Spider Pendant

A few years ago I was at the construction site for a casino. Lying next to a dumpster was this piece of black granite. My guess is it was cut from a counter top for plumbing or electrical access. I picked it up thinking it would make for a good paperweight. Lately it’s been looking like a spider.

I used a piece of 22 gage sheet metal and some 16 gage wire to make this. You can by this stuff at any home improvement store. Happy Halloween.

I mounted a diamond cutting disc into my drill dress. You can find this cutting tool anywhere Dremel tools are sold. Keeping the cutter wet I notched out a small piece for the abdomen.

From there I hot glued the stone to rivet. This served as my handle while shaping the stone. First I spun it round and used a diamond wheel for the initial shaping. After that I shaped it by hand against another diamond wheel. I polished up the stone with buffing wheels and buffing compound.

Using the 16 gage wire I hammered a section flat. I then heated it red hot to make it soft. With the help of a shelf pin I shaped the flattened wire so it would encircle the stone.

With the help of my trusty lathe I cut a small circle. I then dapped it with a doming block. With pliers I squeezed it to make an oval. I filed the underside of the oval so it would sit flat.

Next I sanded off any oxidation from heating and laid both pieces on a piece of sheet metal. A little flux & solder and it was set. I used the diamond wheel to remove the excess metal around the body.

The legs were the easiest part. I straitened out a piece of wire and cut it in to four sections. Two of the sections were longer for the front and back legs. I bent them at 90 degrees and soldered them on. From there I eyeballed the joints and marked them. With a pair of pliers I bent in the joints.

I soldered a jump ring at the top. I then polished the spider with 800 grit sand paper and a buffing wheel. The stone was set with epoxy putty.

The cotton cord I used had some kinks in it so I steamed them out.

Thanks for reading.