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Posts Tagged ‘Wire’

Anyone that wants to make great wire work jewelry needs to have the right tools. Many newbies to jewelry making — and even some of us who have been doing this for awhile get a bit intimidated when it comes to the world of tools. Some jewelry makers actually get a bit stubborn, and attempt to make one single tool work for every possible configuration. It just doesn’t work! You really do need a variety of tools for best success.

Here’s my best beginners’ tool list (and a frugal minded one at that) for wire work jewelry:

* The most important first: your pliers- flat-nose, chain-nose, round-nose

* A good quality pair of side flush cutters

* A good, smooth steel plate (this is a terrific substitute that is less expensive than a steel bench block)

* A hardware store hammer

* A small nylon or rawhide mallet

* A flat file (can find this at either the hardware store or a hobby store)

* Fine steel wool (for cleaning and polishing)

These tools will help you master wire work jewelry and create many beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Now that you know what you need, you might be wondering where to get these things. Here are some tips so you don’t waste your money:

Tip #1:

Great tools can be found at the hardware store. “The hardware store?” you may ask, “that’s where the light bulbs and ladders live.” But no my little chickadee, you can find some of your jewelry making tools at the hardware store. Remember that you’ll be working with wire and that wire is stiff and hard. It makes perfect sense that your perfect tools would live at the hardware store, just waiting to be found. Get a hammer, flat file, steel wool and a nylon mallet — all at the hardware store! Best of all, often your hardware store jewelry making supplies will be less expensive than traditional craft store supplies!

Tip#2

Pay for quality so you don’t pay for mistakes. This may seem funny to say after tip #1, but there is a time to spend the money. Here’s where to spend your money: pliers. Never EVER get your pliers from the hardware store. Here’s here you need to splurge on the specialized stuff.

It seems like many wire work jewelry makers scrimp a bit on their pliers (been there, done that!) so they have extra money to spend on supplies. But this is just like charging something on your credit card so you don’t pay cash: not really a great bargain. You need quality pliers to see you through every wire work jewelry-making project that you do. If you purchase the cheapie pliers, you’ll soon have trouble getting them to perform for you. There is nothing more frustrating than working on a great piece and having your tools not work as well as you do. The key to cutting costs is to know when – and pliers ain’t the place to save. When it comes to pliers, you’re wise to purchase quality tools that keep up the pace!

Tip #3:

Wire work jewelry making kit tools can be a great deal. But you do need to investigate exactly what is included in that kit. Many craft kits are created so they can be given as gifts or purchased by a beginner who may not completely understand what they need. We’ve already talked about exactly what tools you need. So if you see a wire work tool kit that includes lots of great pliers and a hammer or other tools for a top-notch price, then that is a good deal. But if it doesn’t have the above tools and includes different types of tools then it is created for doing different types of jewelry and will not be useful for what you want to do.

Wire work jewelry making is very dependent on having the right tools. The more informed you are about your tools — the stronger your jewelry making skills become.

Happy wire working!

Question:

Wire wrapping is completely new to me.  I think what I need to know about would be considered wire wrapping.  I am using eye pins.  I have seen that some people take and wrap the wire around itself just below the eye.  Is there an easy way to do this?

Answer:

The best way I can instruct you in making your own eye pins is to direct you to this instructional video. Here Sherrie Lingerfelt shows how to easily make a rosary link using two pair of pliers at the same time. (A rosary link is a combination of two wrapped links, which are the same as wrapped loops or wrapped eyes.) Hope this helps! http://wire-sculpture.com/jewelry-making-blog/201/creating-a-rosary-link/

Question:

In July I sold a piece of silver.  Three weeks later the customer returned the piece and to my amazement it was black.  I re-tumbled the piece and it was restored to its original condition.  What are your thoughts on what chemical or perfume substance could have cause this to occur?  The piece is still bright and shinny with no signs of tarnish.

Answer:

OK, the only culprit I know of that can cause serious tarnish so quickly is chlorine. If the customer wore her sterling silver in a pool or vacationed and took a shower where a large amount of chlorine is added to the water, this would turn sterling black about immediately. Using a tumbler to clean the piece again is great, but is it also being polished at the same time? Polish would coat the piece and add a certain amount of limited protection.

Question:

I have 5 and 7 mm round gemstones but can’t find that size in the snapset castings.  Will they fit in another size casting?

Answer:

We are actually in the process of adding a larger variety of snapset finding sizes to our inventory.  While we ask for your patience, in some cases you can go up or down one size for round shapes, depending on the depth of the stone’s pavillion.

Question:

Do you have any videos showing how to make a bracelet using pattern wire?

Answer:

At this time, we do have a stepped out pattern (#150), to make a bracelet using pattern wire. You may find it here:
http://wire-sculpture.com/pages/jewelrypattern150.html

Question:

I have many cut stones which I would like to wire wrap but all you designs incorporate snapset which I cannot get in South Africa.  How else can I wrap them so they are shown off effectively?

Answer:

Creating wire settings for faceted stones can be rather tricky. In my new book, Wirework, I share several such projects and give the complete formulas so you can set any size or shaped faceted stone!

Question:

I have a customer that gave me a stone and said she wanted a ring made. Well the stone is not a normal stone that you would put in a ring, well what I put in rings anyway, so do you have any patterns I could use. The stone is triangle and flat.

Answer:

Almost any stone can be made into a ring using the Classic Cabochon or Pharaoh’s Ring pattern.

Question:

I do know of some easy ways to clean copper safely. But my question is – Will the papers we use for silver also keep copper shiney when we are not wearing it?

Answer:

Anti-tarnish paper works because it contains materials that neutralize common gases in our atmosphere that cause corrosion on metals like silver, nickel, gold, copper, bronze, tin and brass. Most of these special, paper products will work for a minimum of 6 months before they need to be replaced