today we’re going to learn how to make
slap bracelets the fashion accessory
that was super popular during the early
90s we’re gonna make them out of two
kinds of tape duct tape and measuring
tape
[Music]
if you are old enough to remember the
late 80s or early 90s you are probably
very familiar with slap bracelets a
fashion accessory that quickly switches
from being a flat piece of metal with a
cloth wrapping over it to a bracelet you
can wear around it fits pretty much any
size it doesn’t pinch too hard overall
very easy to wear these were invented by
Stuart Anders in 1983 when he sold them
under the name of slap wraps they’ve
been in and out of popularity a few
different times and today we’re gonna be
taking a look at how to make our own
here’s the basic idea will cut off the
length of our measuring tape modify it
to give it that classic slap bracelet
curl and then use duct tape or some
liquid rubber to coat the outside of it
these don’t take too many supplies to
make and to start out what we’re gonna
need is a measuring tape and some duct
tape you should be aware that this is
going to ruin the measuring tape you’ll
be cutting it into pieces so don’t use
one that you still use for measuring
stuff maybe if you have one that’s
broken the spring doesn’t work or you
just are okay sacrificing one this whole
roll is only about five bucks and it’s
got enough measuring tape for dozens and
dozens of bracelets so if you just want
to buy one it’s pretty cheap supplies
also know that if you cut off your
measuring tape at one end and then let
go it will get pulled inside and you’re
gonna have a really hard time getting in
there without dismantling the whole
thing so you may want to cut off a piece
and then add some tape to hold it in
place so you don’t lose it or just pull
the whole thing out at once cut it off
and then cut off pieces as you need them
measuring tapes have a long piece of
steel and them not terribly unlike a
piece of measuring tape itself but it’s
a little bit more springy and when you
pull the tape out it starts winding that
coil up really really tight when you get
to the end of it it’s all wound I cut
one end and let go and so the spring
unwound all the way spinning around
really fast inside the measuring tape
and of course now I have nothing to grab
on to on the outside but that’s okay I
got all of the measuring tape out so
I’ve got what I need we need to cut off
the lengths of measuring tape the length
that we want our slap bracelet to be
usually about six to seven inches is
plenty if you’re making it for a
particularly small wristed person maybe
even less what we have now is a piece of
metal tape that’s been curved so that it
stays straight for longer as you
pull it out of the measuring tape that’s
just basically how the shape works and
if you curl it one direction it can
actually roll up very tightly that’s
what it’s usually doing inside the
measuring tape roll what we actually
want is for this tape to bend the other
direction it doesn’t really like to do
that because it goes against the shape
of the curve but we can force it to get
there and that’s what we’re gonna be
doing we want to make sure that our
bracelets are not gonna be stabbing us
or cutting us and trust me it can happen
the edges of a cut piece of measuring
tape can get quite sharp so there’s two
things we want to do first we want to
round off both of these square edges
that we’ve cut and then we want to use
either a file or sandpaper to take those
edges down even more so they’re nice and
smooth sharp and stabbing edges are all
removed so now what we need to do is add
the curve into this I’ve got a bench
vise and a screwdriver now you don’t
have to be using a screwdriver what
we’re really after is the smooth round
surface of the shaft of the screwdriver
and this could be any other bar it
doesn’t have to be from a screwdriver
this is just what I have lying around
easily available and we don’t want
something with a large diameter we want
something fairly small to get a nice
tight curve we’re going to Lock this
screwdriver into our bench vise tighten
it on there so it’s in there pretty good
so now we need to do is Bend our
measuring tape over the shaft of the
screwdriver and to do it tightly enough
that it actually starts to bend the
metal itself we don’t just mean having
the metal temporarily Bend where it will
snap back but we want to deform the
metal so that it tries to be curled
backwards you can see I’ve only done it
to this one little portion but it’s
already holding its shape if I do if I
bend this side over it just snaps back
this one will hold its shape here but
then as soon as it breaks the curve this
direction it starts curving the second
direction so now we want to do that same
thing all the way along the whole
there we go just by pinching it as I
roll it over it helps really close the
curve down and it’s really nice to use a
round bar like this because if you try
and just roll it you’re very likely to
fold it in half and just get a kink
let’s see what I’m talking about if I
just take this and I try and just roll
it I’ll likely end up creasing it and
that can just break right through the
metal you can see that it’s just falling
apart so using a round bar really helps
you get a nice even curve without having
to worry about breaking the BAM alright
I’ve now curled it all the way around
and you can kind of see as well that
it’s not as curved as it was before it’s
lost some of that it still has a curve
but not as much and now of course if I
do something to break that sideways
curve it curls up quickly – now
functionally this works as a slap
bracelet already but it is also very
thin and even though we’ve sanded down
the edges they are pretty narrow and you
might still be able to cut yourself on
so we do want to add a little bit more
decoration and security for that we’re
going to be using our brightly colored
duct tape applying our duct tape is
pretty simple we’re just going to apply
one piece to one side another one to the
other side and then trim off all the
excess it’s a little bit harder to apply
it nice and evenly to the side that’s
curving in just start on one side and
work your way across it usually will go
on pretty smoothly
now we’re gonna take a razor blade and
use that cut up all the exits duct tape
it should cut nicely through the tape
but be pretty resistant to cutting
through the steel of course so we should
be able to cut right up to the edge and
not have to worry about whether we’re
gonna cut through our delightful
decorative duct tape has now been
applied and it snaps right onto our
wrist right where we want it it’s
possible that when you apply the duct
tape you’ll find that the tape itself
doesn’t stretch quite as much as you
want and you’ve lost some of the curl in
your band if that happens all you need
to do is go back to the curved rod and
stretch it back out over the rod until
it returns to the amount of curl that
you want these are working pretty well
there’s one thing I want to try and see
if it works I’m kind of curious if you
can make a slap belt something that’ll
wrap all the way around your torso so
I’m just gonna try and make one that’s
[Applause]
probably don’t need to put quite as much
curl in this because it’s definitely not
gonna have to fit around such a small
thing
[Applause]
I don’t think it’s going to be a smooth
rap okay so that does curl
[Applause]
that’s a different sort of slap bracelet
just keeps wrapping itself around and
around alright so maybe not so much as a
belt but the wrist thing I kind of like
that I’ll add some tape to it and see
what it does it might then be too heavy
to wrap itself up but I’ll give it a
[Applause]
like a slap bracer instead of a slap
bracelet well I think I might go down in
history is the creator of the longest
slap bracelet ever which I think I want
that on my tombstone probably my life’s
guys if you try this project out I want
to see what you do I want to see if you
have any other uses you can come up with
and if you’ve got any cool pattern or
print ideas tag us an Instagram hashtag
random nation and hashtag the king of
random feels like it’s about time for a
giveaway hey guys grant just jumping in
here again because Nate and I thought
it’d be fun to make one of these
bracelets and give them away to one of
you so here’s what we’re gonna do we’re
gonna take this tape I got my measuring
tape that I’ve been using for the last
eight years we’re gonna cut this up and
sacrifice it we’re gonna make four
bracelets and send it to one of you and
the way to qualify is take any one of
our videos and share it on any social
media platform and use the hashtag
random nation in about a week we’re
gonna look through the different social
media platforms find one of you that
shared the videos and use hashtag random
nation we’re gonna send you these four
bracelets and we’re gonna sign them for
you as well we’ve got a few stickers
we’ll throw in just for fun and when you
get them why not take a picture make a
video and tag us on Twitter or Instagram
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
so go ahead and search through all 700
of our videos pick one you like and
share it on any social media platform
using the hashtag random nation these
bracelets could be coming your way guys
that the king of random there is always
more to see the box up at the top will
take you directly to our last video you
should check that out the other box will
show you what YouTube thinks you should
be watching next in this bomb in the
middle will subscribe you to the channel
that way you never miss out on the fun
don’t forget to ring that Bell and we
will see you in the next one talk to you then
slap bracelets the fashion accessory
that was super popular during the early
90s we’re gonna make them out of two
kinds of tape duct tape and measuring
tape
[Music]
if you are old enough to remember the
late 80s or early 90s you are probably
very familiar with slap bracelets a
fashion accessory that quickly switches
from being a flat piece of metal with a
cloth wrapping over it to a bracelet you
can wear around it fits pretty much any
size it doesn’t pinch too hard overall
very easy to wear these were invented by
Stuart Anders in 1983 when he sold them
under the name of slap wraps they’ve
been in and out of popularity a few
different times and today we’re gonna be
taking a look at how to make our own
here’s the basic idea will cut off the
length of our measuring tape modify it
to give it that classic slap bracelet
curl and then use duct tape or some
liquid rubber to coat the outside of it
these don’t take too many supplies to
make and to start out what we’re gonna
need is a measuring tape and some duct
tape you should be aware that this is
going to ruin the measuring tape you’ll
be cutting it into pieces so don’t use
one that you still use for measuring
stuff maybe if you have one that’s
broken the spring doesn’t work or you
just are okay sacrificing one this whole
roll is only about five bucks and it’s
got enough measuring tape for dozens and
dozens of bracelets so if you just want
to buy one it’s pretty cheap supplies
also know that if you cut off your
measuring tape at one end and then let
go it will get pulled inside and you’re
gonna have a really hard time getting in
there without dismantling the whole
thing so you may want to cut off a piece
and then add some tape to hold it in
place so you don’t lose it or just pull
the whole thing out at once cut it off
and then cut off pieces as you need them
measuring tapes have a long piece of
steel and them not terribly unlike a
piece of measuring tape itself but it’s
a little bit more springy and when you
pull the tape out it starts winding that
coil up really really tight when you get
to the end of it it’s all wound I cut
one end and let go and so the spring
unwound all the way spinning around
really fast inside the measuring tape
and of course now I have nothing to grab
on to on the outside but that’s okay I
got all of the measuring tape out so
I’ve got what I need we need to cut off
the lengths of measuring tape the length
that we want our slap bracelet to be
usually about six to seven inches is
plenty if you’re making it for a
particularly small wristed person maybe
even less what we have now is a piece of
metal tape that’s been curved so that it
stays straight for longer as you
pull it out of the measuring tape that’s
just basically how the shape works and
if you curl it one direction it can
actually roll up very tightly that’s
what it’s usually doing inside the
measuring tape roll what we actually
want is for this tape to bend the other
direction it doesn’t really like to do
that because it goes against the shape
of the curve but we can force it to get
there and that’s what we’re gonna be
doing we want to make sure that our
bracelets are not gonna be stabbing us
or cutting us and trust me it can happen
the edges of a cut piece of measuring
tape can get quite sharp so there’s two
things we want to do first we want to
round off both of these square edges
that we’ve cut and then we want to use
either a file or sandpaper to take those
edges down even more so they’re nice and
smooth sharp and stabbing edges are all
removed so now what we need to do is add
the curve into this I’ve got a bench
vise and a screwdriver now you don’t
have to be using a screwdriver what
we’re really after is the smooth round
surface of the shaft of the screwdriver
and this could be any other bar it
doesn’t have to be from a screwdriver
this is just what I have lying around
easily available and we don’t want
something with a large diameter we want
something fairly small to get a nice
tight curve we’re going to Lock this
screwdriver into our bench vise tighten
it on there so it’s in there pretty good
so now we need to do is Bend our
measuring tape over the shaft of the
screwdriver and to do it tightly enough
that it actually starts to bend the
metal itself we don’t just mean having
the metal temporarily Bend where it will
snap back but we want to deform the
metal so that it tries to be curled
backwards you can see I’ve only done it
to this one little portion but it’s
already holding its shape if I do if I
bend this side over it just snaps back
this one will hold its shape here but
then as soon as it breaks the curve this
direction it starts curving the second
direction so now we want to do that same
thing all the way along the whole
there we go just by pinching it as I
roll it over it helps really close the
curve down and it’s really nice to use a
round bar like this because if you try
and just roll it you’re very likely to
fold it in half and just get a kink
let’s see what I’m talking about if I
just take this and I try and just roll
it I’ll likely end up creasing it and
that can just break right through the
metal you can see that it’s just falling
apart so using a round bar really helps
you get a nice even curve without having
to worry about breaking the BAM alright
I’ve now curled it all the way around
and you can kind of see as well that
it’s not as curved as it was before it’s
lost some of that it still has a curve
but not as much and now of course if I
do something to break that sideways
curve it curls up quickly – now
functionally this works as a slap
bracelet already but it is also very
thin and even though we’ve sanded down
the edges they are pretty narrow and you
might still be able to cut yourself on
so we do want to add a little bit more
decoration and security for that we’re
going to be using our brightly colored
duct tape applying our duct tape is
pretty simple we’re just going to apply
one piece to one side another one to the
other side and then trim off all the
excess it’s a little bit harder to apply
it nice and evenly to the side that’s
curving in just start on one side and
work your way across it usually will go
on pretty smoothly
now we’re gonna take a razor blade and
use that cut up all the exits duct tape
it should cut nicely through the tape
but be pretty resistant to cutting
through the steel of course so we should
be able to cut right up to the edge and
not have to worry about whether we’re
gonna cut through our delightful
decorative duct tape has now been
applied and it snaps right onto our
wrist right where we want it it’s
possible that when you apply the duct
tape you’ll find that the tape itself
doesn’t stretch quite as much as you
want and you’ve lost some of the curl in
your band if that happens all you need
to do is go back to the curved rod and
stretch it back out over the rod until
it returns to the amount of curl that
you want these are working pretty well
there’s one thing I want to try and see
if it works I’m kind of curious if you
can make a slap belt something that’ll
wrap all the way around your torso so
I’m just gonna try and make one that’s
[Applause]
probably don’t need to put quite as much
curl in this because it’s definitely not
gonna have to fit around such a small
thing
[Applause]
I don’t think it’s going to be a smooth
rap okay so that does curl
[Applause]
that’s a different sort of slap bracelet
just keeps wrapping itself around and
around alright so maybe not so much as a
belt but the wrist thing I kind of like
that I’ll add some tape to it and see
what it does it might then be too heavy
to wrap itself up but I’ll give it a
[Applause]
like a slap bracer instead of a slap
bracelet well I think I might go down in
history is the creator of the longest
slap bracelet ever which I think I want
that on my tombstone probably my life’s
guys if you try this project out I want
to see what you do I want to see if you
have any other uses you can come up with
and if you’ve got any cool pattern or
print ideas tag us an Instagram hashtag
random nation and hashtag the king of
random feels like it’s about time for a
giveaway hey guys grant just jumping in
here again because Nate and I thought
it’d be fun to make one of these
bracelets and give them away to one of
you so here’s what we’re gonna do we’re
gonna take this tape I got my measuring
tape that I’ve been using for the last
eight years we’re gonna cut this up and
sacrifice it we’re gonna make four
bracelets and send it to one of you and
the way to qualify is take any one of
our videos and share it on any social
media platform and use the hashtag
random nation in about a week we’re
gonna look through the different social
media platforms find one of you that
shared the videos and use hashtag random
nation we’re gonna send you these four
bracelets and we’re gonna sign them for
you as well we’ve got a few stickers
we’ll throw in just for fun and when you
get them why not take a picture make a
video and tag us on Twitter or Instagram
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
so go ahead and search through all 700
of our videos pick one you like and
share it on any social media platform
using the hashtag random nation these
bracelets could be coming your way guys
that the king of random there is always
more to see the box up at the top will
take you directly to our last video you
should check that out the other box will
show you what YouTube thinks you should
be watching next in this bomb in the
middle will subscribe you to the channel
that way you never miss out on the fun
don’t forget to ring that Bell and we
will see you in the next one talk to you then
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