Make your own cuff bracelet bending tool
Sure, the traditional way of using a bracelet mandrel and a rawhide hammer still works to bend cuffs, but I recently did a side-by-side comparison with curving two inlay cuff blanks: one on this tool and one on the mandrel and it took almost 5 times as long to do with my oval mandrel than with this tool.
I also found that I indented my triangle wire a lot more with the rawhide hammer, which isn’t ideal since I want a nice crisp edge for my inlay cuff bracelets.
These cuff bracelet benders are easy to make and will save you a lot of hassle in your studio!
If that looks like too much work to make, you can just grab one from me here:
This tool is made for students who are taking my inlay cuff bracelet class (and you can find more information on that inlay class here), but this tool is SO useful for any cuff that’s using a thick gauge and is hard to bend.
Instead of using a rawhide mallet and banging your cuff against a bracelet mandrel to shape your cuff—and marring the triangle wire in the process—this tool helps you easily get the perfect cuff shape each time.
While you could spend your time fiddling around with making this tool yourself—and spend over $35 on raw materials alone— you should be spending your precious time working on your creative projects.
This tool is made with red cedar and comes with 3 different PVC sizes for you to work from the largest PVC to the smallest to refine the curves of your cuff.
How to use a Cuff Bending Tool: https://youtu.be/LdROWjTq8Ws
It does not come with a vise, but you’ll need one to hold the tool in place. This is the one I use: https://amzn.to/3PH4xbk
*When using the tool, I recommend placing a piece of leather or something similar between the oak and the cuff bracelet to provide a little padding and to keep the oak from getting chewed up. A piece of denim that can be doubled up for padding will be included as a bonus while supplies last.