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I made these Steampunk pendant necklaces with hidden compartments as gifts for Christmas.
The pendants come apart to reveal a hidden compartment. I inserted rolled up pictures in the three I made. But any small item could be concealed inside.
The Start Brass Tubes and Wood Blocks – Steampunk Pendants
The inspiration was the wood covered brass tubes I made when completing a Steampunk pen kit from Rockler Woodworking last year. I liked the way these turned out and came up for another use for the machined wood center covers.
Each was made from a small block of exotic wood. This one is iron wood. The blocks were drilled down the center with a 3/8 inch hole.
Short pieces of 3/8 inch OD brass tube were cut to the same length as the wood blocks.
Gluing and Turning the Wood Shells – Steampunk Pendants
These are two blocks ready for gluing with there brass tubes.
Each tube was glued into a wood block with a two component epoxy adhesive.
For turning on the lathe each block was mounted to this temporary brass rod fixture.
Each block was turned down to a cylinder shape. Grooves were cut into each pendant for added interest.
Each pendant was then sanded to a smooth surface ready for painting, staining and varnishing.
This is the first pendant piece after removal from the brass turning fixture.
The wood section were stained and the grooves painted in different colors. Three layers of varnish were applied after these dried.
The Gear End Pieces – Steampunk Pendants
These brass gears were used for the ends of each pendant.
Two gears of the same size and shape were used for each pendant.
One gear hub was turned to a size so it would slide into the brass tube of each pendant.
The second gear was turned down to a diameter to fit into the 11/32 inch OD brass tubes that slide into the 3/8 inch tubes glued to the wood pendant.
The gears for the insert tubes were soldered into place and then cleaned up.
The larger diameter hub gears were glued into the brass of the wood pendant. These could not be soldered without burning the wood.
Ready for Chains – Steampunk Pendants
These are the three pendants with gears glued into place. Also shown is each brass insert with its soldered in place brass gear. A final coat of varnish was applied to each pendant as well.
The completed pendants. All they need now are the chains added for wearing around the neck.
This is the chain that was used. The small metal rings were used to hold the chain inside each end of the pendant.
The rings were clipped from 1.5 turns of this spring. The diameter of each ring is too large to slip through the holes in the gears.
The chain was threaded through the holes in the gears and a spring ring was attached through the link at the end of each chain. When pulled back into the tubes the chain is held in place by these rings.
Completed pendant with green stripes.
Pendant with red stripes and larger gears.
Pendant with single silver stripe.
Project complete.
Made these Steampunk themed pendants for Christmas gifts.
I love mine! Thank you! ❤️