Getting the medal's ring round once more

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Everyone,

Perhaps this has been covered before but I couldn't find any record of it so here's my "How To" regarding a bent ring on an EK 2 made by H.J. Wilm.

When I purchased this EK from a fellow member the black on the iron core was just about gone and the ring which is marked WILM was very much out of round. I liked the look of the Iron Cross mainly because I knew it was in need of some TLC.

The first photo shows the ring after I had started to work on it. I had not thought about posting this technique before I started; so imagine it in worse condition.

I'll write up the steps as I post the photos.

Regards

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

The first step it to get a round hard wood dowel that is larger in diameter than the inside of the medal's ring. Use a piece about two feet in length, I'll tell you why as we proceed.

Next taper the dowel on one end using a power belt sander. I have a stationary sander but a portable one works as well. No Sander? Use a very sharp knife and whittle the end to a taper and finish it off with sand paper. It takes longer but also produces the correct tool. Also sand a flat spot on one side on the taper, again this will become clear as we proceed. The dark rings on the taper were made by the work I am going to describe. Remember I was working on the ring when I got the idea to post this process.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Brian Wolfe

[Brian Wolfe]

Next using a sharp wood chisel or a sharp knife make a "V" shaped groove along the taper. That flat spot I told you to sand along the taper makes cutting the groove easier. Trying to cut a groove on a round dowel can be tricky and dangerous. This groove allows a place for the ring, that is soldered on the medal, to safely rest away from the work you are going to do. It also allows almost all of the ribbon ring to come in contact with the dowel's surface, which is very important.

You'll notice I didn't take much time and care in cutting the groove as this is not a carving demonstration. :whistle:

Edited November 7, 2010 by Brian Wolfe

[Brian Wolfe]

Next slip the ring on the dowel as shown in the photo. Hold the medal back along the dowel and then turn the dowel 180 degrees so that the medal is on the bottom of the dowel. Rest the tappered end on the work bench or your fine coffee table if your wife is away and not expected home any time soon. I will warn you that this may leave a mark or two in the table so I would suggest a work bench, scrap piece of wood or even the telephone book under the end of the dowel. Otherwise you'll have to blame the marks in the table on the family dog. Bad dog! Bad dog!

Remember the two feet of dowel that I told you to use? The extra long piece of dowel acts as an addition weight or lever making what we will do next much easier.

With the ring on the dowel with one of the high spots of the deformed ring upwards lightly tap the ring with a hammer to gently convince it to bend towards the round tapper. Once this has been done rotate the ring on the dowel and tap the next high spot. Repeat this as many time as needed to return the ring to its original round shape. You can be a fussy as you want though I must admit that I stopped short of what I would call prefection as I was putting a ribbon on the medal and close enough was...well...close enough.

[Brian Wolfe]

This is the 1914 EK 2 finished and mounted on a piece of original ribbon which a fellow Canadian and GMIC member was kind enough to send me.

The black finish that looked to have been rubbed off was replaced with simple Kiwi brand black shoe polish.

Thanks for bearing with me and I hope this will help you in your own restorations.

Regards

Brian

[avadski]

Brian, thank you very much. That is exactly what I need to do with this little fellow:

..and yes, it needs new swords too.

Great guidance :cat:

[army historian]

Great job and very inventive. Cheers Captain Albert

[Brian Wolfe]

Thanks Captian Albert.

Viliam, ouch my eyes!

Good luck with correcting the ring, please keep us posted.

Regards

Brian

[peter monahan]

Brian

Very clever indeed! When I saw the post topic I immediately thought 'Oh, yes, a jeweller's tapered [whatchamcallit]', which they use to restore the other kind of rings to roundness. But of course those have no provision for the ring on the medal itself, which your groved dowel does a treat. Wery wery good indeed!

Peter

[Naxos]

Looks good Brian!

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Peter,

Thnaks.

I got the idea from the jeweller's mandrel then simply added the groove.

Hello Hardy,

Thanks.

I think the original ribbon sets it off perfectly.

Many thanks.

Brian

[Mervyn Mitton]

Very innovative, Brian. Worth remembering for the future.

[JimZ]

Looks great, but I wonder how many times returning the ring to its "O" shape will break the soldering, particularly if that's the dented area.

Would have been interesting to have seen a before pic - maybe if Avadski decides to try it out he can post some after pics??