Atomic Bracelet

by Penolopy Bulnick

7.3K9332

Intro: Atomic Bracelet

After making my necklace and earrings, I decided I needed a bracelet.  I decided over the weekend how I was going to make it, but not what it would look like.  So today I figured out my design and got my pieces all cut out.  I hope you like it; I sure do, and I'm excited about wearing it tomorrow :D

I made this at Techshop in SF!

STEP 1: Supplies

There may be a few things you have to stop at Michaels to get to complete this project.  The circumference of my wrist is just less than 6 inches and the end bracelet is just the right size, so keep that in mind when deciding how many tiles you need.

Supplies:

STEP 2: Designing Your Tiles

This is how I went about designing my bracelet.  Mine is attached in eps format.
  1. Make a rectangle with curved corners that is 2 inches by 1 inch.
  2. Place a circle in each corner that is about .09 inches in diameter.  Don't put them too close to the edge or it will cut off the shape.
  3. Decide on your symbol.  I was messing around and clicked on the "Symbol Sprayer Tool" and looked through the symbols.
  4. I chose "Atom 1" from the "Mad Science" symbol library.
  5. I deleted off all the extra junk, leaving just the lines of the atom by "Expand" and "Ungroup." Or, if given the option, "Break Link to Symbol" and "Make Clipping Mask." 
  6. When Left with your image, make it white.
  7. Meanwhile, make another rounded edge rectangle that has a fill of black and a white line, or no line.  Line that up in the center of the other rectangle.  Mine was 1.72 inches by .86 inches.
  8. Make your shape fit within the black rectangle without going outside it.
  9. I set mine up like this so that the image would be what isn't etched so it would stick out more.
  10. Send it to the laser cut it and cut out how many you need.

STEP 3: Assembling

Now it is time to put the bracelet together.

To Assemble:
  1. Take your jump rings and start attaching your tiles together.
  2. When you have them all together attach two more jump rings on one end.
  3. Attach jump rings and your clasps to the other end.
  4. Done!  It isn't a lot, but it takes some patience.

STEP 4: Wear

It isn't too hard to put on, but it depends on how tight it is and how thick your pieces are.

Wear and enjoy :)

(I tend to take a lot of pictures of my finished project to make sure I get at least one good one, so I like to use my last step to show off all the pictures.)

32 Comments

mclare50 11 years ago

I want to make this for my science teacher!!!

blhack 11 years ago

Nice! A guy at our lab does similar "negative" engraves.
The result is /beautiful/.

Does this have a clasp? It would be cool to do this with "a kerf bend". Maybe I'll try that this weekend :-P

Penolopy Bulnick 11 years ago

Awesome! I would love to see it if you try it. I decided to use two lobster clasps that hook to two jump rings on the other end of the bracelet.

At first I was going to engrave the image, but I really wanted to pop and negative engraves are awesome! I will probably do that more often in the future.

A kerf bend is an interesting idea (I had to look it up). How do you think you would go about doing it with the bracelet?

blhack 11 years ago

Check it out, I did the kerf-bend bracelet this weekend :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hslphotosync/7395570946/in/photostream

Side note: MDF makes a freaking MESS in the laser D-:

Penolopy Bulnick 11 years ago

Awesome! I see what you meant now. At first I thought you wanted to combine my bracelet with that kerf-bend and I was a little confused imaging it. I think it looks fun! Are you going to post it as an Instructable for the Fashion Contest?

blhack 11 years ago

I just finished posting it for that contest! :)

I have this bracelet, and then a laser cut shirt I made with my sister... Is it okay to enter more than once?

blhack 11 years ago

I just finished posting it for that contest! :)

I have this bracelet, and then a laser cut shirt I made with my sister... Is it okay to enter more than once?

blhack 11 years ago

I think if you did a strip of kerf-bend where you have the metal rings, it might work...

I doubt it would be very durable...BUT plywood is cheap, and we both have laser cutters!

Hooray laser cutters!

Penolopy Bulnick 11 years ago

I looked at the site you showed. I understand the concept, but how would you clasp it together? Or would it be the same except different than my design?

blhack 11 years ago

Hmm...this could actually be really fun.

You could do it with lobster clasps, the way you did...

Or you could have exploit the fact that the kerf bend makes the wood "stretchy". Make one of the individual panels have a finger joint cut into it, glue it together, then just slip the whole thing over your hand.

I'm trying to get my sister in the lab this weekend to do the Fashion Contest (https://www.instructables.com/contest/fashion2012/), so I'll have to make her my guinea pig and play with your bracelet design :).

Penolopy Bulnick 11 years ago

My husband thought I was going to make it stretchy in the first place. That would be really good, because 6 or 7 tiles will be the circumference of your wrist anyway and the clasps can possibly make it too loose for some people.

Good luck i the Fashion Contest. I have a few more things I am trying to get done to enter myself :)

blhack 11 years ago

Hmm, the google image results for kerf bend don't represent it very well (at least not in the way that you do it with a laser cutter).

What I'm talking about looks like this: http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/kerfbending.png
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