Brass Wire Crystal Pendant
by Modern Rustic Workshop in Craft > Jewelry
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Brass Wire Crystal Pendant
In this Instructable I will be showing you how to create a brass wire crystal pendant. I utilized quite a few different techniques to reach the final result, and I am elated with how it ended up. I will be showing you a few different way to create this same project depending on the tools you have, so regardless of your experience or workshop size, you will be able to complete this project!
Tools and Materials:
• Brass wire
• Solder
• Brass
• 3D Printer or Brass Sheet
• Necklace chain
Making Wire Form
To make the actual wire base of this project I had used a test tube, but you can use any thin tube you may have or even strap the wires together with rubber bands. The first thing you need to do is take your selected wire, and cut varying lengths of the wire. Then bundle them up in whichever method is best for you, and use solder or another adhesive to bind them all together. I used a test tube which is heat resistant so I could solder the ends of the wires together, but I also tested one which just used an incredibly strong glue, and that worked as well. Obviously, the solder will be a much stronger alternative, but you can do whatever works best for you!
Making Crystal Cap
To make the cap, I had two options. The first is the 3D print the cap, sand it, and then paint it in a brass paint, and the second is to create it out of a sheet of brass, and bend it into a crystal shape.
To 3D print, I first designed an octagon in Fusion 360, and scaled it to the appropriate size to my wire bundle. I then chamfered the edges to the extent where they all met at a single point. I then used the Shell tool to hollow out the inside of the model, created a cavity in the middle with 1mm walls. I still needed a hole in the bottom, so I then used the Extrude command to push the bottom of the crystal back into the bottom of the cavity to reveal an opening. From there I had the exact model I wanted, so I exported it from Fusion 360 into my slicer. I then sent it to my printer to have it created. Once finished, I sanded down the edges to get rid of the ridges from printing, and then primed it and spray painted the cap to match the exact color of the brass. To fit the cap, I used an incredibly strong adhesive, and there is no way that it would ever come off!
To make the crystal out of brass sheet, I first designed my hexagon crystal shape, and transferred it to the brass stock. From there I used a fine toothed metal hacksaw to cut out the outline (solid lines), and also score the metal along all of the bends (dotted lines) to make it easier to get clean seams. I then clamped the edges in my vice and slowly bent the sides equally until they all met perfectly. You will have to file all of the cut edges to allow the sides to all meet up perfectly, but from there you can solder all of the seams together from inside the cap, and sand off any solder which leaked out onto the outside of the crystal cap. You can then use more solder to fix the brass cap onto the brass wire base.
To 3D print, I first designed an octagon in Fusion 360, and scaled it to the appropriate size to my wire bundle. I then chamfered the edges to the extent where they all met at a single point. I then used the Shell tool to hollow out the inside of the model, created a cavity in the middle with 1mm walls. I still needed a hole in the bottom, so I then used the Extrude command to push the bottom of the crystal back into the bottom of the cavity to reveal an opening. From there I had the exact model I wanted, so I exported it from Fusion 360 into my slicer. I then sent it to my printer to have it created. Once finished, I sanded down the edges to get rid of the ridges from printing, and then primed it and spray painted the cap to match the exact color of the brass. To fit the cap, I used an incredibly strong adhesive, and there is no way that it would ever come off!
To make the crystal out of brass sheet, I first designed my hexagon crystal shape, and transferred it to the brass stock. From there I used a fine toothed metal hacksaw to cut out the outline (solid lines), and also score the metal along all of the bends (dotted lines) to make it easier to get clean seams. I then clamped the edges in my vice and slowly bent the sides equally until they all met perfectly. You will have to file all of the cut edges to allow the sides to all meet up perfectly, but from there you can solder all of the seams together from inside the cap, and sand off any solder which leaked out onto the outside of the crystal cap. You can then use more solder to fix the brass cap onto the brass wire base.
Attaching Necklace
To attach the necklace chain, you will need to drill a hole into the brass or 3D printed cap, then thread your chain through one side and out the other. It is incredibly simple to attach the brass pendant onto your desired chain, and I love the way it looks when it is all finished and attached.
Final Thoughts
Overall this project turned out substantially better than I had expected, and was really excited when I finally finished the completed product. The cap made from the brass sheet obviously looks much classier, however both options are really awesome in my opinion! I really couldn’t be happier with how this had turned out, and I like even more that people with all different talents sets and tool collections will be able to complete this. Anyone from a professional jewelry maker to a weekend hobbyist is capable of completing this with a little of ingenuity. Thank you!
Brandon (17)
Brandon (17)