Bullet Studded Leather Cuff

I made this bracelet from leather, bullet shells, and copper wire. I used tools normally for bullet reloading and also borrowed some scrapbooking supplies from my wife.

Special thanks to my friend Jeff for modeling against his 72' Chevy Nova.

The video embed doesn't seem to be working right now but here's a link the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDBvRk0gx0&list=UUuQYLUgUkv_IGLW2OFQVhSA

I used a metal ruler and razor to cut all the parts. They include:

• Cuff
• Buckle strap
• Strap loops

To round the corners I lined up a bullet shell against the edges and cut off small pieces until it was good.

Adding the strap loops was a matter of cutting more leather to length and fitting it. Keep in mind the loops have to be open enough to allow the strap to fit through. I found it easiest to glue the loops up before riveting.

Before you rivet the loops in place you have to have a hole for the rivets to go through. This is where my wife's scrapbooking tools come in (shhhhh, don't tell on me).

I used a hole cutting tool to punch holes on the inside of the loops. Next I glued the loops in place and continued the hole punch through the cuff. Finally I placed a couple clothing rivets and set them in place.

For the buckle I used copper wire I got from the hardware store. I bent the wire with pliers and sharpened the bend with a hammer. I hammered it flat and soldered the pieces in place. After some filing and polishing it was nice and pretty.

I riveted it in place using a similar method from the last step but with smaller rivets.

To cut the shells down I used my mini lathe and a bullet cutter. This tool is normally used to square up the edge of a brass shell casing before you reload it. You would normally never cut it down this far.

Once I was all the way down to the primer pocket I used a file to take the bur off the edges.

I evenly spaced the bullets out and marked the holes with a pen. Next I removed the primers from the bullets with a small punch. I expanded the primer hole with a drill so the rivets would fit and riveted them on. The scrapbooking rivets were just long enough so the primer caps would go back on with out interference.

Before the caps go back on you have to remove a small tri-pointed piece withing the cap.

I don't have any leather working tools so here's a little improvisation. This bit belongs on a Dremel tool. I placed it in a section of tubing and ran it down the edges. To make a better imprint I tapped it with a rubber hammer.

Thanks for reading.