Daily Wire Tip May 16: How to Keep From Scratching Wire
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
May 16, 2010
Question:
I can’t seem to keep from scratching or nicking the wire when I wrap. I have very shaky hands, but I refuse to give up. Would a nylon tip pliers help when pulling the wires on a cabochon?
Answer:
I admire your determination. My advise would be to cover the tips of the pliers you use most often for this one procedure with a single layer of tape, as it is my opinion that nylon jaw pliers are too wide and thick to grasp that top wire tightly enough to do a good job.
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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cabochon, nicking, Pliers, scratch, wire, wrapping
Filed under:Daily Wire Jewelry Tips‚ Technique Tips
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I use a product called “Tool Magic” to avoid nicking and scratching my wire. It is a liquid rubber coating that comes in a jar. You dip your tool tips into the liquid and then remove them. When it dries you have a nice thin layer of rubber coating on your tools. The rubber coating peels off nicely when you want to remove it. And, you can reapply when needed. Hope this is helpful to you. Don’t give up!
I am an experienced wire worker, and I’ve learned not to nick the wire with my tools…but there are exceptions. Sometimes, I have found the problem to be with a pliers that has VERY sharp edges. If the plier edges feel sharp to my hand, I’ll hit them with a metal file a couple times and “knock the edge off”. That’s fixed the last couple issues that have cropped up.
Hello, I find Tool Magic gives me less fine movement with my tools and it is hard for me to take off. It seemed necessary after each tool usage. Dale’s recommendation of the tape works well for me. it still needs to be reapplied. I use masking tape. You can also try to gently use a file to remove the marks. Tumbling also helps.
I too use Tool Magic. It provides just a tiny bit of a rubber coating and I find it to be a wonderful product. You still have plenty of grip with your pliars without the marring that you get sometimes when you ‘tip’ your wire a little too hard or ‘place’ your wire with a little too much force. I found it to be a life saver wen I first began to wire wrap. It saved many things that I know I would have had to just scrap otherwise. It is very simple to use and worth the time it takes to coat your tools with.
Don’t really understand quite what you are doing, but…
Packing tape is something I use from time to time. However, I find that slowing down a little helps me. My hands shake when I get nervous while working on some projects, and I have to slow down and rest from time to time. Only use enough grip to make the wire do what you want. Use your bare fingers as much as possible. Make sure the jaws of the pliers are smooth. Get some fine Swiss files for places where you grip the wire too tightly and the pliers *snap!* off (I HATE that sound!).
Keep at it, and build your confidence.
I used to have the same problem and I agree, tape will help. However, somewhere in Dale’s writings I read where she says not to ‘cheat your wire,’ i.e., make sure you have enough wires in your bundle to span the sides of the cab. Since reading that, I’ve been very careful to use enough wires for the thickest area of the cab since most of mine are freeform or non-calibrated. Voila, no more nicks when pulling.
I’ve also found that working off the stone when possible makes pulling wires a lot easier and requires less force. Thus, there is far less chance of damaging the wire. Working off the stone may be a help for you since your hands are shaky.
Wow…some great replies on this problem. Thanks everyone for throwing out these tidbits of knowledge. I get in a hurry at times and dang if I don’t nip my wires so I have learned to slow down or put it down and come back, etc.