Making A Jump Ring Bracelet

If you don't know what jump rings are, or how to make them, see our
tutorial in the tips section.

Make sure that you open your jump rings property. Opening them the
wrong way will distort the ring and cause it to break prematurely.

WRONG! Edge view

uU r-~~
It will bOdh'ere This is the correct 'Way
and lose its shape tv open the rings

The Bracelet
Once you have opened jump rings, and your beads picked out, it's a simple
matter to put together the following bracelet.

•..... ..•.......•......•......•......•
•••••••
/ , "

.., •... ......•... .•... ....•........•.... ...•

/ .. ' ' , / ...

The trick here is that the larger beads (represented here as the blue beads)
must have a hole big enough to fit two jump rings through. The smaller
beads (represented as red) can have a hole that fits snugly over a single
thickness of jump ring.

The Sequence

1. Begin by putting a large bead on a jump ring.

2. Follow by placing a small bead on each side.
3. Add another large bead and close the ring.
4. Slip a second jump ring through the last bead.
5. Continue from step two above.

...•.....
• _--_...
-..
'.--'-

...•
1::'.2).3'1 4
....•...
..•......'
. -/
,

\.,~

http://www.jagwearjewelry.comljrbracelet.htm
.•
...•... ".

-.-,,-' .- ' '

...---.

....._--/

6/6/04
 Jump Ring Bracelet Tutorial Page 2 of2

Continue extending the design until you have enough to use for a bracelet.
It also makes a nice choker.

Finishing Up

Finish off the piece by adding a suitable clasp to the ends. The type of
clasp you choose will depend on whether you want this to be a bracelet,
choker, necklace, ankle bracelet, or really long earrings (nose chain,
anyone??).

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for future tips or tutorials.

http://www.jagwearjewelry.comljrbracelet.htm 6/6/04
 Page 1 of3

Making Your Own Jump

Rings
First let's show you what jump rings are. The following picture shows a
necklace in which the entire rope chain was done using home ~ made 6mm
jump rings .

As you can see, these rings offer a lot

of detail to the piece.

They're not hard to make, so let's go

through the process.

Click. to Enlarge

Getting Started
First you need to find a wooden dowel (sometimes chopsticks work, if
they're uniformly round). Get one the same thickness as the inner diameter
of the ring s you want. 5mm, 6mm or 7mm diameter rings work well ,
especially to start with. Anything smaller than 5mm in diameter would be
very difficult to work with.

About the Wire

Of course, you need the wire you'll be working with. I recommend at least
18 or 20 gauge wire for a sturdy jump ring . Copper or steel wire is good to
begin experimenting with and is much less expensive than using gold or
silver.

Carefully and tightly wrap the wire around and around Ihe stick until you
have enough loops to make as many rings as yo u'll need. Take your best
guesstimate at this. If you come up short, you can always make more. If
you have extra, keep 'em - you'll eventually use them up.

Coiling the Wire

I should mention here that there are several good wire coiling jigs on the
market. One of them is mentioned in the Links page. I personally have
been using a common eleclric drill to accomplish the same thing. Place
one end of the wire and the dowel into the chuck and tighten them in place.
Make sure it's a vanable-speed-reversible (VSR) drill so that you can slow
it down to a comfortable pace, and reverse it to undo mistakes. This type of
drill can be purchased for under $30 at any home store or tool shack. Bend
the free end of the wire at a 90° angle to the dowel where it meets the
chuck before you start the drill.

Drill chuck

do"vel I
htto://www.
• ial!weariewelrv.com/iumorine.htm
oJ.... .J
oJ ." '-' 6/6/04
 Page 2 of3

r
Bend ",ire ..t 90 degrees to the dtrnIel

Work slowly to make sure the loops are light 10 each olher and light around
the dowel.

Cutting the Rings

Take a Dremel tool with a metal cutting disc aUachment and cut through all
the rings. It's important that you keep a straight line and keep the cutting
disc perpendicular and parallel to the stick. This way, all your rings will
come out uniform and even. See the animation below:

"Y-'- ", .-•.- ("' "'''' ....... ~ ...,

(::::::::::::::::::-=.-=.-_-_-:1(,', ( {
~
~. . (;" (' { { {" ( ~. I ~ It ~"
~
-
. '_' _'.j.
", ';, i. ':.
'0
I ', I '.. '.
->_, ) .J .. '-! ..~ ..
"
J
"
.. ~ .. , ..

RUN YOUR MOUSE POINTER OVER THIS BLUE STRIP

If the rings try to slide down the stick as you're cutting , you may have to put
a clamp at the end as a stopper.

When you're done cuUing, the rings should slide off the stick easily - too
easily! Make sure you have a bowl or plate ready to catch them in. It's a
real pain when they wind up all over the floor. If they don't come off by
themselves, slide the rings off one-by-one, and watch out for avalanches.

Opening the Rings

" • • ' _._ • • _ ... _•• _ ' _ _ C ____ II _ t ____. _, . ___ ,' _ "" __ . _ ' . ' _ • •• • ' _ _ _ •• • _._

http://www.jagwearjewelry.comlj wnpring. htm 6/6104

 Page 3 of3

Now you nave a ouncn 01 :small , Closea nng::>. TOU II nave to cena eacn one
slightly open in order to use them. This is accomplished with a jump ring
opener (pictured below), or some flat nose pliers and a little patience.

The jump ring opener pictured above is nothing more than a flat ring with a
small slit in the side. You put the opener on your finger like a regular ring
and slide the jump rings into the slit so that you can bend the other end
more easily. It's a quick way to hold them with your finger, but you can do
the same thing with an extra pair of flat nose pliers.

WRONG! Edge view

uU~~~ ~
It will bend here Thi3 is the correctwa:y
and lose its shape mopen the rings

Take care opening the rings. If you do it wrong, you'll break them. Perhaps
the following diagram wi ll clarify it for you. It illustrates a jump ring , standing
on its edge, with the opening facing you.

Pull gently; just enough to open the ring slightly. You only need room to
work with .

Soon you should have a bunch of jump rings, slightly opened and ready to
go.

If you don't know what to do with all these rings , look for our tutorial on
making jump ring bracelets (the same idea ca n be applied toward
necklaces, chokers, or anklets).

http://www.jagwearjewelry.com/jumpring.htm 6/6/04