Large Distressed Gear for Steampunk Costumes

I love steampunk, and I love the motif of gears. However the gears from the craft store are often to small in my opinion, also they look very new. If we go with actual antiques they can be very heavy and expensive, or if you harvest from an old watch they can be down right microscopic. So today I'm going to show you how I achieve a distressed metal look using cardboard, glue, and paint.

Oh, and FIRE.

Step 1: Gather Materials!

1. Thin cardboard, like empty cereal boxes, cracker boxes, mac and cheese boxes

2. Tacky Glue

3. Black Acrylic Paint, I use the cheapest kind I could find at the store

4. Gold Acrylic Paint, I love the Martha Stewart Crafts Multi Surface Metallic in GOLD

5. At least 1 pin with a rounded end

6. Candle, mine was vanilla scented, which did make the gear smell of vanilla a little bit...

7. Lighter

8. A large flat paintbrush

9. A small pointed paint brush

10. Scissors

11. Gear template, I found mine on the internet and used powerpoint to size it to the size I wanted

12. A small container if you want the gear to be dull

Step 2: Watch the Video

Hope you have fun finding ways to use your new light weight distressed gear. My favorite thing about this project, beyond that's it's flexible, super cheap, and completely customizable, is that no one thinks it's cardboard, and their face is amazing when I show them the back of the gear.

Comments

[Mysterious_Gal]

amazing looking

[warder1701]

Awesome video. I'm a noob to the whole DIY scene and this tutorial are right up my alley. I was looking for an inexpensive way to make some gears for a steampunk book cover and this will be perfect!

[dragonfrog66]

love it

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thanks!

[Badger4700]

:) OK sorry. But casting is super simple. Cake pan, old beer or soda cans, steel can, and styrafoam.

[Badger4700]

have you ever played with cast aluminum to make these? shoot me an email! [e-mail]

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

I really don't have the space or equipment for casting, hence the cardboard and glue hack. I really prefer to not use personal email when all information needed can be conveyed through this current medium.

[gogglecrab]

As it seems like others are saying as well, I really did assume some sort of metal was used at first. Excellent texturing!

In fact not too long ago I was actually just thinking to myself "how in the hell am I going to make these?" Looks like I'm saved!

I'll be planning on making mine three-dimensional; hope to show you how it turns out!

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thank you! Glad to be of help in your quest. I can't wait for pictures of your 3 dimensional pieces.

[Tater Zoid]

Great video. How long did you let the first coat of glue dry?

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thanks! Overnight, so anywhere from 8 to 24 hours.

[Bard]

When I first saw the picture, my first thought was sandcasting aluminum. But when I saw the supplies I laughed at how wrong I was. I would of never of thought to use glue in that manner. I am half tempted to make steampunk christmas ornaments using this technique.

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

DO IT! SEND PICTURES IT SOUNDS AMAZING! Thanks for telling me I fooled you, it is the biggest compliment with this project.

[BLR_RAVI]

some beautiful people make even simple things look cute...you are one..

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thank you, although the woman in the picture is actually a friend of mine. I'm sure she'll appreciate the compliment though.

[watchmeflyy]

Awesome!

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thanks!

[loompiggytutorials]

This is so cute! I love it=)

[MsSweetSatisfaction]

Thank you!

[Danger is my middle name]

Nice job! I love the steampunk look but big gears (besides being hard to find and expensive) are heavy!