. Mix well, you can pick out any larger rocks depending on how exposed you would like the aggregate.
2c. Pour the entire contents of your epoxy resin into your other mixing cup. Mix thoroughly but quickly.
2d. As I am going for a 50/50 ratio, add this into your dry mix, filling the cup until it hits the 20ml mark. Mix this well, thats your concrete composite done!
2e. Pour this into the mould, being as careful as possible, small amounts of overflow is absolutely fine. this can be wiped off or sanded back during the finishing stage. Again it is fine if this flows onto the silver, I'll show you how to clean this up during the finishing process.
2f. Place your lid over again using your acrylic rods as a guide. I like to place a weighted object over to ensure everything sits tightly.

Turn your ring after 1.5 hours, this allows even distribution of concrete particles to sink to both sides of your ring. While any air bubbles that may have formed get trapped in the centre of the ring. Once you turn your ring, let it set for another 10.5 hours. So the whole cure process in total is 12hrs.

Lifting the top piece has always been the most exciting part. After your concrete is cured remove you silicone mould. You can see that this one has overflowed a little over the edge and also onto the silver. This is not at all problematic and ill show you how to clean this up. Remove the top and bottom pieces first. Followed by the centre piece and lastly the profile shape mould.

Finishing your ring:
3.a Sand back the faces of your ring starting with the roughest sandpaper. I do this on both sides and also the edges.
3.b I then move onto the medium grade sandpaper and often leave the ring in this stage which has a nice rough finish.
3.c If you want a smoother finish then lastly move onto the lightest grade of sandpaper.
3.d Once you have the concrete finish as you desire, finish the edges of your silver by using the jewelry grade steel wool. You can also use this to polish your silver in the future and also the concrete face if you would like this to be really smooth.

And there you go! you have your very own DIY Concrete House Ring. The only component or ingredient which I didn't mention was you who embeds a unique meaning of home through its making and this will continue to evolve over its lifespan.

Thanks for watching!

More detailed instructions, along with tips and tricks will come with your DIY Concrete House Ring.