Sheriff Badge

Howdy y'all I decided to make a sheriff badge for a cowboy costume. It did not take long at all and was very easy to make.

I was clearing out the cellar and I found this slightly rounded price of metal. It was going to go in the bin but I saved it. I have no idea what its past use was but I thought it would make an awesome sheriffs badge. First I cleared some of the rust with WD40. I wasn't to bothered about getting all the rust off as it was only really rusty on the back.

On the piece of metal there were two odd shapes on the top and bottom. I marked out where to cut with a permanent marker then cut it out using a metal cutting tool with the dremel. once the circular shape was cut out I rounded it off with some sandpaper.

I first got lots of reference images so that I could decide how to draw the star. Once I decided how to draw the badge I started to draw it with a permanent marker. Drawing the outer circle first then making some measurements before drawing the whole star.

To cut out the star shape I used the metal cutting tool on my dremel again. I followed the lines that I had drawn carefully with the dremel. I made sure to leave plenty of room where the star met the circle so that the corners of the star would not snap and fall off.

I was going to use some needle files to file it all down so the edges looked good. However in the end I used some engraving accessories with my dremel as this was much faster. I used different sized tools to smooth down the different parts of the badge.

I had to then engrave the "sheriff" into the badge. I found it easiest to write it on a piece of paper and then copy the size of the writing onto the metal. I marked it out in pencil on the metal then marked it permanently with the dremel.

To create the pin for the back I thought it would be easiest to take apart an exiting badge that I got given somewhere. I then cut it down to size, the metal was only thin so I could cut it easily with scissors. Once it was the correct size the two prices of metal were attached together using contact adhesive. I would have liked to solder the badge on but I don't have a soldering iron so I glued it instead.

Now you can wear the badge with pride. All your cowboy friends will now know who is boss. Thank you for reading :)