Junk Creation

Jewelry Chains, From Paperclips?

by Joshua Johnson on June 4th, 2007

If you are anything like me, you see the world around you differently than most. Perhaps when you drive down the road, you think about what you could make out of all the “junk” just lying there for the taking. Maybe, you look for things at the thrift store not because you want to use them for their intended use, but because they might have that scrap of leather or cloth that will complete your current project. Even if these things never occur to you, read on–you may find some helpful ideas to save money, and create useful and beautiful items “on the cheap.”

I will shortly discuss the idea of “cheap” versus “inexpensive.” (Shortly, meaning in another post.) Here is where that gets a bit sticky for me.

You see, I try to feature post things in the “inexpensive” category. “Cheap” things are normally junk. However, I have an exception here, “Inexpensive” jewelry is in quotes for two reasons, the first is that the word is meant to be set apart like “cheap” in the last sentence, but the second reason is that inexpensive quality jewelry is still expensive!

What I am explaining today is how to make what most people call “Costume Jewelry.” This is not “Fine Jewelry”–you cant make that out of leavings unless you live in a basement apartment with holes in the ceiling below rich dwarves. (If your sarcastic senses are tingling, yes, that was a joke.)

Paperclips work very well for making chains, as to straight pins, copper wiring (remodeling anyone?) and any other wire thick enough to hold a shape when bent. I suggest that you NOT use wire that is much smaller than a straight pin, because it will not hold shape, and you will waste your time making something that will fall apart the first time you breathe on it.

You will need:

Pliers (two pair is soooo much better, but one would do, if use some ingenuity)
Paper clips (since I don’t know what the chain will be for, just use enough to make the number of links you need)
Steel Nail (not too big, the kind you frame houses with is great for starters…smaller is harder)
Wire Cutters (one pair will be fine–what would you do with two?)

First, straighten the paper clip out a bit. Second, place the end of the wire at about a 45 degree angle to the nail, grasp both nail and paper clip end. The paper clip might slip a bit–use some muscle, or find someone (like your spouse or boy/girlfriend) to help out. (I’ve never tried that–if it works, drop me a line.) Next, begin winding the wire around the nail in tight circles, making what looks a lot like a spring (yes, this is how springs are made).

Now you can take the spiral off of the nail. This can be tricky sometimes, because the nail is usually just a bit wider at the point than the rest of the nail. Before moving on, try to visualize the spiral as a series of rings–because that is what they will be when you are done. Now, cut into the first ring with the wire cutters and continue cutting in a straight line all the way through the spiral, or as you will soon see, series of rings.

I caution you to keep a sharp eye out (out of the way, that is), sometimes the little springlets will fly when they are cut. Gather all of the rings you cut that are left and choose your first. Now, I will give instructions using the two-pair method, if you have only one set, modify the instructions to fit your situation. (Good Luck!)

Grasp the ring with one pair of pliers–make sure to grab it pretty close to where you cut it. Now grasp the other side with the other pair, also close to where you cut it. Finally, close the gap between them by twisting the ring until the tips of wire touch. Congrats! You just made your first ring!

Now, only 50-100 more for a very simple necklace or 35-78 of them for a bracelet (numbers are an estimate)! To form a chain, repeat the above process with one addition. Once you grab the unformed ring with the first pair of pliers, put the other end through the ring you already formed. Once you form the second ring, you will have the world’s shortest chain. (If anyone knows how many links the world’s longest chain has, let me know…it would be interesting.)

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