Thought I'd take some photos to show how I'm progressing on the new 3" inside diameter, resin jewelry bangle bracelet design. I have had requests for my bracelets in a larger 3 inch size. Making the masters for molding is the most tedious and time consuming part of the whole design process. With my 2-1/2 " bangle bracelet design, I used polymer clay to make the master. Much prettier to look at, but, took forever to get the shape and size right.
This time I decided try something simpler. I discovered that 3" PVC pipe, used in plumbing has a perfect 3" inside diameter. But the wall thickness was too thin for my design, only about 1/4 inch thick. So, Tom suggested using a 3 inch, schedule 80, PVC pipe coupling. These are not available at the hardware stores, but must be purchased from a plumbing supply house. They are made to fit over the outside of the 3 inch PVC pipe, so the fit was perfect. The schedule 80 pipe coupling looked huge, and was about 4 inches long. Too long for a bracelet, but it was easy enough to cut off the excess on the chop saw.
I now had a good starting point for my new bracelet master. The total wall thickness of the combined pipe and coupling is .560 inches, or 9/16". The photo above shows the left over piece that was cut off from the combined pipe and coupling. The 3" PVC pipe is white, and the schedule 80 pipe coupling is dark gray. But you can see how well the two pieces fit together, and the combined wall thickness.
Next comes the shaping and sanding. I will post about that next.
