Post by Roger on Aug 1, 2013 7:31:54 GMT -5
Wire wrap number 2.
First mistake: I knew I should have quit wrapping this one and gone to bed. Instead, I stayed up, to "wrap up" what I had started earlier in the day.
The basic basket came together pretty easily and quickly. On my previous attempt, I had made the second & third (sides) wraps too tight. They wouldn't move and ended up off center. On this one, I measured the start points before placing them - just in case. This time, one was movable, the other was too tight again. Having measured first, this was "ok".
I still need to work on those side wraps (bands?). I didn't have all individual wraps quite the same. The left one, second band from the bottom, was a little wider than the others. On the bottom, the left band didn't crimp and is seperating from the others.
All in all, I was pretty happy with the basket. I started the bail late last night and everything went South quickly. I made the bail bend too low. I straightened it out as best I could, then made it too high..straightened it out..tried again, and ended up where it is now. I had a lot of trouble starting the wrap on the bail. I need a third hand..there were several frustrating false starts on it. When I finally got it going, I rushed it and over-lapped in spots.
When it came to the swirls, I had plenty of wire for both sides. Even after bending and straighting the wire making the bail, I managed to make two sets of pretty decent concentric swirls, front and back. (I was originally triying Randy's fancy swirls in the tutorial)
Second mistake - correcting something that didn't need it. I realized I had put the shorter "bail-tails" down the front of the cab and curved the longer ones down the back. "That is backwards from the tutorial! Ack! I have to fix that!!" Yep. I am a moron. Instead of finishing the swirls where they were, I tried to "fix" them by bending them all back around the bail. In the process I mangled all the wires. I tried to straighten and rebend (mistake!) twice (bigger mistake!!) In the end, I cut the wire off, too short (of course) and ended up with the photo.
Lessons learned:
A small vise will be very handy.
Wire does not like to be bent more than once.
Sleep is a good thing.
Wire will hate you if you bend it twice.
I need to buy the correct wire cutters.
Wire will make you sorry if you bend it a third time.
When you think you made a mistake, set the peice down, walk away, and re-evaluate it later.
Wire seeks revenge if you bend it fourth time..
For those who like to watch train wrecks, I will post the next one when I make it lol. If I remember to; I may take photos at various steps so I can get the help with technique that I desperately need
First mistake: I knew I should have quit wrapping this one and gone to bed. Instead, I stayed up, to "wrap up" what I had started earlier in the day.
The basic basket came together pretty easily and quickly. On my previous attempt, I had made the second & third (sides) wraps too tight. They wouldn't move and ended up off center. On this one, I measured the start points before placing them - just in case. This time, one was movable, the other was too tight again. Having measured first, this was "ok".
I still need to work on those side wraps (bands?). I didn't have all individual wraps quite the same. The left one, second band from the bottom, was a little wider than the others. On the bottom, the left band didn't crimp and is seperating from the others.
All in all, I was pretty happy with the basket. I started the bail late last night and everything went South quickly. I made the bail bend too low. I straightened it out as best I could, then made it too high..straightened it out..tried again, and ended up where it is now. I had a lot of trouble starting the wrap on the bail. I need a third hand..there were several frustrating false starts on it. When I finally got it going, I rushed it and over-lapped in spots.
When it came to the swirls, I had plenty of wire for both sides. Even after bending and straighting the wire making the bail, I managed to make two sets of pretty decent concentric swirls, front and back. (I was originally triying Randy's fancy swirls in the tutorial)
Second mistake - correcting something that didn't need it. I realized I had put the shorter "bail-tails" down the front of the cab and curved the longer ones down the back. "That is backwards from the tutorial! Ack! I have to fix that!!" Yep. I am a moron. Instead of finishing the swirls where they were, I tried to "fix" them by bending them all back around the bail. In the process I mangled all the wires. I tried to straighten and rebend (mistake!) twice (bigger mistake!!) In the end, I cut the wire off, too short (of course) and ended up with the photo.
Lessons learned:
A small vise will be very handy.
Wire does not like to be bent more than once.
Sleep is a good thing.
Wire will hate you if you bend it twice.
I need to buy the correct wire cutters.
Wire will make you sorry if you bend it a third time.
When you think you made a mistake, set the peice down, walk away, and re-evaluate it later.
Wire seeks revenge if you bend it fourth time..
For those who like to watch train wrecks, I will post the next one when I make it lol. If I remember to; I may take photos at various steps so I can get the help with technique that I desperately need
It will break just when you don't want it to and at the least expected time. Yes, bending a wire too many times is a terrible thing. 
