DIY - Bead Weaving Bracelet Tool

My mom is incredibly creative and a loving person. I greatly admire her immense talents, perseverance, and patience. She has introduced me to Instructables. I love all the creative contests and activities but I hardly have time given that I'm a Senior in high school.

A couple of days ago, she informed me of the various ongoing contests and this 'Jewelry Contest' just got me hooked. Since then I was thinking of experimenting and attempting something unique, affordable, and simple DIY to gift my mom, I choose this. I do have some exposure to woodworking and metalworking at my school. I have a fairly good understanding of the tools, techniques as I have a few great projects built from scratch for these courses. My main goal was to keep it simple with minimal materials and tools.

Having had some initial conversations and built up some ideas, I started researching such tools and techniques. This DIY tool has met all the expectations. As I gifted my mom, she hugged me had a twinkle of amusement and satisfaction beaming in her eyes. She shared some valuable tips. Stay with me until the end to find out what's the learning!

1. 1 Footlong Paint Stick (you will be able to find it in Home Depot or Lowe's)
2. 2 tumbling block pieces (2 in X 0.6 in X 0.4 in)
3. 2 wooden cubes pieces (1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm)
4. Footlong Ruler
5. Pencil
6. 6 in Hacksaw
7. White Acrylic Paint (optional if your paint stick is plain)
8. White thread
9. A pair of scissors
10. Beading elastic thread (optional - For testing only)
11. Beads (optional - For testing only)
12. Beading Needle (optional - For testing only)

As listed above gather all the materials. The last 3 optional items are only to test if the tool works as expected.

In this step, I marked the 2 tumbling blocks with an approx 4 mm distance. There are 7 such markings on each of the blocks. Using the hacksaw, I cut along these markings (lines).

I have built this sanding block in school and I use it proudly at home for my projects. I choose to sand the tumbling block to make the groves smooth.

The footlong paint stick had some writings on it and I wanted to erase that. So, I opted to paint it white using acrylic paint. After that, I also decided to paint the 2 wooden tumbling blocks. After drying, I had to once again lightly handsaw along the grooves to make sure no paint has entered the grooves. Refer images.

Tip - You could leave it unpainted if the stick is plain and clear.

I marked 1 inch from the ends to place the tumbling blocks near the ends. Then, placed the cubes in the center of the spaces farther from the ends. At this point the tool was ready.

As I invited my mom to my desk to show this tool, she was surprised and happy to know how I thought of making something she'd find useful. Then, I asked her to bring the materials needed (which are the last 3 optional items on the list). As I am a novice with bead weaving bracelets, I let her try and test it carefully.

I borrowed the elastic beading thread and tied it into 7 strands. This bundle was tied on one end. Then hooked around the wooden cube and then carefully pulled throw the grooves into the corresponding grooves on the other tumbling block. This created amazing strands and to me, this looks like a guitar :-) My next inspiration.

She tried to insert the beads in the beading needle and place them under the threads. The feedback is

Features

1. An Innovative tool
2. Simple and easy to use
3. The length of 1 foot is fairly good

Tips

1. The number of strands = The number of beads in a row + 1 (which means this tool could be used to make a max of 6 beaded rows
2. The grooves have to be closer (or at the distance of the bead size) The beads that my mom has are smaller :-)

My Mom will be able to use this tool for her next 'Jewelry Contest'. I have to rush to complete my homework :-) Do let me know if you have any questions or queries. I'd be glad to help. Thanks, buddy!