UBB.threads Forums General Militaria United States Militaria An Early Veteran's Day Project

Back in the early 1970s, we could get a miniature ribbon bar at the Washington Navy Yard to wear with our civies. At around 37% size of a standard bar, it was a good size to wear on your lapel or ball cap. The bar was not a standard or authorized item, just something that was offered there. After wearing mine for the last 40 years, it was starting to get dingy and show a little wear. After deciding to retire it and get a new one, I was a bit surprised to find that such an item was not readily available. A few companies offered to make one from miniature medal ribbons, but the bar would be larger than I wanted, and would be expensive! So I came up with a way to make a replacement.

To make the bar, you will need a graphic image of the ribbons, a piece of thin metal for the backing plate - 26 gauge or thinner (the metal can be anything as long as the pins can be epoxied or soldered in place), 1 or 2 clutch-back fasteners with pins, a little white glue, and a can of clear matte or semigloss spray. The metal sheet and clutch-back fasteners are available from Ebay or most good hobby stores (I got mine at Micheal's Arts & Crafts). The first photo (left to right) shows the steps to make the bar.

For the ribbon bar image, you can photograph or scan your original bar, or build the image in Photoshop or other graphics program using the photos from the GDC Reference "U.S. Ribbon Chart" or the internet. The image should be at 300 dpi (dots per inch) to preserve detail and each ribbon should be 55 x 167 pixels in size. After getting the image, duplicate it to have multiple images on a page and print it on a sheet of matte photo or hi-resolution paper (you may need a few extra copies of the image in case of problems). Cut one image out of the sheet to the exact size of the ribbons. Trim the metal to the size of the image to make the backing plate. A sharp Exacto knife and a steel ruler or scissors can be used to cut out the shape. Use fine sandpaper to lightly round the corners and sharp edges. Solder or epoxy the pins to the metal backing plate. If your ribbon bar is one row, you will need to cut down the mounting plates on the pins before attaching them to the metal backing plate. Clean the metal backing plate to remove solder flux or excess epoxy. Use a thin coat of white glue to attach the image to the backing plate. After it dries, give it a few coats of clear spray to protect it from dirt and moisture.

In the second photo, the bar on the left hat is the one just made. The bar on the right hat was made with a thin piece of brass cut 1/16" over-size, then polished. I used clear packing tape over the final assembly to give it a glossy enameled look and increase durability. At the bottom are the original and miniature bars.

Just made these so I don't know how well they will stand up but should find out in the next few days Let me know if you have any questions and please share your experience in making one. Happy (early) Veteran's Day!

The one with the brass border stands out nicely.

--dj--Joe

I thought so too

Here are 2 more, top for a Vietnam Vet, bottom for a WW2 Vet who served in the occupation. You can see how the clutch-back pins need to be cut down for the thinner bars. Also, I prefer to solder the pins to the backing plate rather than epoxy them

That's some nice work Vern!

Thanks! I hope all you vets give it a try. If you have problems building the image for your bar, I can probably help