How to Make a Money Clip

Using a piece of sheet metal, I will show you how you can create a simple, industrial looking money clip.

Total cost of this build was less than $1 in materials. It's a very simple project that yields a pretty cool result.

I made it at TechShop.

A quick note on safety: We will be using some of the tools commonly found in a metal shop, including shears and bench grinders. When using these tools, make sure you have no loose clothing. Do not wear gloves as they can easily get caught. And, as always, wear safety glasses.

For this project, I use a small piece of 16 gauge sheet metal that I picked up at the local hardware store. Ordinarily, you wouldn't want to buy metal from a regular hardware store. They usually mark it up quite a bit. Although for a project of this size, you won't need much.

16 gauge is probably the thickest you'd want to go. I think 22 gauge would work just fine.

Begin by cutting your sheet metal to size. I used the sheet metal to cut off a strip that measured about an inch wide and 7 inches long.

Using a bench grinder, it's important to clean up the edges. This will make it safe when it's in your pocket and you go and try to reach for it! I also used this opportunity to use the wire wheel to polish it to a nice brushed finish.

Using a sheet metal brake, I make a few bends in the metal.

The first is to add a lip to one end. The curved surface makes it easy to slide bills/cards into and out of the clip.

After that, you'll just need to bend the remaining length in half. Look at the captions for the photographs for additional comments/instructions.

Keep the big bills on the outside.