Jewelry Set From Waste Wood
Introduction: Jewelry Set From Waste Wood
My last project was making a mahjong board and tile racks. From that project a piece was left of 25x61 cm and many very small pieces. I’m part of that group of people that never throws anything away, because if you throw it away you almost always need it afterwards. So the smallest pieces count for me and they all go in a jar. For this Instructable I don't use the 25x61cm plywood board but the very small pieces.
You can do fun things with these leftovers. For example, I once made an Instructable for a pendant with epoxy made from waste wood. This time I opted for beads and tiny pieces of wood. But leftovers of waste wood, and certainly the very small bits, can also be painted with food-color, for example, after which you can process them in casting resin.
I'm not giving measurements in this Instructable but ideas and how to make it, after all it's about waste.
Supplies
Small pieces of waste wood
Dremel
Dremel workstation (drill press)
Drill 3/64''
Strong clamp (to hold the small piece while drilling)
Hand jigsaw
Hand jigsaw board
Sandpaper 240
Pencil
Pliers set (for jewelry)
Scissors
1 Spang/necklace
2 Earring hooks
2 Pieces of elastic (for jewelry) of 30 cm
2 Eye pins of 5 cm
2 Crimp beads (option)
Beads
Piece of 28 gauge wire of 20 cm
Resin
Wax cord or chain
Resin mold
Food-color
Varnish or varnish glue
Step 1: Sort, Cut and Sand
I start by sorting the piece. I make a rough design by laying out the pieces for choker necklace, bracelet and earrings.
One piece of the wide pieces for the bracelet is missing a corner, I shorten the piece with a hand jigsaw until I am left with a rectangle with smooth corners. I shorten the other pieces to the same size. The narrow wood I want to use for the bracelet is too frayed on the back and I decide to remove a layer of wood with a knife. The plywood is 6 mm thick and 4 mm is left after removing a layer, this is very thin to drill so I take some extra pieces. I saw the thin pieces to the same size as the wide pieces.
The narrow wood is fine for the choker necklace, just too long, so I shorten it to the same length as the squares.
The earrings are also almost good. 972
Besides two squares I also have two small corners of waste wood, left over from the sides of the mahjong tile racks, these have a round shape on the inside. By shortening the corners, they thus somewhat get the shape of a heart.
Now that all the pieces are custom made and having the right size, I sand everything for the first time so that any splinters are gone. From here I work per piece of jewelry.
Step 2: The Earrings
First I determine where the holes should be drilled and use a drill bit as thin as possible, a 3/64'' drill bit. The hole it makes fits exactly the spang, elastic, eye pin and the beads. After the holes have been marked, I mount the Dremel in the workstation and adjust the height suitable for all the pieces. Because the pieces are very small I use a strong clamping clipper to hold the pieces. Thanks to the clip, the hole is now easy to drill without risking my fingers. I sand once more and after sanding I successively slide the square on the chain pin, then a black marbled bead followed by the heart-shaped piece of wood and finally a purple bead. The best is to close with a crimp bead, but if you don't have one, like I do, you can also bend the end with a pair of pliers to a small circle. Make sure you don't feel a sharp tip of the eye pin.
One done, one to go!
Step 3: The Choker Necklace
Again I first look where the holes have to be drilled and again I use the clip to hold the pieces, safety first. I sand the pieces after drilling. Very carefully I now remove the screw part of the spang with a pair of pliers so that everything can be threaded on it. First I measure all the pieces of wood and beads to determine how many beads should come before and after the wood. I start with 4 purple beads and then a black marbled one on which I move on to the pattern 5 purple and one black. 972