How to Use a Split Mandrel

After a long weekend of resting, relaxing, and racing, (sorry, it is my other hobby) I am back at the bench and bringing you a few little morsels of jewelry making goodness.

Over the weekend, I had a comment/question from a reader who was having issues with the split mandrels I posted about on July 9th  She asked:

“I bought a couple of split mandrels for my dremel for this purpose. I really want to use them but I must be doing something wrong because the paper flies out of them a high speed. I then sticky taped the paper to the mandrel but the length of it flaps around like crazy. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks Ange”

Well Ange, let’s take a little closer look at “Split Mandrels” and how to modify them to work for us.

First, whether you are purchasing or making your split mandrels, make sure the sandpaper you are putting in the mandrel is the same width as the “cut” in the mandrel. You can do this by lining up the cut in the mandrel on the paper, mark it, and cut the paper. The length of the paper can be modified to your liking.

When adding the Sandpaper to the mandrel, if the paper doesn’t fit into the mandrel tight, it will come out easily when rotating. You can either fold the paper in half to make it thicker, therefore making it fit more snuggly, or you can squeeze the ends of the mandrel together to make it pinch the paper better. Both ways work good, the purpose is to hold the paper tight so it doesn’t slip out.

I hope this helps and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Now go take on your day!

Doug