Metal Stamped Cuff

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• 

  Step 1

  Materials
  -Metal stamps
  -Hammer
  -Flat Wire (Mine's 5x1mm)
  -Hard surface to stamp on/ Bench Block
  -Permanent Marker
  -Masking Tape

• 

  Step 2

  Additional Materials for flat wire
  -Wire cutter
  -File
  -Sand paper (400 grit)
  -Nail buffer

• 

  Step 3

  For a cuff, take the exact measurement of your wrist and subtract 1/2 an inch. That will be the amount of flat wire needed. So since my wrist is 5.5inches, my wire needs to be 5 inches

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  Step 4

  Mark the middle of your cuff

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  Step 5

  Decide on your phrase and number each character, including spacing, to find the middle of your phrase. This is where the previously marked center should be

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  Step 6

  Lay out your stamps. I prefer to start with the second half of the phrase. If you start from the first half, start from the last letter of the first half ('I' for me) and go backwards.

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  Step 7

  Stamp away! It's hard to see in the photo but you should be able to see the reflection of the metal stamp in the metal. Use that reflection to guide you when you stamp.

  Use masking tape or any tape really to make sure you stamp in a straight line.

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  Step 8

  This is what it should look like when it's done!

  If you're curious, since I didn't buy a punctuation set, I improvised with a 1.4mm flat screwdriver as the apostrophe in "I've"

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  Step 9

  Ink up your letters! If you prefer how it looks au naturel, then great! But if you want your characters to stand out more, then you're gonna have to use a permanent marker to colour them in. Just make sure that you get ink into all the grooves

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  Step 10

  Inked

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  Step 11

  Use a tissue or a damp rag to wipe off the excess ink .

  Most people use a sharpie but I find that sharpie ink is harder to get out. I used Cretacolor and this ink comes off with a tissue paper. I will admit that Sharpie's ink pops better though.

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  Step 12

  Cleaned

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  Step 13

  Since flat wire has to be manually cut, the edges are usually a little sharp and stabby. So the edges need to be rounded

  Start by snipping off the 90 edges

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  Step 14

  Round the edges by filing it in the depicted motion. I suggest holding your file in place and moving the flat wire against it.

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  Step 15

  When you're done, it should look like this

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  Step 16

  This is optional but I find that filing this edge makes it less scratchy when the cuff is slid onto the wrist.

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  Step 17

  To make it smoother, sand it on 400 grit sand paper. Don't forget the edge that was filed in the previous step.

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  Step 18

  Lastly, buff it until it's shiny

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  Step 19

  Shiny!

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  Step 20

  Now, it's shaping the cuff. You could use a bracelet mandrel or nylon jaw bending pliers but those are about $15 and $20 respectively ie out of my price range.

  First, wrap it around anything cylindrical to get the C shape in the second picture. Then hold it as depicted and apply pressure with your thumbs

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  Step 21

  And you should get this shape!

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  Step 22

  And voila, you're done! Now show off your bracelet to the world

Comments

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PineconePrincess · Roseburg, Oregon, US · 19 projects 9th June 2016

a psych and hobbit quote in 1 how to? I think yes

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joma S. 23rd March 2015

Lovely

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Berryfree · Smyrna, Georgia, US 1st February 2014

I've used the masking tape on the pliers trick in the past and found that depending on the materials you're working with.. the masking tape tends to wear quite quickly. Also, I've sometimes had the marks from the pliers still show on the metal when I've applied really hard pressure. I switched to duct tape and ,,so far,, seems to work tons better. Not only is it proving to last a lot longer but since it's thicker I don't have to worry so much about plier marks when using a lot of pressure.

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Elentine · Hasselt, Flanders, BE · 7 projects 17th January 2014

Instead of nylon jaw pliers, you can wrap some masking tape around regular flat nose pliers, if you have them. That way you don't mark the metal but it's easier to put some pressure on than with your hands

Thepotatolarcenist · 2 projects 17th January 2014

That's a really good idea, thank you so much! I was actually referring to nylon jaw bending pliers that have these curved nylon pieces specifically for getting metals in a curved shape (i'm sorry, i'm bad at descriptions. A google search could help). The masking tape tip is still highly relevant for all my wire work projects though. I don't know how many times I've ruined something with nasty pliers marks all over the wire. Thanks for sharing!

Elentine · Hasselt, Flanders, BE · 7 projects 17th January 2014

Ha I didn't even know those existed, guess we both learned something new today

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Maya 15th January 2014

They look great. Thanks for the tutorial; I like this kind of bracelet, but didn't think I could make one.

Thepotatolarcenist · 2 projects 17th January 2014

Thanks! Yeah, they turned out to be surprisingly easy.

Reply

CO + K User

December 26th, 2013

so cool ! Can you give me the name of your blog ? The link doesn't work...

Thepotatolarcenist · 2 projects 27th December 2013

Oh gosh, I'm sorry, can't seem to get it to work properly hmm. Anyway, it's thepotatolarcenist.blogspot.com

CO + K User

December 30th, 2013

Thank you ! It's to bad I live in France because shipping is so expensive...

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