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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2022 19:16:51 GMT -5
I remember it being confusing which wire to get when I began. And when I began there were fewer types of wire wrapping to worry about, too. This is an effort to make it easier to choose.
Metals:
Gauges, Hardness and Shape:
Wire is sold by the gauge. Simply put- gauge is the size of the roundness of it. There are a few standard gauges to use, but a lot will depend on which type of wire wrapping you want to do.
Briefly- traditional border wrapping requires a stiffer wire, weaving, coiling and sculpting require softer & finer gauges.
For border wrapping you want to start with 20g and 22g. ("g" denotes gauge) And, to introduce another aspect of wire, the shape, you will want some half round, too. Typically half round is also half hard. HH HR (half hard/half round) is used for binding your wires together. You can also incorporate square wire or use square exclusively. The sizes most often used are 20g, 22g and for HH HR you will want 21g and/or 22g. You can use either soft or, preferably, half hard wire (HH). But, as a beginner, 20 round and square HH and 22 round and square HH along with 21 HH HR will get you started. Soft square wire can be twisted to produce a pretty fancy wire similar to a bead wire. After being twisted, it will be work hardened to half hard.
For weaving and coiling you will need finer round soft wire- 24g, 26g and 28 gauge. This is in addition to the wires mentioned above. (You notice that the finer the wire, the higher the gauge number.)
For sculpting wire, you will want 20g and 22g soft round and soft square wire.
There is nothing in wire wrapping that is written in stone. You will find, as you become more proficient, that you will want to try new wires or new combinations. There are 1000s of ways to use all the combinations of wires. You can mix your metals, too. You can try wires not generally sold for wire wrapping but for silver smithing.
Hopefully, this helped you decide what to get.
Any and all input welcome.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 23, 2022 20:35:36 GMT -5
The only thing I noticed was that you left out fine silver in the wire section. I sometimes use fine silver, usually for when I'm weaving something other than bails. I use 28 and 30g fine silver because it is more malleable and doesn't crack from being work hardened as easily as Sterling. In addition, if someone was doing some really fancy wrapping using balled wire ends, fine silver does not pit when you melt a ball on the end and stays in a perfect ball. Sterling will get dimples or pits in it while it cools and makes a more elongated ball. Fine silver is also so much more expensive that I only use it sparingly when I absolutely need to.
Great write-up, Tela! This will certainly help folks who are just starting to wrap and answer some basic questions about wire.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2022 20:52:55 GMT -5
The only thing I noticed was that you left out fine silver in the wire section. I sometimes use fine silver, usually for when I'm weaving something other than bails. I use 28 and 30g fine silver because it is more malleable and doesn't crack from being work hardened as easily as Sterling. In addition, if someone was doing some really fancy wrapping using balled wire ends, fine silver does not pit when you melt a ball on the end and stays in a perfect ball. Sterling will get dimples or pits in it while it cools and makes a more elongated ball. Fine silver is also so much more expensive that I only use it sparingly when I absolutely need to. Great write-up, Tela! This will certainly help folks who are just starting to wrap and answer some basic questions about wire. Thanks! I knew I was forgetting something. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 25, 2022 18:57:42 GMT -5
Tela, thanks for posting this. This should come in very handy for anyone wondering where to start!
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Post by holajonathan on Feb 4, 2022 12:06:01 GMT -5
Not a common material, perhaps, but Rio Grande sells argentium silver, which is a silver alloy with 93.5% fine silver (vs. 92.5% for sterling). It also contains about 1% germanium as well as an undisclosed amount of zinc and boron. The germanium makes argentium silver a little stiffer or harder than sterling silver. And to my eyes, it looks a tad bit more like fine silver than sterling silver.
Sterling is typically 92.5% fine silver and 7.5% copper. The copper content is part of what makes sterling tarnish. Replacing the copper with germanium and other metals is supposed to retard tarnishing. Time will tell.
Argentium is also supposed to eliminate firescale. Finally, you can heat harden it in a toaster oven.
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 4, 2022 17:22:40 GMT -5
Not a common material, perhaps, but Rio Grande sells argentium silver, which is a silver alloy with 93.5% fine silver (vs. 92.5% for sterling). It also contains about 1% germanium as well as an undisclosed amount of zinc and boron. The germanium makes argentium silver a little stiffer or harder than sterling silver. And to my eyes, it looks a tad bit more like fine silver than sterling silver. Sterling is typically 92.5% fine silver and 7.5% copper. The copper content is part of what makes sterling tarnish. Replacing the copper with germanium and other metals is supposed to retard tarnishing. Time will tell. Argentium is also supposed to eliminate firescale. Finally, you can heat harden it in a toaster oven. Thanks! I was gonna mention it, but it is technically sterling silver. As you mentioned, it is a stiffer wire than regular sterling. |
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Post by holajonathan on Feb 4, 2022 21:15:08 GMT -5
Not a common material, perhaps, but Rio Grande sells argentium silver, which is a silver alloy with 93.5% fine silver (vs. 92.5% for sterling). It also contains about 1% germanium as well as an undisclosed amount of zinc and boron. The germanium makes argentium silver a little stiffer or harder than sterling silver. And to my eyes, it looks a tad bit more like fine silver than sterling silver. Sterling is typically 92.5% fine silver and 7.5% copper. The copper content is part of what makes sterling tarnish. Replacing the copper with germanium and other metals is supposed to retard tarnishing. Time will tell. Argentium is also supposed to eliminate firescale. Finally, you can heat harden it in a toaster oven. Thanks! I was gonna mention it, but it is technically sterling silver. As you mentioned, it is a stiffer wire than regular sterling. Yep. It's sterling silver. Just a different alloy designed with the jewelry maker in mind. I am surprised that manufacturers have not developed and marketed specific 14k and 18k gold alloys. (Or maybe they have?) Whereas the difference between the argentium alloy and a tradition fine silver / copper sterling alloy is slight, 14k and 18k gold are all over the map. Some 18k gold is gorgeous and looks very much like pure gold. Other 18k just looks cheap despite being 75% gold. I won't get get into my issues with "white gold," a.k.a., rhodium plating. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 4, 2022 21:34:15 GMT -5
I am surprised that manufacturers have not developed and marketed specific 14k and 18k gold alloys. (Or maybe they have?) Whereas the difference between the argentium alloy and a tradition fine silver / copper sterling alloy is slight, 14k and 18k gold are all over the map. Some 18k gold is gorgeous and looks very much like pure gold. Other 18k just looks cheap despite being 75% gold. Oh, they have. Here's just one. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2022 23:32:18 GMT -5
rockjunquieBest places to buy wire from? And is “dead soft” not good for stone wrapping? Looking at wire on Amazon it all says dead soft.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 22, 2022 6:21:36 GMT -5
rockjunquie Best places to buy wire from? And is “dead soft” not good for stone wrapping? Looking at wire on Amazon it all says dead soft. I think most people would agree that Rio Grande is the best place to buy wrapping wire. But, there are a lot of sites.
I wouldn't use 22 soft, but if you are using 20g, soft might work- depending on what you want to do. What style wrapping are you looking at?
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
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Post by rockbrain on Jul 22, 2022 14:55:20 GMT -5
I like to straighten my wire by stretching it slightly. I put one end in the vice, grab the other end with pliers, and pull until it goes straight. When you do this the wire becomes straight as an arrow but it also hardens the wire slightly. I think if you start with dead soft and work it like this it becomes half hard. You can also temper hard wire and make it softer but it involves heating and cleaning it up after words and it does affect the structural integrity of the wire.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2022 20:16:14 GMT -5
rockjunquieThere’s styles lol?! Just kidding. I’m not sure yet. I haven’t really researched enough yet to know. I like what you do as well as Jason and rockbrain.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 22, 2022 20:31:02 GMT -5
rockjunquie There’s styles lol?! Just kidding. I’m not sure yet. I haven’t really researched enough yet to know. I like what you do as well as Jason and rockbrain. Those would be traditional border wrapping. If you refer to the original post, it mentions the kind of wire typically used for that kind of wire wrapping. From those, you can branch out. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2022 22:00:14 GMT -5
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 22, 2022 22:22:05 GMT -5
rockbrain copper and sterling can be annealed as many times as you wish, and tumbling in steel shot can re-harden and planish the surface if it is not work hardened enough by bending. The molecules line up the same way every time and the difference in structure is minimal, only exception is when it is overworked prior to annealing and begins to crack, only re-melting and drawing back out into wire will fix that.
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rockbrain
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Post by rockbrain on Jul 23, 2022 10:34:43 GMT -5
Rockoonz thanks for the correction and the good info. It sounds like you know what you're talking about on this subject. I was repeating some info I had read on a random site when I was looking at how to anneal wire.
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rob58
starting to shine!
Member since September 2022
Posts: 37
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Post by rob58 on Sept 8, 2022 14:54:44 GMT -5
rockjunquie There’s styles lol?! Just kidding. I’m not sure yet. I haven’t really researched enough yet to know. I like what you do as well as Jason and rockbrain. I'm with you on that Ashley, my long range goal, after getting the tumbling thing down, was to wrap stones for jewelry. Once I've got my first batch done, I'll grab some of that copper wire to practice with. I've got a lot to learn, thank god I'm retired and the riding season is winding down. At least I'll have something to look forward to this winter. |
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Post by liveoak on Sept 8, 2022 15:10:32 GMT -5
And the winters can be lonnng in Western Mass, so you'll have time rob58 ! Patty |
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X - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's rocks
- O Henry
