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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 15, 2006 21:19:40 GMT -5
I CANNOT wrap a stone with this stuff! What is up with that stuff, I have 20 gauge 1/2 hard and I can't get it to do anything, I detest this stuff with a passion! I tried wrapping my rainbow obsidian with that wire and just missed tossing it throught the window! I have some dead soft wire that is a little smaller diameter would this help in the half hard process - this stuff is dead soft - I wanted to use up the free wire before I tried with the purchased stuff - tried many times to do a wrap with 1/2 hard & every time it flops! Doc says 1/2 hard is good but maybe he,s talking about smaller sizes - ... *cry*  I can't even talk about this anymore... |
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Post by Cher on Feb 15, 2006 21:33:31 GMT -5
Awww I'm sorry Tweety. 20 gauge is pretty big, if you're going to use the half hard, you'd want like 24 gauge. I've done it with 22 gauge but even that is very hard to do. If you have dead soft, use it. Once you get better at wrapping, then try the half hard.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 15, 2006 21:43:06 GMT -5
Thanks Cher - I'll use the 24 gauge I think
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Post by sandsman1 on Feb 16, 2006 1:19:14 GMT -5
tweet all i have used is 20 and 22 half hard gold and silver and i like it ----it holds it's shape well and you dont have to keep goin back and re-doing bends and such,, it is alittle tougher to use but i use flat nose plyers to make the bends and it works out pretty well --- im not a pro at it but ill get better as i go
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Feb 18, 2006 11:12:08 GMT -5
Me, too, Tweet. I never use soft wire. I haven't developed the cajones to try hard wire yet. Half-hard is all I use. I want to be able to sleep with my pendants on without crushing them. The half-hard wire is a bit less forgiving, I'll admit, but I think it holds up better in the long run.
Come to think of it, I haven't wrapped anything lately. I'll have to remedy that. S
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Post by hermatite on Feb 20, 2006 11:50:44 GMT -5
I understand that half hard might be preferable but I find working with it is way too hard on my wrists.
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Post by docone31 on Feb 20, 2006 21:02:09 GMT -5
Half hard is the minimum I use. Soft lets go after the wrap is done, and it does not take either a polish, or make the bends harder wire will. It also allows the wrap to be the shape and not rely on the stone for support.
I also keep reading about Guage! If you purchase wire by guage, you are going to get ripped off. The tolerance by guage is 20% either side of the measured tolerance.
I got 16ozs., of .032 hard square silver from RIO. some one pulled by guage and made the order. It came from .032 in the beginning, and ended up at .029, just short of 21guage. That is a big difference, and I could not match the new silver with the old wire to finish the design. I had to pull my own wire. I keep telling people, do not purchase by guage, you will not be happy with the product. If you must continue to order by guage, get the next guage above what you want, then pull it down! That is the only way you can match guage from one spool to the next. A work that is not identical in wire dimensions, will sit in the case untill it is black from oxide contamination.
When they order by guage, the shipper knows they are pulling for an amateur. Order by dimension, either thousandths, or millimeter and they do not mess around. They are in the business to make money, so guage is their preferred method. Just remember, it can be off 20% either way.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 20, 2006 21:11:27 GMT -5
Doc, I ordered by dimension when I got this half hard wire, I think it's just easier for us to identify the gauge with approximate dimensions - I mean if I said I wrapped something with .5 wire, even I'm unsure as to what it would look like, but if I say it's with 22 gauge I can get an idea of what it's wrapped with
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Post by docone31 on Feb 20, 2006 21:51:27 GMT -5
Tweety, I agree. I also believe, that to a measure, we who have been on this forum have an example to set. If we speak in guage, someone who wants to learn, but is afraid to speak up, will seek in guage.
Remember our first polish? The first one came out great. The next one we chased, and chased to the point where we joined this forum. Then we started really getting results, and showing them to others. Then they asked us how we did it.
A word seems trite, but to a newbie, it means everything, especially in wire wrapping. It is hard enough. Don't get me wrong, please. I am by no means bashing everybody. I struggled for years using guage as an index. It was when I went to decimals, either metric, or SAE, that I broke through. A lot of my work is not within guage specs. It is decimal only. I have one design that will not sell using .032. When I pulled it down to .030, bingo!
With the rigidity of half/hard, or hard, it is the hand placement on the tool that prevents making a good bend, or a slipped bend. Ironically, the hand placement on the tool handle also makes the difference between unbending the prong on a diamond that has been bent, or making a crease in the prong straightening it. The prong will crack a short time later at the tool mark. The same with torqueing the prong tip down on the stone to tighten it. It is hand placement on the tool handle that allows the user to use the tool as an extension of the thought and work needed.
Tools straight from the supplier are only raw materials. They must be honed, sharpened, and planed to suit the job. That is what is missing in working the wires.
Duck Bill pliers need to be honed inside the jaws before using on wire, the edges must be planed to make sharp turns. Chain links, the same thing. If a person is right handed, they must be planed for that, the opposite for left handed. Each wrist articulates a little differently, and the jaw angle must be honed to accomodate.
Chain links are too narow for making bends. The tips compress and expand the corners, making a sharp bend almost impossible. I am left handed, so I plane the tips of my pliers, either Duck Bill, or Chain link at a 53* angle at the tip, and hone the sides so they are paralell. This allows me to use my entire arm to make the bend rather than my wrist. I also place my index finger at the hinge point, or just above the hinge point.
The same with Mandrel pliers. The same with side cutters. All my tools get modified before I place them in service. I make them shine like chrome plating inside and on the sides and tip.
Sharp tools leave no marks. Sharp tools make tight bends without cutting the wire.
I have found, it is almost never the wire, or material, it is the condition of the tools. Get a brand new tool, take it out of the wrapping, clean off the cordite, and use it, and it will almost never produce the results old faithful will.
When I wire wrap, I use almost 30 different tools for different tasks. I use auto wax to protect the metal on the tools from oxidation. I never oil my tools. Oil floats to the top on water, so with tools. Oil them, and water goes under the oil to the metal. The oxide finish scratches the wire so it looks dark down the road.
If you get soft wire, harden it by pulling it through a cleaning rag untill it curls, the pull harder. The out working of the wire hardens the core allowing the wire to keep its bend, or set.
When the wrist gets tired, making the bends, or working the wire, the tool is being held not quite correctly. The tool is an extension of the hand which is controlled by the vision in the mind.
You can do it.
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