Making a custom 2-channel ring with MLB Baseball Bat and Leather from customer's glove. Check out www.HillCountryRings.com for other custom and unique rings made from heritage/legacy woods.
Cutting the blank would remove the wood (width of the say (kerf) * 2) and it then wouldn't fit all the way around the blank (or be totally round). Then when epoxying there would be 2 gaps... Breaking keeps all the wood and makes it fit good and tight around the core.
Holds up really good. The finish I use is actually made for doing guitar repair. It seems to bond into the wood fibers, then sand/polish to a glass-like finish. Some ring makers use UV Epoxy but when I've tried it that gave a plastic-like feel and can peel off.
