Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Question:

Can I use a small dremel to twist the wire?

Answer:

About all of my experiments in using a dremel to twist wire have ended sadly. I even tried using a dremel with multiple speeds and still it is too fast and broke the wire. The one rare success was twisting two 16g round wires together.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Do you love jewelry, especially rings, but you just can’t justify the time to search for what you really love nor want to spend the money for a designer to make you one?  Well, do the next best thing – make it yourself!  This might seem to be a tall order but with some instruction, you will not only create exactly what you want, but discover a new talent and add some new creative enjoyment to your life.

Wire Sculpture provides instructional jewelry making DVDs for you to quickly learn how to make wire jewelry rings, wrapping wire with stones and beads.  You will learn how to mix wire colors for stunning results, how to make tight rosettes, as well as tease and connect methods – all easily with step by step instructions.

The wire jewelry expert presenting on the DVDs is Dale “Cougar” Armstrong, a many-year veteran of creating and teaching wire jewelry techniques.  She teaches systematically, building on learning with the goal of advancing abilities with each step.  She shows easy ways also, to achieve results such as how to create the correct prong lengths and how to make shapes that fit faceted stones.  She also demonstrates how to use tools, offers information on cut stone terminology and provides sizing formulas so you get it right every time.

Included with the instructional DVDs are formula cards and written follow-up directions for each and every project so that you have the confidence to create beautiful, unique wire jewelry rings.  You also get bonus items such as a project photo album that contains pictures of each project, both back and front views, in large detail.

Whether you are a beginner or intermediate wire jewelry designer, the wire jewelry instructional videos are for you.  This is a brand new DVD set, just released and was produced in high definition (HD) quality.

So, whether you are looking to create rings for yourself to match various fashion pieces in your closet, or rings as gift items for the holidays, order your DVD now and get started.  You’ll find that creating rings will be very satisfying to your need to be creative!

Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
October 30, 2009

Question:

I just saw an ad saying that copper wire has arsenic and is very deadly. Then I read that copper has a healing feature for arthritic conditions. Which is correct?

Answer:

Your question concerned me to the point of doing some extensive research to share with you. Copper is an important part of many things we use every day, including coins, electricity, some plumbing and the human body! (About 0.0004% of body weight is copper and as a trace element we absorb it through foods like liver, nuts, shellfish and beans).

Only extremely pure copper (greater than 99.95%) is used as electrical copper in the forms equipment and wire, and cannot contain arsenic, as the impurity would disrupt the electrical sensitivity.

To find some definitive answers, I went directly to the CDC, who says this about arsenic: “Arsenic (As) is a metal-like material usually found in the environment combined with other elements. Arsenic when combined with carbon and hydrogen is referred to as organic arsenic. Arsenic combined with other elements such as oxygen, chlorine, and sulphur is referred to as inorganic arsenic. The organic forms of As are usually less harmful than the inorganic forms. Inorganic As occurs naturally in many kinds of rocks, especially those containing copper and lead ores. The main use of arsenic is as a wood preservative to make the wood resistant to rotting and decay. Arsenic is also used as an ingredient in insecticides and herbicides. Arsenic is not broken-down or destroyed in the environment, but it will readily change from one chemical form to another by natural chemical reactions.

Most arsenic-induced toxicity in humans is due to exposure to inorganic arsenic. In the United States the average adult consumes 0.05 mg/day of arsenic in their diet. Food is usually the largest source of As exposure in humans.”

The only information I found about copper jewelry containing arsenic is: “Tombac, tombak or Tambac is an alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding.”

Whereas you say the information that mentioned arsenic being present in copper wire was in an advertisement, my thought is that the ‘ad’ is meant to frighten people to stop using copper jewelry wire so whatever company or individual can sell whatever product they offer that is not copper! You should also know that copper is also present as an alloy in Brass, German Silver, Bronze and Sterling Silver jewelry wires too.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
October 29, 2009

Question:

What types of pliers and other materials are needed for a beginner to get started making wire jewelry?

Answer:

The supplies needed to begin making wire jewelry depend on what ‘style’ the student is interested in learning to do. What I call ‘the basic four’ tools include flat-nose, chain-nose and round-nose pliers, and a good pair of wire cutters, are essential for about all styles, with the exception of chain maille where two pair of chain-nose are helpful and flats are optional. A good way to determine what gauges and shapes of wire are needed would be to look at patterns for the style you are interested in learning and follow what the author/designer uses, as each pattern was developed using certain techniques and each choice a designer made is for a specific reason. If you are interested in one particular style you will begin to notice similarities in the materials used. This will give you a good idea of what supplies you would need for whatever style you choose to learn.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
October 28, 2009

Question:

While in Rockport, Massachusetts, I found an ammonite fossil sliced in half and I would like to wrap them into a pendant together either side by side or up and down. Any ideas??

Answer:

Fossils are such wonderful items to make into jewelry. And what better way to set an ancient relic than to use the age old method of wire wrapping! Besides creating a unique piece of wearable art, setting a specimen in a wire design that uses no solder or glue in the process also protects the value of a piece because no physical damage is done to it. One of my students, Jill made a sliced ammonite pair into a butterfly pendant last year, Lindi used her slices to create a pair of earring that naturally match, someone else showed me a necklace where they had wrapped each individually and then attached them side-by-side on a chain and others have just wrapped each slice individually and made two pendants. I always have several different fossils made into pieces for every show I do, as they attract the attention of people who would not otherwise even look at jewelry!

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

Have a question? Submit your question here!