Wire Basics - Wire Garage Door Spring Link

by Judy Larson

Category: Findings
Technique(s): Coiling
Skill Level: Beginner

I stepped wrong going from the house into the garage and ended up on the garage floor for a bit waiting for my husband to wonder why I had not made it to the car yet. It is a bit strange what went through my mind during that short wait. First, I hoped I did not rip my new winter jacket or the knee of my jeans, and second, I wondered if I could make a link that looked like the spring on the garage door above me. Yeah, the jewelry design mind never quits, even when other body parts might not be cooperating!

Materials

18 Gauge Round Half Hard .925 Sterling Silver Wire

H8-18H

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1FT
Price: $5.59
Gold Club Price: $4.19

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Tools

Flat Nose Wire Pliers

G2-506

G2-506
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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Round Nose Wire Pliers

G2-507

G2-507
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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3 Step Wire Wrapping Flat Nose Pliers - Pack of 1

G2-85

G2-85
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $8.95
Gold Club Price: $6.71

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C.H.P Milano Italian Flush Cutter, 5 1/2 Inches

PLR-487.00

PLR-487.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $16.97
Gold Club Price: $12.73

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12 Inch Stainless Steel Ruler

G7-30

G7-30
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $2.97
Gold Club Price: $2.23

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Instructions

Step 1

Read through the tutorial before starting the project. Follow all safety precautions pertaining to the tools and supplies being used and the space you are working in.

Straighten and flush cut both wire ends of 18 gauge round half hard wire to the length for the desired size link: size small-7"; size medium to medium large-7¾"; size large to x-large-8½". Our garage door springs have two coils on the end, and if that is desired on these tiny links, add an extra 1" to the length cut for each size. The loop in Step 6 will be formed around the plier barrel twice.

Step 2

Place a wire end on a ½" mark on a ruler. Grasp the wire a scant ½" from the end with a flat nose pliers. Notice that the bend is just a hair over the inch mark. To bend just ½" of the wire, the wire must be grasped just short of the inch mark. Bend the wire at a 90 degree angle.

Judy Larson's Wire Basics - Wire Garage Door Spring Link - , Findings & Components, Toggles & Clasps, Earwire & Headpin, Coiling, Coiling Wire, Wire Coiling, garage door wire spring link

Step 3

Grasp the bent wire end in the jaws of a three step pliers as shown. Make sure that the bend is centered between the plier jaws.

Step 4

Wind the wire around the center section of the 3 step pliers until there is about ½" left. When the bent half inch section is between the jaws of the pliers again and the other wire end is on the opposite side of the coil on the outside of the pliers, the coil is complete.

Step 5

Using the tip of the jaw of flat nose pliers, tightly grasp the wire end close to the spring. Bend the wire up at a 90 degree angle. This wire should be on the opposite side of the first bent wire.

Step 6

Grasp the tip of one of the ½" wires with a round nose pliers. Curl the wire until the end sits inside the coil. The wire end should make close to a full circle.

Step 7

Repeat with the wire on the other side of the coil.

Reviews

Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!