‘wister Tutorial Page | of 4 How To Make Your Own Wire Twister Pre-twisted wire has many, many uses. From decoration for rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, to just about any wire wrapping project, pre-twisted wire can add that extra bit of detail you've been looking fr. Ifyou take a single strand of square (or flat) wire and pre-twist it, yout get an entirely different texture. Instead of reflecting light back from one flat surface, youll have many tle reflections that give it a dancing sparkle effect. Another Effect You can take two wires of different colors and twist them together for a very unique effect. As an added benefit, this doubled wire wil be thicker ‘and much stranger. It can be used as is or even flatiened with a mallet to achieve yet another effect! ‘What Il be showing you in this tutorial is how to twist your own wire at ‘home. Buying pre-wisted wire can be expensive, and the selection might not be exactly what you're looking for. In addition to saving yourself some money, you get greater control. The wire takes on afferent textures the tighter you twit it. in other words, the ‘more you twist, the more loops or spirals youl get. The procedure doesn't take long at all and youl be able to make as much as you need. A Note About the Wire ‘Small gauge wires willbe fine for practising this technique, but for your finished pieces, you'll probably want 20 gauge or larger diameter wire. In cease you don't know, the wire gauge numbers get smaller as the wie's diameter gets larger (Le., 18 gauge is larger wire than 20 gauge). Don't ask ‘why, | couldn't begin to explain it. A Free Wire Twister Now, on to the big question: How can I twist my own wire (without it costing ‘me anything)? It's easy! ‘Take an ordinary, everyday wire coat hangar and bend part of into the following shape: Opt Sleeve http://swww,jagwearjewelry.com/wiretwister. htm 6/6/04Twister Tutorial ‘You can see its nothing but a simple crank with a half loop at the end. The ‘optional sieeve can be anything that fits over the hangar without being too loose, However, it does need to be loose enough forthe twister to turn {reely inside of i. A skinny straw would work. You could roll up some thick paper and tape it | used an old piece of metal tubing I found ina junk ‘drawer. The sleeve isn't really necessary, it's just for extra comfort Approximate Dimensions If youll refer to the diagram below, Il give you some approximate ‘dimensions. The length of "A" can be anywhere from 3 to § inches or moce. The length of "B" can be from 2 to 4 inches (the longer this is, the ‘more distance your hand wil ravel with each turn of the crank’). The length of "C" can also be from 2 to 4 inches, enough to form a comfortable handle PS ster B ail sila A ‘The length of the sleeve can be anything that fits. As long as it doesa't rub ‘against either end. All these measurements ere approximations. Wnalever works for you s fine. Make sure the straight parts of the coat hangar remain straight. Otherwise, the looped end will wobble as you tum the crank. The easiest way to do this isto clamp the coat hangar down for each bend and then cut off the ‘excess at both ends after i is formed. Remember to insert your sleave before you bend the loop at the end. Cutting the Wire ‘To cut the coat hangar ends you can use a pair of wireman's pliers, a metal chisel, a dremel tool, a hacksaw, or just bend it unt it breaks. f you bend it back and forth to break it, you might want to take a hammer and pound out the jagged edges for comfor’s sake, or maybe wrap electrical tape around the handle end. In any case, be careful not to bend up the crank as you cut off the ends. How To Use It ‘You can twist diferent wires around each other or you can twist a single strand of wie if tis square wire. Square wire will show all the twists nicely Ifyou try to twist a single strand of regular round wire, you won't see much difference in the wire. http://www jagwearjewelry.com/wiretwister.htm Page 2 of 4 6/6/04fe Twister Tutorial Page 3 of 4 Cut a piece of square wire (or a pair of regular wires) about a foot or two Jong and clamp it at one end, Youll need a clamp that’s attached to a table ‘0 that it does not move. If you don't have one, you could have another person hold the end with a pair of piers. At the other end, wrap the wire ‘around the loop of the crank a couple of times so that i's secure. ‘wrap wire securely = [Now hold the sleeve (or the area where the sleeve is pictured) with one hand while you turn the crank with the other hand. Notice how the wire looks as it gas tighter and tighter. Stop whenever the wire looks good to 1you, or just keep going to see the effect it has. Note: It might be advisable to experiment once or twice with some cheap wire 60 you can get a feel for this before using more expensive wire, The Lazy Man's Way For those of you that are exiremely lazy OR don't have a coat hangar to spare, you can accomplish the same thing (albeit awkwardly) without changing the coat hangar at all, Just use the curled part as your loop and use the triangular part as your crank. I's not as good, but it still works in a pinch Using Power Tools For those of you that have access to a variable speed electric dril, your ‘work is already done for you. Simply clamp one end of the wire down as described above, and secure the other end in the drills chuck. See the diagram below: drill chuck | One or two wires http://www jagwearjewelry.com/wiretwister.htm 616/04