Recycled Copper Chain

Make a chain out of old electrical wire!

Posted by VovsJewellery

I made this chain for a jewellery project Im working on using copper out of scrap pieces of electrical wire.

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1: After stripping the rubber off the wires you will be left with long strands of wire like this.
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2: I use a skewer that is about 5mm around for this part. I wrap the copper around the skewer until the whole piece of wire is now in a coil shape and remove it from the skewer. Click here to see my tutorial on making a coil.
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3: Now simply start at the end of the coil you finished and just where the wire starts to overlap cut the wire and you now have a jump ring. Keep doing this until you have no more left on the coil. Click here to see my tutorial on making Jump Rings.
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4: You now need to separate all the Jump Rings you have made into two piles and close all the jump rings in the first pile.
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5: Open all of the Jump Rings in the second pile.
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6: Now you add one closed ring onto and open ring and close it up. You then add one open ring onto the ring you just closed, add a closed ring and close. Continue this on until you have no rings left or have reached the length you are looking for. You can simply add a clasp to the end by using an open ring on either end to make a simple bracelet.
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You now have a simple copper chain that you have made for free using something that is just sitting around in the shed or going in the bin.