Show and Tell: Using the Stepped Bracelet Mandrel

Note: This audio transcript is auto-generated and may not be completely accurate.
hi this is rachel with beadaholique our steped bracelet m'angil now unlike smooth mandrels this piece has steps showing the different measurements and the measurements are in diameter if you'll notice not inches around so the measurements of this mandrel are two and a half inches of diameter two and three-quarter inches three inches and three and a quarter inches and these measurements are actually etched into the piece which is a nice touch so something that won't come across in the video that I want to point out is that this is a solid wood piece so it's very hefty it has some nice weight to it and one of the reasons we like this mandrel is that it goes up to larger sizes than some of the other mandrels that we carry so if you're making jewelry for somebody with a larger wrist or especially if you're making men's jewelry this is a great piece to size some bigger bracelets or watchbands those are some longer pieces so you can use these bigger measurements to get a nice loooong watch band since these measurements are in diameter I just want to measure them for you to show you the inches around so you can get an idea of the sizes so this first measurement two and a half inches if we measure around that's going to give you at about an eight inch bracelet so two and a half inches diameter 8 inch bracelet and I want to show you the largest size here two three and a quarter inches so that measures about ten and a quarter inches to ten and a half inches around so that'll give you a nice big piece one thing you would use this mandrel for is measuring your bracelets so I'm just gonna show you real fast this is a kumihimo bracelet that I did I'm gonna slide it down and as you can see it just sits right on this step so it's very easy to measure it doesn't slide around just sits right on that measurement step here is another bracelet that our designer Julie made using a nun designed bangle and again it just sits right on the step there it's a nice even read very easy to measure with this m'angil the other thing you would use the mantle for is metal and wire working so as you can see this piece has a built in tang which is this wooden handle down here and you would use this to clamp the mandrel to your workbench with a vise or a mandrel holder and you can rest your wire directly on the mandrel and Hammer it on the piece now since this is a wooden piece we would recommend hammering with a rubber mallet and just be aware that as you shape your wire you will be work hardening it so be aware of the size you need before you begin so this is our wooden stepped bracelet mandrel you can find this piece and many other supplies at beadaholique.com you