From Spoon To Skull

Since the beginning of last summer, I've been experimenting with an old rotary Dremel tool that before then was just hiding in my old shop out back. when I first pulled it out, dusted it off and found out that it actually still worked I was instantly curious about the possibilities and what I could do with it. before I knew it I was stocking up on different bits, blades, grinding, sanding and polishing wheels. my first, favorite and probably most addicting project I began working on these detailed and often times pretty cool little metal skulls.

Usually made from old salad tongs, large serving spoons, labels and some forks these skulls are pretty easy and fun to create. the good thing about these pieces is that they're relatively quick to make (about an hour or so each) and the materials are cheap and really easy to find. thrift stores like goodwill or the salvation army are great places to start looking but also places like dollar general and dollar tree can be great resources too. With a large metal spoon, the first thing I usually do is mark the general outline of my skull with a sharpie or I go lightly over it with my engraving tool to get a rough visualization of how the end product will turn out. the only reason I recommend using the engraver is that when working on your project the sharpie marks will most likely end up rubbing most off as you go so it saves having to redo your markings often. once you are satisfied with the outline to take a large metal cutting wheel and remove the bigger section around the cheeks and temple but still leave some room for error for detail work.

now your skull should start taking shape and time to replace the large cutting wheel with the smaller ones. use these to do your more detailed work around the eyes, nose, and cheeks( also good to mention don't worry about knicking the face too much this can always be sanded out later). now with a grinding wheel its time to round off the edges and buff out any of that accidental marks that you may have done earlier. lastly, I usually take a sanding wheel and lightly go over the whole thing making sure to sand off any metal flakes that especially seem to gather on the edges then a quick buffing and you're done.

like I said before these are my favorite to make because they're really cool looking, none are identical, they're `easy and quick to make and in my experience, they make great gifts as key chains for family and friends.