Complete tutorial to wire wrapping (58 pics)

Thanks ya'll!
Mark- funny thing, I actually did teach a wire wrapping class yesterday. There were three wire wrappers..... Me, Jeremy (Jurassicjonje), and a girl from North Carolina. We each took a group of people. It was alot of fun, me and my group joked around so much that it took us the longest to make the wire wraps but everyone did an awesome job All people were from the Tidewater Gem and Mineral society, I joined about 4 months ago.

I'm not familiar with that area. I did some work in Goldsboro, but all I knew was from the Hotel to the job sites. We do have a decent rockshop here in Virginia Beach, and there's a really big pile of rocks outside (tons) that sell for $3 a pound. As soon as it warms up a bit I'll be digging through the pile again. Come on up! What part of FL are you in? It takes me 12 hours to drive from Orlando to Va Beach.

Thanks very much! The name sounds really familiar- I'm sure he's the one. He had fantastic stuff on eBay and I haven't seen him there lately. i'll see what I can find on him. And, welcome to the RTH! , FL directly across the bay from Destin. i'm pretty much halfwway between Pensacola and Panama City. I'd love to get back up there again, but this kid thing and work thing and not driving thing are a bit of a problem (I don't see very well). I remember some great eats up there. There was a terrific Italian deli with deli baked Sicilian peasant bread and great imp[orted Italian cheeses. Their pastas were incredible, and the place was really plain and cheap. I don't know why I thopught of that place, just an association. If it;'s still there, check it out if you haven't. one of these days I'm going to take the kids to Olonial Williamsburg. It's something everyone ought to do, I think, if they can puyll the kids away from Busch Gardens long enough!. This place is a collectors' wasteland except for fossils, and I don't know where to begin looking locally (but they are there). it isn't too far up to the Hobbs mine (sp?) in LaFGrange eorgia and I have a lead on several locations a day trip from Atlanta like GravesMmounain. I have relativces up there I can intrude upon and it's only about 6 hours up there. I'm told there's stuff to be jhad neart Stone Mountain, too. Oh well, someday when the kids are grown and the dogs are dead, we'll take off. I'm planning a few hunting trips over spring break in East Tennessee for Magnetite, crinoids, tree fern casts, Douglas Lake diamonds, agates (some really beautiful stuff up there that rivals Lake Superior's best), and varuous lead and zinc associated minerals. A little ways west ad your finding great geodes in Jamestown, TN, aragonite and calcite. Of course, a quick overmnighter tatakes you to Spruce pine or Franklin, NC. Are you aware of anything in AMelia Courthouse that is still open to the public for prospesting?

Mark H.

That's 45 minutes from my house, you'll have to look me up!

Hello Everyone,
I am extremely new to all this. In fact I'm so new I've not polished my first stone... yet! I recently went to Moonstone Beach in Cambria, CA and I found many wonderful stones that would be perfect for pieces of jewelry so I've decided this might be a really fun hobby - I've always been a rock collector. I really liked the tutorial on wire wrapping. It gave a much more clear picture of what this is like. Are there any other resources, books, etc. you all would recommend? Also, some of my stones are pretty small, do any of you use something like Dremel tools to polish with instead of tumbling - I'm afraid tumbling would completely dissolve some of my stones. Any tidbits of info will be helpful. And oh, Mark H. - Carthage TN is very close to where I grew up!
KT

Hi Jo,
Thanks for the info. I know that some of the stones I found are moonstone but I have other things as well... I'm not really sure what all I do have. There is one stone that is a dark reddish color and the shape is already great for a pendant - with just a little shaping needed. Do you know of any good books or resources for learning how to identify stones?

Identification forum! That's great - I'll have to get some pics and post them. Thanks.

Welcome to the board! Craft wire is terrible stuff for trying to learn with, I highly recommend copper wire from Brandywine. It works just like gold wire. It doesn't really matter what the shape of the cab is, some can be a bit more challenging though, especially if you're a first time wrapper. A heart is just as easy to cab as an oval with one difference.... instead of starting with one binding wrap in the middle, you'll start with two. They'll have a space of approx. 1/4 inch between them, with a 90 degree bend. That will be the bottom of the heart. Everything else will be exactly like the tutorial. Here's a heart that I did last month, you can see what I'm talking about. Note where the arrows are, this is the primary binding wraps. The one at the very bottom on the right is the very last bind.

Great tutorial, Randy.
You have inspire me to give it a try. Your photo's are very detailed and clear and your step by step makes sense and easy to follow. So I just order some copper wire to give this a try and all I have to do is get a cab to use. I will check the local mall they should have one there.

John