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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 15:08:14 GMT -5
I saw a member here using a stained glass grinding machine to cut a groove around a cabochon for wire wrapping. I loved the look and decided I wanted to try it out. I don’t have the equipment or knowledge to make cabs, but I do like to cut/polish mini slabs from petrified wood and agate. I purchased a glass grinder, set up an IV bag cooling tube and was thrilled to find that it worked. Today I’m attempting to wrap them and…it’s difficult. Ugh. I tried 20 and 18 gauge round wire with rather poor result. I am not sure how to make the bail so it’s secure and looks decent. Any hints y’all may have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!    |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on May 8, 2023 15:50:10 GMT -5
You could maybe take a look at Drummond Island Rocks posts. There are nice examples of this style of wrap and maybe even some insight into how best to do it? I actually think your wraps look pretty good. Maybe it’s just a practice makes perfect scenario? |
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Post by chris1956 on May 8, 2023 16:24:52 GMT -5
Hopefully (not sure of links) below is a link to a Michigan Rocks youtube video on wrapping similar to what you did. Yours look pretty good to me for first try.
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Post by tims on May 8, 2023 16:49:36 GMT -5
Inward curves in the shape of your cabs might be part of the trouble, your wire may want to pull out flush when tight and not keep to the shape of your cab. If the cabs had a standard round / oval shape i bet the groove wrap would be much easier.
Bails are my personal bane but imo yours look pretty good.
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 17:51:53 GMT -5
You could maybe take a look at Drummond Island Rocks posts. There are nice examples of this style of wrap and maybe even some insight into how best to do it? I actually think your wraps look pretty good. Maybe it’s just a practice makes perfect scenario? Thanks!! That’s who I’d forgotten that I’d seen doing this, so I’ll go back and check them out. Yes, practice makes perfect. |
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 17:58:33 GMT -5
Inward curves in the shape of your cabs might be part of the trouble, your wire may want to pull out flush when tight and not keep to the shape of your cab. If the cabs had a standard round / oval shape i bet the groove wrap would be much easier. Bails are my personal bane but imo yours look pretty good. Thank you very much! Man, I thought the bails looked awful. I feel a bit better now lol. I spent an hour just working on these three and was getting frustrated. I’ve been using a wooden dowel to help tap the wire into the odd shape of the rock, but I’m realizing I didn’t grind the groove quite deep enough. I think I’m going to use square wire next, but I’ll ‘adjust’ the grooves a bit more first. My ultimate goal is to learn how to make cabs but we cannot swing the cost of the machinery at this time. So until I figure out how to make them with more basic tools (I’m working on that) I’ll be practicing on these. Thanks again! |
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 18:02:57 GMT -5
Hopefully (not sure of links) below is a link to a Michigan Rocks youtube video on wrapping similar to what you did. Yours look pretty good to me for first try. Cool! I’ve seen a a lot of Rob’s videos but I must’ve missed that one. Many thanks! And thank you, I’m feeling better now about my attempts here. |
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Post by liveoak on May 8, 2023 18:57:16 GMT -5
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on May 8, 2023 20:13:38 GMT -5
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on May 8, 2023 20:17:58 GMT -5
Also velodromed I saw a tip on a wire wrapping tutorial suggesting the use of guitar pics to use as pushers. Maybe you know a musician. They tend to have a ton of these laying around and many that they just don’t like to use. I swiped a few from my husband of varying thicknesses and weights for pushing wires and they work great. Also they are pretty inexpensive to buy. There are really heavy and non flexible ones that you can put a lot of pressure on and then there are really thin ones that can help to separate and spread wires. Can’t have too many tools! (I don’t think.) 🤔 |
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Post by jasoninsd on May 8, 2023 20:59:44 GMT -5
Velo, you've got a lot of good advice on here! I hadn't thought of using a guitar pick...I use half of a wooden clothespin (I just take out the spring and I've got two "tools"!).
When you're doing a shape with an inside curve (like the left one in the group pic) I find it easiest to "over" bend the wire so that when I put it into the curve, it's in as tight as it will go. Also, any shape with an inside curve, you can't cinch the wire around the shape like you can with a shape that has all convex curves (like an oval or a teardrop). If you cinch the ones with an inside curve, you'll pull the wire out of the curve.
Another thing I do when I'm doing the grinding on the bit, I have a piece of scrap wire with me so I can check the depth of cut as I'm going. I'll pull the cab away from the bit, check the depth of the groove with the scrap wire and do a little more if necessary. That way I don't go too deep...and am sure I am deep enough.
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 21:00:10 GMT -5
This tutorial is fantastic! Thank you for pointing it out to me. I really appreciate it. |
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 21:02:07 GMT -5
Velo, you've got a lot of good advice on here! I hadn't thought of using a guitar pick...I use half of a wooden clothespin (I just take out the spring and I've got two "tools"!). When you're doing a shape with an inside curve (like the left one in the group pic) I find it easiest to "over" bend the wire so that when I put it into the curve, it's in as tight as it will go. Also, any shape with an inside curve, you can't cinch the wire around the shape like you can with a shape that has all convex curves (like an oval or a teardrop). If you cinch the ones with an inside curve, you'll pull the wire out of the curve. Another thing I do when I'm doing the grinding on the bit, I have a piece of scrap wire with me so I can check the depth of cut as I'm going. I'll pull the cab away from the bit, check the depth of the groove with the scrap wire and do a little more if necessary. That way I don't go too deep...and am sure I am deep enough. Thank you very much! Fantastic Hints and advice that I will follow. I really appreciate everybody on here. Y’all have helped me much by pointing me in the right direction. |
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Post by velodromed on May 8, 2023 21:03:05 GMT -5
Also velodromed I saw a tip on a wire wrapping tutorial suggesting the use of guitar pics to use as pushers. Maybe you know a musician. They tend to have a ton of these laying around and many that they just don’t like to use. I swiped a few from my husband of varying thicknesses and weights for pushing wires and they work great. Also they are pretty inexpensive to buy. There are really heavy and non flexible ones that you can put a lot of pressure on and then there are really thin ones that can help to separate and spread wires. Can’t have too many tools! (I don’t think.) 🤔 I can totally see how that would work. I need to pick up some guitar picks anyway, because I want to make some lol. Many thanks! |
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Post by Starguy on May 8, 2023 21:34:05 GMT -5
velodromedHere’s how I control depth of cut for the groove. It works good for preforms, (flat bottom and square sides). I’m not sure how it would work for irregular shapes. It was pretty easy to make and attach. I put a small bolt through the steel strap on each side of the bit. Moving the bolts slightly and retightening adjusts the depth of the groove. If you use half round wire, the groove doesn’t need to be as deep. 
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Post by velodromed on May 9, 2023 6:18:23 GMT -5
velodromed Here’s how I control depth of cut for the groove. It works good for preforms, (flat bottom and square sides). I’m not sure how it would work for irregular shapes. It was pretty easy to make and attach. I put a small bolt through the steel strap on each side of the bit. Moving the bolts slightly and retightening adjusts the depth of the groove. If you use half round wire, the groove doesn’t need to be as deep. Thank you, that looks like a really good idea. I like seeing the cooling tube on yours. I was just guessing on that when I set mine up lol. Grinding the groove was much easier than trying to wrap them. I just need to get the ‘feel‘ down and I shouldn’t have trouble with the groove. I like the idea of using a piece of test wire to make sure it isn’t too shallow or deep. The tutorial that was posted earlier will really help. It never occurred to me to wrap using a thinner wire and then complete the bail wrap with a thicker wire. I really like the idea of locking the pliers to hold it, I was having a lot of trouble trying to do it all with two hands. The way it was done in the tutorial was interesting, using a clamp to hold the pliers shut. I have a pair of locking forceps that I’m going to wrap a layer of tape around each tip and try that first, though. Just for fun. Thank you very much for posting that picture! I really appreciate it. |
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Post by velodromed on May 9, 2023 7:04:04 GMT -5
velodromed Here’s how I control depth of cut for the groove. It works good for preforms, (flat bottom and square sides). I’m not sure how it would work for irregular shapes. It was pretty easy to make and attach. I put a small bolt through the steel strap on each side of the bit. Moving the bolts slightly and retightening adjusts the depth of the groove. If you use half round wire, the groove doesn’t need to be as deep. The more times I look at this picture the more I think it’s a great idea. So I’m going to shamelessly borrow it from you. Thanks again! |
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Post by liveoak on May 9, 2023 7:35:37 GMT -5
velodromed, for your locking forceps, I found using Marine Grade Shrink Tubing works really well, instead of tape. The real tip is using the marine grade as it has adhesive in it and stays on a good while. I've found it's a great 3rd hand for bail work. Patty
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Post by Starguy on May 9, 2023 12:16:23 GMT -5
velodromed Feel free to borrow away. I borrowed the idea from another member. I wish he was still here to provide his input. His name was Vince. He was very innovative and always had good ideas. Here’s a better picture with the fence actually bolted down. I included an aftermarket bit that is slightly thinner than the Gryphon bit. It required a brass bushing to fit the machine’s shaft. I ordered the bushing from McMaster-Carr. I had to sand it a little to fit the bit plus drill a hole for the set screw to go through. You can see the bushing inside the bit in the photo. 
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Post by velodromed on May 9, 2023 15:40:53 GMT -5
velodromed , for your locking forceps, I found using Marine Grade Shrink Tubing works really well, instead of tape. The real tip is using the marine grade as it has adhesive in it and stays on a good while. I've found it's a great 3rd hand for bail work. Patty That’s a better idea and I have plenty of it. My other hobby is building/running RC cars so I have a very good selection of tools and interesting things. Thank you! |
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