RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Jun 12, 2004 13:22:17 GMT -5
Well all, I attempted the wirewrap the other night. I'm rather pleased with the way it came out and I had a alot of fun doing it. Thought you all might want to see! I have no idea what kind of stone it is. It's a piece of driveway rock that we tumbled. This is the front.  And this is the back.  Thanks for looking! Otter |
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Post by sandsman1 on Jun 12, 2004 13:26:28 GMT -5
hey otter realy nice job i gotta try that way with wrapping a band of wires then fitting stone,, they look much better then the way i tried hellofa job
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Post by docone31 on Jun 12, 2004 14:50:49 GMT -5
Good basics, next time, try using a #3 phillips head for the necklace wrap, and use either two or three boundary wires. makes it look full, expecially with a random polished stone.
Good basic technique, good binding wraps, it fits the stone.
Another hint, when finishing the collar binding, wrap one wire from the stone to the necklace binding one way, wrap the other from the other side, over the first just in the other direction.
The wrap from the stone to the necklace is a weak point in any wrap. I have found wrapping opposite to each other fills it out and it is in more proportion to the stone wrap.
Good clean work.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Jun 12, 2004 17:40:57 GMT -5
Just great for a first attempt, looks like you've been doing it for years.
cookie
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Post by krazydiamond on Jun 12, 2004 17:48:38 GMT -5
very nicely done.....i must have clubbed paws or something, i've been trying to do that (or similar) for a while now and just haven't got the feel for it yet. practice, practice, softly monkey.
KD
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Jun 12, 2004 21:43:26 GMT -5
Very nice Otter! Great wrap, fits the stone perfect, Don
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jun 12, 2004 22:08:23 GMT -5
Otter, MOST excellent! If your first attempt is that good, I can just imagine what your wraps will look like after you have some experience at it!
I am getting inspired to sit down and try my hand at it again.
llana
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Banjocreek
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2003
Posts: 1,115
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Post by Banjocreek on Jun 12, 2004 22:16:48 GMT -5
That is waaay better than my first attempt.
Mine had a resemblance to what a coat hanger looks like after passing too closely to a fan blade.
I got some excellent tips from Doc and have been wrapping ever since.
I try to do one at least every evening before bed.
Sold one for $100, the rest I just give away to anyone who likes them.
It's odd how that goes.
But I think the job you did for a first time is splendid!!
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Post by creativeminded on Jun 13, 2004 10:28:13 GMT -5
Keep it up, the more you do the better you will get and you will get as hooked on wire wrapping as you are in tumbling and you will deliberately start looking for rocks to tumble that will look great wrapped.
Tami
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jun 13, 2004 22:01:36 GMT -5
the stone and the wrap look great! you definitely have the hang of it - keep going!
kim
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Post by puppie96 on Jun 14, 2004 1:44:25 GMT -5
Isn't that pretty, and it's out of driveway rock, too! I have a back yard rock that I love, maybe I need to learn wrapping.....
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Post by creativeminded on Jun 14, 2004 10:31:16 GMT -5
It really isn't learning it is just starting with looking at some pictures and going with your own gut instinct.
That is how I started.
Tami
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RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Jun 16, 2004 11:06:59 GMT -5
Thanks all!  I really had alot of fun doing this. Since this was my first attempt at wirewrapping I used a "pattern". I used a link someone posted awhile back. jewelrymaking.about.com/library/weekly/aa112398.htmAnyway I had to modify it slightly since I wasn't using a cab. Doc, I feel a bit embarrased about asking this  , but could you answer a few questions about your post. I really value your opinion but I'm not sure I follow what your saying. (I have a hard time picturing things in my head). The pattern had me use a seperate piece of wire to make the collar and not one of the wires that went around the stone. Are you saying I should use one of the wires that wrapped around the stone to make the collar too? I can see how making a wrap one way and then the other would make it stronger. When you say boundary wires are you referring to the wires that go around the stone? Do you mean to use a phillips to bend the wires instead of using the pliers? If you look at the website I posted you can see how I constructed it. The changes I made were not that much different. I used only 3 coils around the wires instead of four. I had to bend the wires first before wrapping the collar in order for the stone to stay in place. And I wrapped the ends of the bale around the collar instead of around the bent wires on the stone (I thought it looked better). For that matter I didn't like the bale at all. Not necessarily the way I did it but the whole idea of using the wires of the wrap to make it. I thought it made it look kinda messy. Any suggestions on other ways I could make a bale? Would an eye hook inserted into the collar before wrapping it work? I would really appreciate your input here! Thanks for being so patient with an ignorant novice!! Otter |
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Post by docone31 on Jun 16, 2004 17:54:52 GMT -5
RiverOtter If you go to featured artists on Tami's column, you will see some of my work
At any rate, The tutorial is sound. The exceptions I utilize are, for the bail, I take the left wires, go up about 1/2 inch and bend them around a phillipshead screwdriver.
The wires to the left, I wind around the stem made with the bent over wires. I wrap all the wires being careful to keep them in line. It looiks like you used three wires. THese I would wrap around the stem and end them in coils in the front of the stone. It finishes the wrap.
For the boundary wires, In the wrap it shows three, one for the front, one for the back, one for the side. I use four or five wires. One for the front, one for the back, two or three for the side. It just fills in the bottom.
I hope this helps. In my opinion, if that was your first attempt, I look for ward to seeing more. Perhaps, square wire for the front and back, or twisted square wire with the twists going parallel to each other.
You can do it.
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aquababie19
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2004
Posts: 97
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Post by aquababie19 on Jun 18, 2004 15:31:11 GMT -5
that looks great! i 'm yet to start wire-wrapping. but i think i'll start next week.
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RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Jun 20, 2004 22:56:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the explanation Doc. It really helped to clear some things up. The square wire was the other thing I had forgotten about. I didn't have any so I used the round instead. Gotta order some as soon as I have time. Probably be after vacation now.
I looked for Tami's featured artists page and couldn't find it. Do you have a link? I would love to see more of your work.
Otter
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Post by docone31 on Jun 20, 2004 23:48:58 GMT -5
I am way back, at either the end of April or the beginning of may. They might have been discarded by now.
I am glad some of what I have learned helped some. Wire work is just not that complicated. The most important part is keeping tool marks off the wire. I did not see any tool marks on your piece so you have most of it in the bag. Soon, you will be able to show us a thing or two. I also use 1/2rd., for binding wraps and the neck wrap. It makes it look a little more delicate. I use the same dia. 1/2 as the main wires.
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I really had alot of fun doing this. Since this was my first attempt at wirewrapping I used a "pattern". I used a link someone posted awhile back.
, but could you answer a few questions about your post. I really value your opinion but I'm not sure I follow what your saying. (I have a hard time picturing things in my head). The pattern had me use a seperate piece of wire to make the collar and not one of the wires that went around the stone. Are you saying I should use one of the wires that wrapped around the stone to make the collar too? I can see how making a wrap one way and then the other would make it stronger. When you say boundary wires are you referring to the wires that go around the stone? Do you mean to use a phillips to bend the wires instead of using the pliers? If you look at the website I posted you can see how I constructed it. The changes I made were not that much different. I used only 3 coils around the wires instead of four. I had to bend the wires first before wrapping the collar in order for the stone to stay in place. And I wrapped the ends of the bale around the collar instead of around the bent wires on the stone (I thought it looked better). For that matter I didn't like the bale at all. Not necessarily the way I did it but the whole idea of using the wires of the wrap to make it. I thought it made it look kinda messy. Any suggestions on other ways I could make a bale? Would an eye hook inserted into the collar before wrapping it work? I would really appreciate your input here! Thanks for being so patient with an ignorant novice!!
