Make Good Things

Flower Bracelet Tutorial

Here are Karen’s instructions:

STEP ONE:  Cut out your base discs for the 3 large flower links. I used 26 gauge nickel silver. Follow my simple disc cutting technique to maximize your material.

Position the disc cutter on top of a steel surface (Image #1). Slip your sheet metal into the slot on your disc cutter and move it while you look straight down through the hole. Move it around a little to assure that you will have a complete disc.

Then, use a felt tip marker to trace the edge of the disc cutter onto your metal sheet (Images #2 & #3). Doing this lets you line up your metal if the sheet should shift while you place the disc-cutting peg into the hole. No more bad discs and wasted material!

Cut each disc with one swift and powerful whack of the hammer (Image #4).

My 1” peg fits VERY snug in my disc cutter (Image #5), and this can be tricky to remove after you have created your disc. Here’s how I solve this problem: After I know that the disc is cut, I pick up the whole set with the steel peg in place. I position everything over a soft cloth surface to protect the edge of my steel disc cutter when it falls through. Using a small wooden dowel and my hammer, I tap and budge the steel disc peg all the way through the hole (Image #6 & #7).

 Proceed to cut out two more discs (Image #8)

TIP: I am very careful with the edges of my disc cutter plate and punch pegs. I lubricate my pegs before each use with burr life. I also store my set with a silicone packet in a box with the pegs standing up in their respective holes.

STEP TWO: Texture your discs.

I LOVE my circle headed texturing hammer. Place your disc on a steel surface and turn it as you hammer with your favorite texturing hammer. Stop when you like the way it looks.

STEP THREE: Drill the holes.

 

There are many ways to find the center of a disc. I’m including a template (below) that you can print out and use (Image #9 & #10). Equidistant lines are marked to use as guides if you want to mark 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 holes around the edge. Simply place your disc in the center of the template, and use a ruler to line up along the lines marked “4”. This will give you 4 equidistant points along the edge of the disc. Use a permanent marker to draw two intersecting lines on your disc. You can also use a wood-working tool called a “center finder” (Image #11). It is quick to use and pretty darn accurate.

Position your disc on the V-shaped shelf, then use a permanent fine tip marker to draw along the plastic edge straight across the back side of your disc. Proceed to turn your disc 90 degrees (so the line you just made is now horizontal), and make another line. The intersection is the center.

Use a center punch to mark the location of every hole you need to drill (Image #12). This technique will give you a little divet for your drill bit to sit in. Assuring your drill bit won’t skid across the surface of your piece when you engage the drill. My design requires a center hole for the tube rivet and two holes on either side for the chain links. You can also use hole punching pliers if you are not comfortable using a drill.

Keep in mind that your tubing needs to fit snugly in your hole. I suggest using a drill bit that is one size too small for the tubing, and ream out the hole with a needle file to fit the tube.

I use a Twist Drill bit gauge plate to check my tube sizes (Image #13). Each hole has a corresponding twist drill bit size marked beside the hole. For this project, I used 3/32” copper tubing and a size 42 Twist Drill bit.

I always drill from the back side. Grip your disc upside down in a ring clamp, or secure it with a clamp to your work surface when you drill your holes, and always protect your eyes with protective eyewear while drilling (Image #14). Drill all the holes in your other components as well (Image #15).

Use a needle file to remove any roughness inside each hole.

I used flush cutters to snip out the tube rivet that was holding my brass rose flower layers together (Image #16). That component was too narrow to fit onto my tubing the way it was made.

STEP FOUR: Make tube rivets

Use a polishing cloth to remove the marker from the back of your discs. Load each component onto your tubing (Image #17) and make a mark with a permanent marker on your tubing so you know where to cut the tubing for your tube rivet (Image #18). I leave myself about 1/32” of an inch on either end.

Remove all your components from the tubing and load your tubing into the V shaped groove of a tube cutting jig (Image #19). This tool helps you make consistently sized tube rivets if you need to make more than one.

Loosen the screw to slide out the stopper end. Line up your mark with the blade slit, and bring the end stopper guide up against the end of your tubing. Tighten the screw to hold it in place to cut more tubes of this exact length, without having to measure and mark each piece.

Flip the thumb guard over the tubing and use a jeweler’s saw loaded with a 2/0 blade to cut a piece of tubing (Image #20). Always make sure your blade is lubricated with cut lube or bee’s wax to it does not break.

It is critical that your tubing be the right length for a rivet. If it is too long, it will bend, and you will have to start over again.

Prepare your tubes for riveting. Stand each tube on end, holding with a pair of chain nose pliers (Image #21), and use a flat file to make sure it is flat on both ends (Image #22).

Load and center your components onto the piece of tubing and use a universal eyelet setter and hammer to flare out each end of the tubing (Image #23, #24 & #25). I give each side a couple of light taps while holding the eyelet setter perpendicular to my work surface.

Then, use the rounded end of a chasing hammer to finish the rivet by lightly tapping the edge of the tubing in a downward, outward, swiping manner (Image #26). Rotate the disc around after each tap. After two or three taps, flip the piece over, and repeat on each side until you like the way it looks on both sides.

STEP FIVE: Wirework

I used 14 gauge brass wire, a bezel mandrel, chasing hammer and Jax Brown Patina to make my own clasp.

Cut a 6 inch length of 14g brass wire with flush cutters. File the ends smooth.

Measure 3” and bend the wire at a right angle. Bend it again to make a “neck” at about 1/4” and wrap the wire once around your mandrel (Image #27). Slip the wire off the mandrel, wrap the tail end around the “neck” and use the flat end of a chasing hammer to flatten the end of your loop (Image #28). Continue wrapping the wire around the “neck”, snip off some wire if you need to, and flatten the tail with your chasing hammer (Image #29). Finish the wrap with the flattened end of the wire. Flatten the other end of the wire with your hammer (Image #30). Use a file if you need to, to make it pretty and rounded on the end.

Fold over the end of the wire and pinch it down as tight as you can (Image #31). Grasp the end with chain nose pliers and role it upwards to make a coil (Image #32).

Use the same technique to make a receiving “eye” end for your hook (Image #33). You should need about 5 inches for that piece. Give yourself a little more, and work out from the middle of the wire. Use your chasing hammer to give it some texture. I make my loops so they are flat on one end, and standing up on the other, then my bracelet will sit properly on my wrist.

Dip your hook and eye pieces in a bit of Jax Brown Patina for 20 seconds, rinse off in water, and use a polishing cloth, to give it the perfect finish. I use old laundry detergent cups for my patina colors.

STEP SIX: Assembly

Lay out your chain and open some links. Play around with lengths to fit your wrist. Attach your clasp and enjoy your new bracelet (Image #34).

Circle Template:

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