When I was 16 years old I bought my first VW (1970 beetle) and have never looked back. Over the next 16 years I have own a couple more, and if anything the love for them has increased. Recently while working on a good friends camper, I was looking at and old key in my hand and thought, these would make great rings. So it was my friends birthday the other day and thought I would give it a go.

Please forgive the crudeness of this instructable, I have never attempted making rings before.

In the end I was very happy with the end result, as was my friend, and I think any VW enthusiast would love one of these (I made a couple....)

Enjoy.

Step 1: Materials

So, the materials for this project are pretty straight forward.

First you will need a key or several keys. I had a bunch laying around that I had picked up over the years.

you'll also need the following:

A blowtorch (or other heat source)

a mandrel (for sizing) I did not end up using mine in the end

A pipe to rap the key around (I used some scrap that was similar in size to what I wanted, but you could also use a steel Mandrel to get a perfect fit)

A hammer (I used a regular hammer for the grunt work and a jewelers hammer for some finer touches)

A pair of vice grips

Some metal polish

A dremel with a buffing attachment

Step 2: Heat It Up

Place the key under the flame of the blowtorch. Wait till it starts to a light pink, then dip it in some water (I found it to be to brittle if you tried to bend the key when it was to hot)

ATTENTION: Please make sure you use blowtorches outside or in well ventilated areas.

Step 3: Clamp and Hammer

I clamped the key to the end of the pipe (placed some cardboard between the vice grips and the key to prevent scratching) and slowly began to hammer the ring around the pipe. I had to heat it two more times to get the desired shape.

Step 4: Touch Up

Once I had the rough shape I wanted, I used the jewelers hammer to even out any inconsistencies.

Step 5: Amost There

Here you can see the rings before being cleaned up. They look pretty rough....

Step 6: Polish Up Those Rings

Use your polishing attachment on your Dremel to help with this stage. You could do this by hand, but the Dremel makes for a great finish. Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.

Step 7: All Finished

And that's it. Here is a photo of the 3 stages of the ring. The whole project took about an hour and the final result looks great. These old keys are a little banged up, but I think that adds to the charm.

I hope you have enjoyed this Instructable.

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30 Discussions

LaurenKayStudio

3 years ago

Hello, I would like to know how long did you keep the key under the blowtorch? I have the yellow blowtorch and would like to know what kind of hammer do you use for bending the keys?