Erich
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2015
Posts: 411
|
Post by Erich on Feb 22, 2016 19:43:29 GMT -5
So, my wife has a draw plate and would like your thoughts on the most economical size and hardness of silver wire to buy.
She would like to buy in bulk- enough to last for a while; somewhere in the 50 to 100 ounce range perhaps, to make many different sizes and shapes using the draw plate. I was thinking 18 or 20 ga. but not sure what hardness to get. Also do you use sterling or .999 silver for wire wrapping?
Thanks in advance for everyone's thoughts!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 20:05:05 GMT -5
A draw plate is really used when you are casting ingots to draw through the plate.you can use it to reduce the size of wire as well.but you must anneal between each pull.its a pain in the butt.and the results are iffy.ive tried a couple times with mixed results Hope this helps Dave
|
|
Erich
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2015
Posts: 411
|
Post by Erich on Feb 22, 2016 22:11:01 GMT -5
Thanks Dave, I'll pass that info on to my wife. Probably best to just buy the individual wire sizes is what I'm taking away from that. Anyone else with experience in reducing wire through a draw plate and going through the annealing process? How was it?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 23:34:00 GMT -5
If you are buying silver wire and reducing it,it goes a lot easier than casting rod ingots and drawing your own wire from that.i have reduced pre-fab wire before,it goes pretty easy but you will need to anneal still at least after every three pulls. Hope this helps. Dave
|
|
jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
|
Post by jerrys on Feb 23, 2016 12:03:46 GMT -5
Buy dead soft wire for the draw plate. Try using your draw plate to resize wire before committing to it with 50 plus oz. There's a reason they are sold with winches. Also, do the cost vs benefit calculations. How much will you save an hour resizing wire vs how much you make an hour creating jewelry?
|
|