Okay, so I got this idea buzzing around in my head a while back. Saw some folks online wearing these little dumbbell charms, like necklaces or bracelets. Looked kinda neat, a bit different, you know? Showed off the gym thing without being too loud about it. But then I checked the prices. Man, they wanted a crazy amount for what looked like tiny bits of metal.
I thought, hold on, I reckon I could probably knock something like that together myself. It’s just a charm on a chain, right? How complicated could it be? Seemed like a decent little project to keep my hands busy anyway, better than scrolling through my phone for hours.
Getting the Bits and Pieces
First job was tracking down the actual dumbbell charms. This turned out to be trickier than I expected. Went down to the local craft shop, sifted through heaps of beads and pendants. Lots of hearts, stars, fluffy animals… no tiny weights. Found some cheap plastic ones online, but they looked, well, cheap and nasty. Didn’t want that.
Took a bit more digging online, found a place selling small metal charms, including some decent-looking dumbbells. Ordered a few, just in case I messed up. Also grabbed some basic silver-coloured chain – bought it by the foot, seemed cheaper that way – and a bag of jump rings and clasps. Already had some small pliers in my toolbox, the needle-nose kind, figured they’d do the job.
Putting It All Together
When the charms finally arrived, I cleared off a space on the kitchen table. Dumped all the bits out. Okay, step one: figure out the length. For a necklace, I just held the chain up, decided where I wanted the dumbbell to sit, and used the pliers (the ones with the wire cutter bit) to snip it. Had to use a bit of force, that chain was tougher than it looked.
Next, the fiddly part. Those jump rings are seriously small. Picked one up with the pliers, then used another pair of pliers to carefully twist it open sideways. You’re not supposed to pull them apart like a C, gotta twist. Learned that the hard way on a previous project.
Slipped the little loop on the dumbbell charm onto the open jump ring. Then, hooked the jump ring onto the end link of the chain I’d cut. Then, the really tricky bit – twisting the jump ring closed again using the two pliers, making sure the ends met up nice and tight so the charm wouldn’t fall off. Dropped the ring about three times doing this. My fingers felt like giant sausages.
Attached the clasp to the ends of the chain using more jump rings. Same process: twist open, loop through chain end and clasp loop, twist closed. Did that for both parts of the clasp on either end of the chain.
Made a bracelet too, basically the same steps just with a much shorter piece of chain. Measured it around my wrist first to get the size right.
The Final Thing
So, what did I end up with? A couple of pretty simple pieces of jewelry. One necklace, one bracelet, each with a little metal dumbbell dangling off it. Nothing fancy, but they look solid enough. Cost me way less than buying them ready-made, that’s for sure. Mostly just paid for the charms and the chain.
Here’s what I used:
- Small metal dumbbell charms
- Metal chain (bought by length)
- Jump rings (small metal loops)
- Clasps (lobster claw style worked fine)
- Two pairs of small pliers (needle-nose are best)
- Wire cutters (often part of the pliers)
Do I wear them? Yeah, the bracelet gets worn now and then, especially if I’m heading to the gym. It’s a bit of fun. People sometimes ask where I got it. Feels kinda good saying I just made it myself. Didn’t take long, saved some cash, and I learned how to wrestle tiny bits of metal into submission. Worth the effort, I’d say.
