# Making Jewelry (ear plugs/rings)



## Dillinger

I'm tryin to look into making some size 6 gaged ear plugs for a friend and I and can't find a site or Anything on how to do this. I remember a few years back I had a friend with half-inch plugs with "STRAIGHT EDGE" on them and he told me he made them out of bamboo or something of the sort. So I know it's possible. Just can't find out how anywhere. Anyone know?


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## Dillinger

Not sure what material I'd be interested in using.
Whatever really, the kind I have in right now is in that "U" shape (somewhat) and I like that design but I'm really not trying to limit anything with this. I'm expecting to fail once or twice before getting what I'm aiming for anyways, so a few ideas don't hurt. =)


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## Dillinger

Bone!
Ah Bone Arrow!
That sounds like an amazing idea!
Horrid that it completely slipped my mind that someone could do that.
That's what it'll be....
Now I'm off on a bone hunt....


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## bananathrash

well im not sure if you are asking what materials would be the best to use, or how to carve them.

i think as long as your friends ears have been pierced for a while, you probably are fine with any wood or bone that doesnt have an obvious flaws (bones that splinter off). mostly ive only seen things carved from animal horns.

to make them, itd be ideal to use a lathe probably, but you could carve them from wood or bone (who really has a lathe?). if you want to make plastic ones, you could use a saw and a lot of sanding..
id just look here at examples of ones that are made and go from there..http://www.omericaorganic.com/style.php


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## Dillinger

They have some pretty good lookin ones on there. Too bad mine aren't gi-normous.
I'm just wondering about tools I'd have to use and stuff. I'm sure I'll beable to figure out most of it and wing-it.
Just wonderin if anyone had a walk-through or something.
Or where I could get some of that wood/bone ?


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## Dillinger

6
size 6


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## Mouse

I've made many plugs from FIMO clay. you can get it cheap (or steal it easy!) from almost any craft store. You just need an oven to bake it in. if you get cleaver with it you can make some cool designs. Just get a book about how to make clay beads and apply the concept to plugs

http://www.polymerclaysuperstore.com/polymer-clay.html

learn to make stuff that looks like this - 
http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/catalog/B ... lay-Beads/

when I googled this I foudn this shit and it looks freakign amazing

http://www.polyclay.com/beads.htm


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## Dillinger

how long do you suppose that'd last.
i dont even use plastic rings.


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## Mouse

fimo will last longer than you will


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## flyingnowhere

i've made some 1" plugs out of wood i bought at a woodworking shop. It had some kind of sealant on it. When i wore them i had an allergic reaction. My ears got all swollen and whatnot. Anyone else ever dealt with this? Know if theres a way i can clean them?


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

sculpey clay works really well, my g/f just made a pair of plugs, and they turned out great. Sounds Like the same stuff as fimo, don't know for sure though but it works


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## ghostsymposium

i currently use sculpey as well for septum rings. even use it for stretching because i just put a couple layers of teflon tape on it and stick it in my nose. works great, no allergic reactions. it's cheap quick and easy. some time soon i want to start carving wood and bone . just gotta find something nice to seal it with. i've heard some people use stuff like rosin wax because it gets inbetween all the holes in porous wood and seals it up well. i haven't tried that though.


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## bobNkamille

you can try flour beads i dont know how well that would work for gages but it's worth a try just look it up on you tude the have video on flour beads on there for sure


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## bobNkamille

4 cups of flour
1 cup of table salt
1/2 cups of cold water
Acrylic paint and paint brushes
Skewer or needle: To poke the bead's hole with
Oven
Baking sheet
Wax paper
Mixing bowl 

you have to treat it like your making bread then you bake the made beads in the oven at 250 for lik2 hours then after that you have to be creative modge pog shit is good for shit you find in news papers ect. to put on there or acrilic pait just use a needle or a pin to put word or something in them

while also on the subject...my almost hubby wants a bone gage if any one could tell me how to do that that would be awesome! it's at a 6 right now


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## Angela

bobNkamille said:


> 4 cups of flour
> 1 cup of table salt
> 1/2 cups of cold water
> Acrylic paint and paint brushes
> Skewer or needle: To poke the bead's hole with
> Oven
> Baking sheet
> Wax paper
> Mixing bowl
> 
> you have to treat it like your making bread then you bake the made beads in the oven at 250 for lik2 hours then after that you have to be creative modge pog shit is good for shit you find in news papers ect. to put on there or acrilic pait just use a needle or a pin to put word or something in them
> 
> while also on the subject...my almost hubby wants a bone gage if any one could tell me how to do that that would be awesome! it's at a 6 right now



Does anyone know a way to keep these from crumbling and coming apart. This recipe is identical to the one that my family use to make "play dough" out of when I was a little kid and all of our little creations would kind of crumble and fall apart eventually even after baking them in the oven. It seems like there was some kind of glaze/varnish or something that we used one time that worked better but I don't remember what it was.


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## L.C.

i lost intrest in stretching my ears, but i used stainless pipe. i'd cut apiece about 3quaters of an inch and flair on end ,and use an o-ring on the back to hold it .if you aren't able to flair it use an o-ring on both ends. i then would wear captive beads through them. i also shaped the hole in my cartilage into a square,using bic razor handles after i stretched it to a 0-gauge.


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## bobNkamille

Angela said:


> Does anyone know a way to keep these from crumbling and coming apart. This recipe is identical to the one that my family use to make "play dough" out of when I was a little kid and all of our little creations would kind of crumble and fall apart eventually even after baking them in the oven. It seems like there was some kind of glaze/varnish or something that we used one time that worked better but I don't remember what it was.



you could probably use clear nail polish or modge pog or maybe that mixture they use to do paper mashay could work but then you couldnt get it wet or just put atille bit of elmers glue

i read some where to add elmers to the mix that might work but no promises


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## Arapala

I did not really read the posts above, but. If you want to make plugs, i suggest using wood. Bone would also work but that shit cant be rough, and a six is pretty small, i dont know how easy id be to make such small plugs being they would be so delicate. 

If you do decided to make some out of wood, you want to use a hard wood, not soft wood like pine. Walnut works good, and those trees are pretty easy to find/ identify at least in my area (Michigan). 

Here are a few pair of plugs i hand carved from walnut, they still needed sanding:







And here is some bamboo i am drying out. You can use bamboo, its a nice hard wood, not to mention easy to cut. Only thing is bamboo drying can be really hard, you have to dry it a certain way or it will crack, its very detailed and probably not worth it.






Most people who craft plugs use a lathe or wood turning machine, which can cost anywhere from $200-$5,000. Just google organic plugs or organic jewelry.

I suggest maybe looking around this website:
ORGANIC: Natural Body Jewelry

Hope this helps.


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## oldmanLee

Watch out for the bamboo,some subspeices cause one hell of an allergic reaction.Also,make sure to get rid of all the soft-looking papery outer skin,will grind in to skin like glass.Leather dye will work for coloring,but put about 3 layers of nailpolish over them ,most dyes are toxic.


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## Mor

clayart - thread 'toxicity of polymer clays'

"Unfortunately, these clays contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC) mixed with phthalate (pronounced tha- late) plasticizers. While the phthalate plasticizers make the clay soft and workable, they are also associated with potential health risks. Phthalates as a class of chemicals have been implicated in birth defects, reproductive problems, nerve system damage and other negative health effects. "

stay healthy y'all. 





I've had the luck in the past to have a landlord friend with a fine wood lathe.. 
I used to make and sell all kinds of plugs/tunnels/pendants/rings/tusks... etc

shaping of plugs is still do-able without an expensive lathe but you will still need some tools like a Dremel (for sanding, shaping) or a drill press or drill and a set of hole saws. hole saws really limit the sizes you can make but they can you give you a nice round cut. 

BUT for smaller stuff like 6g I would reccomend using plastic knitting needles (not the healthiest choice either) to stretch up to a larger size like 1/2" (stretching very slooooowwwly of course) and then once your ears are healthy and comfortable at that size it's a bit easier to get your fingers around a piece of wood to shape it and finish it the way you want.

oh... and to finish wood or bamboo plugs I reccoment carnauba wax (for the vegans) or beeswax. Jojoba oil is also really nice to use.


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## Desperado Deluxe

I made bamboo plugs with just a hacksaw and some sandpaper. Simply cut the bamboo right on a joint in the stalk and then simply cut it about 3/4 of an inch from both ends. Polish down the front ends with sand paper using a coarse grit working your way to a finer grit (about 2000 grit.) Polish the backs down a bit about to about 800 grit just so its smooth to the touch. Use o rings from the hardware store or jewelry supply for the backs as the front will be where the joint was and has a natural flare. They will be solid on the front with no hole and you can see the inner fiber of the bamboo. Never had an allergic reaction but I knew it was safe because my friend had some made from the same stalks. Fairly quick and easy with a professional look.


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