Solid Brass Wonder Woman Fidget Spinner

I wanted to make a Wonder Woman fidget spinner for my wife. So I decided to make her one out of brass. This is a relatively simple project if you have the right tools. The most difficult part is getting the bearing hole as centered as possible.

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The first thing I did was draw the Wonder Woman logo so that a bearing would fit in the middle. I had to make the logo wider than normal so that the bearing would fit and make the "wings" of the logo slightly shorter so that it wouldn't be too big to spin. Then I used an exacto knife to cut out the shape.

I wet the paper template with some water and laid it on top of the 1/4 inch by 2 inch by 12 inch brass bar. The water keeps the template in place while I spray paint it. Once the paint is dry I removed it to reveal the template. I actually had to redo this part because the template wasn't straight the first time. So I just cut out another template and repeated the process.

Using my band saw I cut out the rough shape. This was the first time I use my band saw to cut brass. I have read and seen that cutting brass on the band saw is doable but I was still a little nervous before starting. It cut the brass with no problem at all. It was faster and more accurate than using a angle grinder or a hacksaw.

Next I used my 1x30 belt sander and some small hand files to refine the shape. The rough shape I cut on the band saw was pretty close to the template so I didn't have a ton of sanding. It was more of cleaning up the saw lines left from the band saw.

It was time to drill the bearing hole. I used my drill press for this but first I made sure to find the center of the logo by measuring and then double checking to make sure I was in the center. I clamped the piece to a drill press vice and clamped the vice to the drill press table. I first made a 3/16 inch hole and then used a stepped drill bit to make the hole larger. The final hole is 7/8 inch which will accept the bearing with a little room to spare.

With the hole drilled I sanded the front and back of the logo with 400 grit sand paper to remove any blemishes. Then I used a regular pencil to draw the details on the logo. I just free handed these and went back and erased and corrected anything that didn't look right.

Time to add the details. I clamped the logo in my bench vice and used a Dremel tool fitted with a metal cutoff wheel to go over my pencil lines. This was a little daunting because I a little scared I might mess up the face of the logo. I just made sure to go nice and slow.

To add a little more character to the logo I used my belt sander to add some bevels to all the outside edges on the front and then rounded over the back edges so it would be more comfortable to hold. This was a small detail but I think it really finishes off the look.

The last thing I had to do was to epoxy the bearing in place. Since the hole was just slightly oversized I only used a tiny bit of epoxy to secure the bearing. You don't want to use too much epoxy and risk getting it on the bearing as this will ruin the bearing. I also made sure to lay the spinner down on a completely flat surface, in this instance I used a piece of glass. This is so that the bearing lays flat which will make for a better balanced spinner. I made sure to clean up any residual epoxy with some Acetone. I waited about 15-20 minutes for the epoxy to set then I picked up the spinner off the glass and cleaned the back as well this way it won't stick to the glass. Then I let it cure for 24 hours before handling.

While it is far from perfect I am very happy with it and more importantly my wife likes it. It spins relatively well and could be better balanced but considering its made by hand it is more than adequate. Thanks for taking the time to read this and if you have a comment or question please feel free to ask.

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