Copper Bandaid Ring

There's nothing that tickles me quite like art or jewelry that imitates ordinary objects from everyday life. I remember seeing a necklace that was a sterling silver bread tie tag. I was delighted that someone saw something simple and mundane and turned it into wearable art. Following this idea, I wanted to take a bandaid that one might temporarily wear on their finger for an injury and turn it into an creative accessory that could be worn anytime!

Metals:

-Copper

-Aluminum or Nickel

I found some handy 24 gauge metal sheets at Michael's. It included copper, brass, and nickel plated copper. The nickel sheets are almost useless because any cutting or sanding completely removes the silver color and then it's just more copper. Because of this I only used the copper sheet from the kit and opted to buy aluminum stamping blanks for the inside pad.

The aluminum blanks are for making rings and were already the perfect width for our bandaid!

I was able to cut the 24 gauge sheet copper and aluminum ring blanks with sturdy scissors.

Detailing tools:

Anvil or other mostly hard and flat striking surface

Hammer

Nail

Stamping letters 1/8" (optional)

Shaping tools:

Ring mandrel or wooden dowel

Pliers

Plastic or rubber mallet

Finishing tools:

Flat file

Sand paper

Rotary tool with buffing wheel + buffing compound

Miscellaneous:

Scissors

Double Sided tape or regular tape

Clamp

Glue that works on metals (E-6000, JB Weld, epoxy, super glue, etc)

Clear nail polish

Sounds like a lot but I tried to keep this project simple with tools that could be substituted for things easily found around the house. Feel free to use more advanced techniques if you have the knowledge and tools to do so.

I have provided a couple of different sized templates since everyone's hands are unique. After printing the page cut out your bandaid of choice and see if fits your finger. The metal thickness will make it fit a little smaller than the paper. Also consider these rings will be left "open" and can be adjusted easily so it just needs to be close.

After fitting your ring, use some tape to adhere it to the sheets of metal. Double sided tape is the easiest but contact cement or regular tape can work too.

Using a solid pair of scissors, cut out the bandaid and inside pad being sure to follow your template.

Using the hammer and nail, follow the template to punch in the dot pattern. I tapped the nail twice each time to make sure my marks went deep enough. Don't hit too hard and go through the metal!

It's optional to add text to the inner pad, I just thought it was prefect to add a secret little message inside the ring.

I didn't go crazy to make my ring flawless but it's nice to clean it up and smooth it out.

Hit the edges with a flat file to clean up the scissor cuts and get the final shape as uniform as possible. A little variation is fine, it is just a bandaid after all.

Sand the pieces with some rough sandpaper and then some fine sand paper (especially the edges, really want to make sure they are smooth to the touch). I used 500 grit and then 1000 grit.

After everything is smooth and clean, we're going to glue the pad to the bandaid. I used E-6000 since it's flexible. You could try epoxy, JB weld, or super glue. The E-6000 will need to be clamped and left to sit for 24hrs before bending.

The two layers together make it hard to bend the ring evenly. It's easiest to start shaping the curve of your ring with pliers. My pliers have plastic grips to prevent the metal getting scratched up. If you are using regular pliers, try to wrap them in cloth or a a few layers of tape to help prevent damage to your ring.

Once you get the curve of your ring started its time to round it out with a mandrel. I used a steel ring mandrel but a wooden dowel of about the right size or smaller will also work.

Using a plastic or rubber hammer to avoid marring the metal, tap your ring until it gets nice and round. Rounding out the ring will probably make it wider and more open. Just keep tightening up the ring with the pliers and then tap it round again. Trust the process. After enough back and forth it'll take shape. Don't forget to take breaks to fit it on your finger to check the size.

Be sure to really tap around where the pad is sitting underneath to get the copper to fold around it and make that shape appear. That really makes the bandaid look authentic! You can even tap where the ends overlap (once you've shaped it to the correct size) to really get extra dimension.

If your glue fails during the shaping process, just glue it in again.

After the ring is shaped and fits your finger comfortably we'll do a quick polish and seal.

I used a rotary tool with a buffing pad attachment and some fine polishing compound. I polished most of the copper to a high shine except for where the pad stands out from the bandaid. I left that a matte/sanded finish to help it look like a lighter color, just like a real bandaid! I also left the aluminum unpolished because it reads easier without it being shiny and it looks more like fabric that way.

The final step is sealing the ring so the copper doesn't turn your finger green.

You'll want to wash your ring with soap after polishing because the buffing compound is slightly acidic and will tarnish your metal and interfere with the sealant.

I used clear nail polish to seal mine, it won't last forever but it's easy to touch up later. Other options would be clear coat spray paint or ProtectaClear.

Enjoy your new unique bit of jewelry that embraces the beauty of the everyday object!

It's a subtle look, but all the details are there if someone inspects it closely enough. A bandaid is meant to be unassuming after all!