DIY Etched Bullet Necklaces
blog.rings-things.com/2015/06/23/diy-etched-bullet-necklaces/
Tiffany-at-Rings-Things
I have noticed bullet casing jewelry trending for awhile now. And I love it! It has a rustic,
masculine feel. I also love etching metal with ferric chloride acid, something I have been
doing for the last couple of years. Etching bullet casings seemed like the next logical step.
I thought they would be a great gift for Dad (or Mom, depending on how you make them)!
So round up your bullet casings and let me show you how to make these awesome
necklaces!
Supplies needed:
Bullet Casings (drilled with a hand drill on the ends to create a hole)
Permanent Marker
Baking Soda
Scotch Tape
Plastic Container
Penny Brite Cleaner
Ferric Chloride Acid
Sanding Pads
Novacan Black
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Bronze 20 Gauge Artistic Wire
Antique Brass Cable Chain
Antique Brass Jump Rings
Antique Brass Lobster Clasp
8mm Gemstone Bead
Tools:
Basic Hand Tool Kit containing Chain Nose Pliers, Round Nose Pliers and Wire
Cutters.
If you’ve never etched metal with ferric chloride acid before, I highly recommend you read
the two blogs linked here for techniques and safety before you get started:
DIY Copper Etching Tutorial
Safety Considerations for Etching Metal with Chemicals
To make these necklaces you need a few supplies! For a full
list see above.
Use the Penny Brite to clean the bullet casings. They will take
off all the grime and any oils and make them look shiny and
new!
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After you have used the Penny Brite on the bullet casings,
they will be shiny like new. Try to touch them as little as
possible with your fingers, as oil from your skin on the metal
can affect the etching.
Use a sharpie marker to add your own custom name or
design to the bullet casings. This is a resistance technique,
so anywhere there is ink, the metal will not etch.
After you get the design you like, use scotch tape to seal the
top of the bullet casings.
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Wear gloves the entire time you’re working with the acid to
protect your hands! Pour some ferric chloride acid into a
disposable plastic container, and submerge your bullet
casings into the ferric chloride bath. They will need to soak in
the acid for about 20-30 minutes.
Use gloves or plastic tongs to remove the bullet casings from
the acid, and place them into another plastic container. Pour
a fairly large amount of baking soda into the container and
add warm water. The baking soda will bubble up and
neutralize the residual acid on the bullets. The remaining acid
can stay in the other container, just add a lid. It can be used
several times to etch. When it has lost its etching power,
dispose of the acid at your local hazardous waste facility.
The bullet casings look like this when they have been etched
and cleaned of acid with baking soda.
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Use a sanding pad to remove the permanent marker from the
bullets.
Dip the bullet into the Novacan Black to antique the metal
black.
Now use the sanding pad to remove the patina. This will
make the design really stand out.
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It can be a little messy to remove the patina!
Make a wrapped loop with bronze-colored Artistic Wire using
your round nose pliers.
Use your chain nose pliers to smush the wire down so there
is no sharp end.
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Insert the wrapped loop into the back hole on the bullet
casing and thread it through to the other (top) hole.
On the other end, add a gemstone bead and wrap the wire
like you did on the other side.
Wrap the wire down to make a nice wrapped loop.
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Add chain to the sides to make a necklace! Gemstones from
top to bottom are Birdseye Rhyolite, Pyrite, and African
Turquoise
Completed necklaces!
“Man” Necklaces! Perfect for that hunter in your life!
Or make a stamped, more feminine version for her!
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These etched bullet casing necklaces feature Swarovski
crystals for extra sparkle! The 13mm Swarovski Briolette is
perfect here!
To make a stamped version the process is very similar. Instead of applying the image by
hand, we will use rubber stamps and permanent ink. Follow the simple steps below to
make this version.
Clean the bullets with Penny Brite, as mentioned above. To
stamp the bullets, use large rubber stamps and permanent
ink pads.
Ink up the stamp well with the permanent ink pad. Then roll
the bullet onto the stamp to transfer the image to the bullet
casing.
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Use permanent marker to color where you don’t want the acid
to etch.
After you have colored where you want with the permanent
marker, tape up the bottom and top with scotch tape like we
did with the previous bullets.
Remember to protect your hands with gloves while working
with acid! Soak the bullet casings in the ferric chloride acid
for approximately half and hour.
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Like before, pull the bullet casings out of the acid, cover in
baking soda, and rinse with warm water. Reserve the
remaining acid for future etching.
After you remove the bullets from the baking soda bath,
repeat the same steps as listed above for etching bullet
casings. Use a sanding pad to remove the sharpie, then
antique the metal with Novacan Black. Use a sanding pad
again to remove the patina.
After you have the bullet casings etched, you can add
Swarovski crystal briolettes to the bottom of the bullets. Use
the same 20 gauge Artistic Wire in Bronze to do this.
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Cut a piece of wire about 9 inches long and string the crystal
onto the wire with 3 inches on one side.
Wrap the shorter wire around the longer wire several times.
String the wire through the hole in the bullet and pull it tight.
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Wrap the wire into a messy wrapped loop on the other side of
the bullet.
Completed Swarovski and etched bullet casing pendant.
Add chain to the pendant to make it into a necklace. I like a
long chain, like 30 inches so that you don’t need a clasp.
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Three different bullet casing necklaces! The crystal colors
from left to right are Gold Patina, Golden Shadow and Aurora
Borealis.
Bird Cage and Bingo Card Etched Bullet Casing Necklaces
Well I hope you enjoyed learning how to etch bullets! It is really so much fun, and a way to
turn something otherwise considered trash, into a pretty piece of jewelry! ~Tiffany
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