I find circle packed objects compelling to look view and fun to make. Ever since my last trip to Iceland I have been harboring a minor obsession with applying patterns of circles to surfaces of various objects.

Perhaps it's the combination of the volcanic stones, the bubble chambers in caves I visited, and the magical feeling of the whole place. I don't know what it is about the environment there but it really drew me in and I can't get it out of my head.

I've given these patterns an Icelandic name - hringpoki - which means circle or ring packed or bagged. It's much more fun to say and carries a little more meaning (at least to me).

And that's what eventually lead me to this Instructable. That and Steven Gray who suggested that I look into putting some resin in one of my hringpoki objects.

I decided to make a little project out of this experiment and create a special hringpoki ring for my wife for Mother's Day - on May 10th in the US. I ran into some issues designing the ring, and then there were some production delays from the silver casting service, and then there was a PEBCAK error which delayed things until it was finally ready on June, 1st.

So, even if you don't make a hringpoki ring but some other object where you plan to use UV resin, you might want to read this anyway if only to not repeat my mistakes.

Supplies:

Things You'll Have to Make/Design

The ring - I made mine using Rhino 3D, a little ZBrush, and the service bureau i.materialise.

Things You'll Have To Buy (I Purchased all on Amazon):

UV Activated Resin- there are many to choose from. I got this bottle because the reviews were good and teh size was decent but not too big.

UV Nail Dryer - UV Lamp Light- this one is nice because it has a sliding tray and time settings.

Resin Coloring - these are decent and seem to work.

Quilting Pins - you probably have a bunch of these lying around in your sewing kit. I used these to mix the dye with the resin and apply the colored resin.

Fine Grit Sandpaper - the finer the better. (I got this at Home Depot actually).

Things I Had That Made This Easier

Bench Top Buffer - an invaluable tool to have when working with easy to polish metals like silver or bronze. A dremel will work in a pinch but these bench polishers are really fast.

Goggles - every time you work with things that spin at high speed you should be wearing goggles or some sort of eye protection. Invest in a nice pair of goggles or glasses so that you don't mind wearing them. I use this pair with side protection and bifocals built in. I used to not need that extra magnification, but it is nice to have when working on something small and fiddly like earrings or something. If you choose not to get eye protection, Amazon also sells a good number of eyepatches.