Wood Pendant Necklace
Turn scrap pieces of wood into jewelry. In this instructable I made pendant necklaces by sanding small pieces of wood and stained them with a non toxic stain. Use different types of wood (cherry, maple, ash etc) for different colours and picking wood pieces with an interesting grain pattern makes for unique jewelry.
Material:
- Wood
- Pendant bails
- Mineral Oil (baby oil)
- Strong coffee
Tools:
- Wood cutting tools (saw, Dremel etc.)
- Sandpaper (varying grits)
- Pliers
- Paint brush
- Rag
Shape Wood
- Cut the wood to the shape and size that you like with a saw or Dremel tool (one of the pendants I made was about 32mm X 25mm in size with a thickness of 5mm.)
- Round the edges of the wood, I used 60 grit sandpaper for this.
Sand Until Smooth
Sand the wood with increasing grit sandpaper until it is nice and smooth, I used 80,100,150,180, 220, then 320 grit. Always sand with the grain, and don't skip more then one grit size.
Drill Hole for Bail
- With a pencil mark the centre of the pendant where the hole for the bail should go.
- Drill hole with a small bit (1/16th).
Stain
Since I will be wearing the wood necklace near my skin, I didn't want to use a polyurethane stain. So I choose a natural, non toxic way of staining the wood, coffee.
- Brew some coffee stronger than you would drink, I made it about 4X stronger. Filter and let cool before you use.
- Apply the coffee stain with a small brush, this may take several coats ( I did 5 coats), dry between coats.
- Since it is a water based stain, it will make the wood a bit rough (it raises the grain) so lightly sand to make it smooth again.
Oil
I used mineral oil as a non-toxic finish. It also deepens the colour of the wood. Pour a small amount of mineral oil on a rag, rub it into the wood and wipe off the excess.
Add Bail and Chain
Put the bail on and squeeze shut with pliers and add a pretty chain.