Hello all,

I have seen bits and pieces of this discussion scattered throughout other threads, however I have not seen anything substantial all in one place. I have searched several times and unless I am entering the wrong search terms, little is coming up. Rather than hijack someone else's thread, I thought it most considerate to start a new one.

I will be doing a ring (large ring, not finger ring) and rope routine as part of my kid show at a Halloween party this weekend. I am using a linking ring for the ring. The problem I have is that though the diameter of the ring is nice and large (8 inches), the ring is not very thick. It is rather heavy and uncomfortable to hold for too long in one position and cramped fingers are no fun for magicians It would be nice to find a thicker (and lighter) ring to work with. Unless I find a substitute locally, I will use the linking ring because it is nice and big and I don't have time to order one and have it shipped to me before the show. I have searched several stores around town (JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Home Depot, Lowe's, Dollar stores, Target, toy stores, etc.) and have turned up nothing useful. The closest I got was a two-inch steel O ring from Lowe's but it is too small in diameter to really be effective. I will list some of the ideas I had for rings and would very much welcome any ideas you all have or have had success with in the past. Hopefully they can be found locally so if you lose one you can replace it quickly AND you can actually hold the thing in your hand and see if it suits you before buying it.


I tried searching for and failed miserably at:

1. Bracelets... it isn't the 80's anymore and these are no longer stylish here in the states, so you won't find them.
2. Plastic, metal or wood macrame rings... it isn't the 70's anymore and this is no longer stylish here in the states, so you won't find them.
3. Purse/bag handles... found some flat wooden rings, but these didn't feel good to me in the store.
4. Harness rings... the guy at the local horse supply store told me "it's the kind of thing you only find on the internet these days."
5. Towel rings (for hanging towels in the bathroom)... found out they are not a solid ring.
6. Wooden craft rings... I couldn't find them anywhere around town, other than the way-too-small two-inch "cabone" rings.
7. Dream catcher hoops... nobody around town carries them.
8. Ring toss hoops... it is fall and nobody has summer games, plus I would have to buy the whole game just to get a ring.
9. My perfect plastic version that I bought from Aldo Colombini years ago... I was stupid and let my kids play with it and lose it several years back!

What have you all tried that worked out really well as a large ring for ring and rope routines, preferably that was found locally? Hoping this becomes a useful thread for guys or gals in a pinch.

Fritz,

The ring I use came from Reefscuba.com. 3" brass. (Couldn't find a 4"). Smooth, no seam. Quick delivery, but probably not by this weekend! Very happy with it. Shows well, works well.

I slip it on my wrist during routine a couple of times - a little tight, but works. 4" would be perfect if anyone know where I can get one that size with the reef scuba quality ....


Hudson

I was thinking I would be happiest with a 4 or 5-inch ring. The one on Colombini's site is a 5-inch ring but it is plastic and not one of the pretty metal ones like you are talking about. The metal looks really nice, I think. What sizes does everyone else prefer?

The last time I was in a Tractor Supply store they had a nice selection of harness rings.

Murf

As do Home Depot and Lowe's, in the same area as chains & fasteners. You will have to dig through them all to find the most seamless, and they won't be perfectly smooth usually, but I use a 3 inch nickel plated ring every day from HD.

I was only able to find a 2-inch nickel plated ring from both Home Depot and Lowe's. It was in the chains and fasteners area, close to the ropes (convenient!)... but nothing over two inches Maybe I will go look again because I didn't see any loose ones. Only in packages. Thanks for the advice, Motley Mage!!! I will also check for a Tractor Supply in my area, Murf. Great suggestions.

For a light weight and easy to handle 9"-10" ring consider a braderd branch one from a craft store.

These are accepted as solid by an audience as there is no way they can be undone or have a separation. You can also use foam rings wrapped in ribbon but they may be too light for some effects.

Never thought about using something flexible (if that's what you are describing). I know there are quite a few linking rope routines out there which I think would be the same thing. I actually got a 4-inch metal ring today. It was part of a broken set of close-up linking rings that the owner of my local magic shop had. He offered to sell me one of the good rings... very nice of him!

I also ordered a 3.5-inch ring from a company called Strapworks in Oregon. 3.5-inch O ring powder coated in red cost me less than $6.00 which includes shipping. We'll see how it looks when it arrives. Keep coming with the helpful ideas since not every magician has a machine shop, metal supplier or magic shop in their town!

Go to any store that sells sewing goods, fabric etc. Look for embroidery hoops. They come in various sizes and colors and in plastic or wood. The interior ring is what you should check out. The interior ring is very light weight and 'do the trick' for you.

Doug

I think it depends very much on the moves you want to make. Some of them just won't work on a 6" ring. I find a 4" one the best compromise.
You say you looked at bag handles but they were flat. There are round ones out there, eg these
http://www.knituk.com/ourshop/prod_32333......tic.html
Those ones look like wood but are plastic; there are also matt black plastic ones which look OK. They are seamless. I've never seen metal ones

When looking for macrame hoops at Meijer, the employee helping me led me to the embroidery hoops. You are absolutely right, Doug... the inner hoop is a solid ring of plastic with no clamp on it like the outer hoop has. There is a slight ridge on the edge of it (to keep it from falling through the outer hoop and messing up your needlepoint work) that could be sanded off. The reason I didn't use this idea (which is a GREAT idea, by the way) is that the hoop itself has square sides... what I mean is if you took a "square" dowel rod, (like the shape of Tenyo Fortune Sticks, only a lot longer) and made it into a circle by joining the ends of it... that's what the inner hoop looks like. I passed on these because I wanted something rounded, not squared off although if it didn't bother you, you could probably use it just fine. It seemed flexible but not so much that it wouldn't work for a ring and rope routine, I think. If my props were missing or stolen or I was otherwise in a pinch, this is a good alternative to a pro ring.

By the way, the powder coated O ring I custom ordered just yesterday, shipped out last night! Talk about fast. I will let you guys know the quality when it arrives.

Unbelievably, I received my ring in the mail today! I ordered it just two days ago and with First Class shipping they got it to me from Oregon (I am in Ohio) in two days. Pretty amazing service, I think. The ring looks great. The only thing someone might have a problem with is the weld spot where the ends of the ring are joined. It is not something I care about because if you choose to pass the ring out for someone to examine, though they will see the weld spot, they will realize that the ring cannot be opened and there are no gaps in it. Otherwise, you have to be within a few feet to even see it. Just thought I would let you guys know just in case you are looking for a ring to add to your rope work. The 3.5" size is perfect for ring and rope routines... big enough to be seen, but not too large that it is unwieldy like a linking ring could be. I would recommend Strapworks (I have no affiliation with them whatsoever!) to anyone looking for a colorful (or just bare metal) ring, fantastic service and an extremely reasonable price. The total cost was less than $6. With as fast as I received this thing, I guess it doesn't matter whether you can find something locally or not.

I bought two saddle girth rings years ago, one in brass and one in chromed steel. They are about 3 1/2" diameter and about 3/8" diameter wire. The size sound small, but they work great for me. You should be able to find them at Tandy Leather, or any other saddlery supply store. I bought mine from a guy who was a retired custom saddle and tack maker.

This is a great idea. I think the 3 1/2" size is perfect. I will see if there is a saddlery supply store in my area for this purpose. I would still like to have a ring that doesn't have any seams at all, though I love the one I ordered last week. Saddlery supply stores is something I hadn't thought of. Thanks for the suggestion.

Has anyone found a 3" to 4" inch ring that looksa shiny gold or silver not too thick. please message me magicwalsh@gmail.com thanks.

It just so happens that I'm working on the same problem right now, myself. I love the size of the Colombini ring, 5" diameter and 5/16" width. It displays well without my fingers blocking the view and it slides on the wrist well. But it's too light for some of the best tossing effects. I tried other rings, but then are hard to handle at the fingertips without spinning. Soooooo, I'm having a guy make one for me out of brass and the sides somewhat flattened for easier handling. I expect to get it next week. I'll tell you how it turns out.

David

Looking for a hsrd plastic 5" ring.

https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Large-Inch-P......1DMTM5QW

PropDog has seamless, metal rings in various sizes
https://www.propdog.co.uk/index.php?rout......l%20ring