Tutorial: Cut Circle Pendants from Vinyl Record Albums

My littlest monkey is at her very first day camp this morning with her big sister (Singing! Snacks! Nature hikes!), which means that, rarer than a blue moon, I. Am. Alone.

When I’m chilling alone and also have a craft fair coming up, I often like to whip out one of my most favorite but also rarely used (it’s fairly child-unfriendly) toys: the Dremel.

Now, this isn’t a commercial, so if you have any kind of hand-held rotary tool, whether or not it’s the same brand as mine, you’ll be able to follow along with the latest craft creation I’m making for my fair this weekend: vinyl record album pendants.

You will need:

• Dremel or other hand-held rotary tool
• circle cutting guide, tile cutting bit, and drum sander bit for your rotary tool
• cordless drill with a bit that matches the center bit in your circle cutting guide
• vinyl record albums of no apparent worth
• scrap wood

1. Using your cordless drill, drill into your scrap wood a hole that’s the same depth and diameter as the center bit in your circle cutting guide.

2. Drill an identical hole through your vinyl record album, exactly where you want the center of your pendant to be.

3. Attach the circle cutting guide and the tile cutting bit to your hand-held rotary tool, following the manufacturer’s instructions (the first time I used mine, my husband had to read the instructions and then show me–he’s visual, and I’m tactile)–set your cutting depth to about 1/8 inch.

4. Match up the holes in the vinyl record album and the scrap wood, and insert the center bit of your cutting guide. Turn your rotary tool on and press down just enough to cut all the way through the vinyl record album in that one spot–this will make the guide lie flush to the album to ensure an even cut.

5. Instead of rotating your rotary tool around the center bit, rotate your vinyl record album around, leaving the rotary tool stationary. Rotate your album in a complete circle until you feel the circle you’ve cut come free.

NOTE: The speed that the tile cutting bit rotates is important–too slow, and it won’t cut cleanly, but too fast, and your vinyl will melt around the edges and require a lot of sanding. I set my Dremel speed to about 3/4 of its maximum.

6. You’ll have anywhere from a few rough spots to a LOT of melted vinyl around the circumference of your circle. Clean it off with the drum sander bit.

Next time, I’ll talk about some handy knots to use when you want to make a pendant that you’ve made out of some recycled something into an actual necklace.

Because knots are cool, and you should know all the proper names for them.