Wire
Jewelry
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Tools
• Bent chain nose - Chain nose pliers with a 45
degree bend for getting into tight places. Can
also be used for picking up small parts, and
opening and closing jump rings.
• Chain nose - Pointed flat nose pliers, used for
gripping and tucking in wire ends, and getting
into tight places.
• Round nose - Smooth, round jaws used for
making loops and round bends in wire.
• Flat nose pliers - Broad, flat jaws used for
gripping and holding wire and creating angular
bends. Also great for opening and closing jump
rings.
Tools
• Flush cutter - A flush cutter is a jewelry wire
cutter that is made to cut wire leaving one side
of the cut to be flush (or flat) and the other side
of the cut to be sharp (pointed). A conventional
cutter will cut the wire leaving both sides semisharp. One side of the jaws on a flush cutter is
flat, the opposite side is beveled.
• End Cutter Nippers – Cutters used to cut wire
and findings. They create a close, even cut.
• Side Nippers – Use these to cut wire right next
to an object.
• Jig - A jig is a jewelry making tool with a series
of pegs used to form or shape wire.
Gauges
Wire Hardness
• Hardness - Hardness in wire is the property of how easy
or how hard to bend the wire is. Soft wire is very easy to
bend. Hard wire is stiff and springy
• Full -Hard - Hard wire is the stiffest, least easy to bend
and most springy of all the wire harnesses. This type of
wire is not used a great deal because it is difficult to
bend
• Half Hard - In the middle of this range. This wire is stiffer
than dead soft wire and not as stiff and springy as fully
hardened wire. In general only gold, gold-filled, sterling
silver and fine silver wire can be purchased with a
hardness of 1/2 hard.
• Dead Soft-This wire is very soft and can be bent with
your hands. It is often used for wire-sculpted jewelry.
Wire Attributes
Disadvantages
Advantages
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Soft Wire
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1/2 Hard Wire
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Hard Wire
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Soft wire can be used to make
spirals and other rounded shapes.
Soft wire can be used for any
application. Some it will do well
some less well.
1/2 hard wire wraps tightly around
itself or other wire.
1/2 hard wire makes sharp bends.
1/2 hard wire requires less
hardening of the finished piece.
Finished Pieces made in hard wire
require no hardening.
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Soft Wire isn't easy to use when wrapping
wire around other wire.
Soft Wire doesn't make sharp bends easily.
Soft wire generally requires hardening of the
finished piece.
1/2 hard wire can not be used for making
spirals
1/2 hard wire requires that you push the wire
beyond where you want it to end up, then
remove your hands and test to see where
the wire ends up once it has relaxed.
Hard wire is very difficult to work with.
Hard wire can not be used for making
spirals or other rounded shapes.
Findings
• Finding - A finding is a jewelry making component,
frequently made of metal. Ear wires, head pins, eye pins
and clasps are examples of findings.
• Ear Wire - A finding used to allow the wearing of
earrings. The ear wire connects the earring body to the
wearer's ear
• Jump Ring - A jump ring is a metal finding that is
round. Jump rings can be open like the one shown at right
or they can be soldered closed
• Yoke - A yoke is the center piece in a necklace. In the
necklace at right you can view two yokes. This necklace is
a project that allows you to interchange the yoke in a
necklace. You can select the picture at right to view how to
make this interchangeable yoke necklace.
Techniques
• A loop is essentially a circle made in a wire segment.
• Open loop - Opening a loop is a jewelry making technique
for using chain nose or bent chain nose pliers to open a loop
without distorting the shape. By opening a loop you can
connect other components to this loop, then close the loop
while retaining the round shape of the loop.
• A "P" loop is a loop made in wire where the loop is on one
side of the wire. The shape of the loop and the wire makes
this look like the letter "P", hence the name.
• "U" shaped bend refers to bending wire in the shape of the
letter "U". This bend is frequently made with the tips of your
round nose pliers. This technique is frequently used when
wrapping fine gauge wire around another wire component
as shown at right.
• A spiral is a wire component made by wrapping wire around
itself in a flat plane. An example of a spiral is shown at
right. Spirals can only be made in wire with a hardness of
dead soft.
• Quenching is a process for heat treating metals to change its
hardness. This process involves heating the metal to a high
temperature and then rapidly cooling it by dipping it in a liquid
bath made of oil or water.
• Hardening is the process of making a jewelry component
more permanent and stiffer (hardening) by flexing the
component repeatedly. This can be accomplished with your
fingers or some level of work hardening is accomplished by
the initial shaping of the wire with pliers and/or a jewelry
making jig.
Here are some do's and don'ts about
choosing jewelry wire:
• In general use 20G wire for earrings, 18G wire for Bracelet
components and 18 or 16 G wire for necklace components.
• In general use 20 or 22G wire for making wrapped bead links in
bracelets and necklaces.
• In general don't use 22G wire to make a wire component that must
stand by itself, unless that component is very small.
• In general, when buying 16G wire, buy soft wire, half-hard may be
too stiff.
• In general use soft wire for spirals and half-hard wire where you will
have wrapped loops.
• When making an ear wire, consider 20 or 21G wire. 22G wire is
probably too thin and may be uncomfortable to wear.
• Do not use Artistic Wire or any other dyed wire for making ear
wires. The dyes have chemicals that do not belong inside the
human body.
Ideas
http://www.xeniadesign.com/jewelry/bracelets/copperclover.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/41/99847359_8075f32c2c.jpg
http://www.victorianelegance.com/vf/vfj042.jpg
http://www.xeniadesign.com/jewelry/necklaces/rusjade.jpg