This week I wanted to pass along a tip that I came across.

While teaching a wiresmith class in Jackson Michigan, one of my students showed me a bracelet mandrel that her husband made. He cut off the thin bottom portion of an ax handle. The wide upper section of the handle made a great, low cost bracelet mandrel. After we made the wiresmith bracelet, we tested out the ax handle bracelet mandrel…It worked perfectly.

A week later I took a field trip to my local hardware store in search of an ax handle that I could convert into my vary own bracelet mandrel. As I looked through the replacement handles, I came across a handle that I thought would work even better than an ax handle…a pick handle. An ax handle has a sharp almost pointed ends, the pick handle however has smooth oval shaped ends. This smooth shape mimics a wrist a lot more than an ax handle does.

So why would you use this type of a bracelet mandrel instead of buying one? The obvious reason is cost. A replacement pick handle set me back $15 (US). A new bracelet mandrel from a jewelry supply company would cost at least twice that amount. Pick and ax handles are made from good hard wood so they will take a lot of abuse. They are far lighter than a steel mandrel, this makes them a lot lighter as you are working.

Transforming a pick handle into a bracelet mandrel is fairly easy and requires very little skill. Measure from the wide end of the handle 11 inches and mark it with a permanent marker. Using a saw cut across the handle at the mark that you just made. Once the cut is complete, use sandpaper and clean up the cut edge. Finish the mandrel by measuring the circumference of the mandrel starting at the wide end. With a permanent marker mark the 7 ½ inch, 7 inch, 6 ½ inch, 6 inch, and 5 ½ inch on the mandrel to make is easier for you to shape a bracelet at the proper size.

Here’s a picture of the final product-

I hope everyone has enjoyed this little tip. Let me know what you think.

‘Til next week,

Jim McIntosh
Mackintosh Jewelry Studios
http://www.macjewels.com
email: jim.mcintosh@macjewels.com