Allow me to introduce the stylish and complex Dragon Skin Bracelet :3) Made from silver plated copper wire woven through hand cut 1/4" copper pipe rings, this bracelet is sure to catch any eyes you walk by. I wanted this bracelet to incorporate old world metals and construction with modern processes, and some of my own chain mail inspired details. I hope you enjoy it and please follow me on here and my website for future projects! www.traesoom.me

Step 1: What You Will Need

You will need the following items before the fun can begin:

Pliers (something like needle nose or chain nose)
Wire cutters
Round Nose Pliers
20 gauge Silver plated copper wire
1/4in copper pipe (found in the plumbing section of your local hardware store)
Pipe cutter

Step 2: Start Cutting!

Use the pipe cutter to cut the 1/4in copper pipe into roughly 1/8in sections. They don't have to be exact, in fact variation makes it look more unique and bold. I found cutting into the pipe with smaller adjustments resulted in a cleaner cut. Play around with it until you get the cut you want, and you may want to clean the ends with a file.

Step 3: Segment of the Dragon Skin: Part One

The following steps will show you how to make one segment of the Dragon Skin Bracelet :3) Start out with a roughly 4in length piece of copper wire. Place in between the round nose pliers up against the back. Clamping the wire in place, bend both sides of the wire down. Remove the wire and move it to the outside of the pliers. Form the wire partially under the bottom of the pliers and straighten the wire back out on both sides. These instruction are kinda tedious, so I tried to include a photo for each step. Almost done, just a couple of more steps!

Step 4: Segment of the Dragon Skin: Part Two

Rotate so the wire ends are facing up and feed a copper ring on. Bend the wire ends 90 degrees in opposite directions. Using the round nose pliers, bend the wire ends 90 degrees up so there is enough room for the other two copper rings to slide on.

Step 5: Segment of the Dragon Skin: Part Three

Place one of the copper rings on one of the wire ends and slide down alongside the first ring. Bend the wire end 90 degrees toward the other side. The ring can have some movement, but wrap so movement is limited. Repeat with a third ring on the other side. Use a pair of pliers to further compress the wire around the two outer rings. Wrap the wire ends around the base of the wire loop and cut the excess off. Use the round nose pliers to bend the loop 90 degrees to one side. Squeeze the base of the loop closer together, to allow room for the connection. Good news, you have just completed one segment of the dragon skin! Even better news........

Step 6: Connecting the Dragon Skin

...... you get to make many many more! But that's okay, who says work can't be fun. I ended up completing mine over a couple of weeks, working on a couple segments at a time. When you have enough, begin connecting them together by overlapping the loops. Continue building and adding segments until you have enough to wrap your arm. The cool thing about this design is that each additional segment locks in the previous segment. So the assembly is kinda easy.

Step 7: Connecting the Ends: Tail

For this step, the tail end segment (the first segment in the assembly) has been removed to improve clarity. Unfortunately you cannot do this since it is locked in to the chain, but it's not difficult :) Start by creating a loop (Step Three: Segment of the Dragon Skin: Part One) and feeding it through the center copper ring as shown. Bend the ends 90 degrees in opposite directions and twist around the sections between the copper rings. Place the loop around the bottom part of the round nose pliers. Pinch the base of the loop to create a light bulb shape and bend the loop 90 degrees ( same direction as the first loop) . This lightbulb shape will help to keep the bracelet from disconnecting, plus it ads a nice touch to the look. The last two photos show what this piece looks like connected in the chain.

Step 8: Connecting the Ends: Head

For the end piece repeat step seven, accept cut the wire a little longer. Hook the segment in place using the first loop, feed the wire ends through that loop (feed from other side), and bend the loop over the center ring. Wrap around the sections between the copper rings, and wrap the final section of wire ends around the base of the loop (the loop you just added) to create a spiral design. Then form the lightbulb shape and bend 90 degrees in the same direction of the bottom loop.

Step 9: Put It On!

The title speaks for itself. Congratulations, you've built your very own Dragon Skin Bracelet! Wear it with pride, knowing you put in the effort and love to make it. Hope you enjoyed this Instructables and please add comments and photos of your own work. Stay tuned for future projects and check out www.traesoom.me :3)