Step by Step Wire Jewelry

Flush cutter recommendations?

Markclay — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:01:06 GMT

I have been making my own jump rings with different materials but with my cutters, don't get a flush cut.

Can anyone recommend a pair of cutters to work with wires up to 12 gauge - either Xuron or Nippex? and advise if these give a nice flush cut.

I don't want to go the the expense of a jewelers saw yet.

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

What Tools do I Need? Questions about Hammers and Anvils

shedevil50337 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:30:13 GMT

Hi all

I need some advice about what tools to use for wire work. I want to make my own findings and, from what I've read, I'll need a hammer and an anvil. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to which type to buy?

When it comes to an anvil, is it better to buy a traditional one with a horn, or to go for a bench block?

Regarding hammers, there are so many types my head is spinning! Do I need a ball pein/jobbing hammer, repouse one or even a mallet? What size head or weight am I looking for? Should I be buying metal, rawhide or nylon?

I'm not expecting to do any very strenuous work, simply hardening wires, giving texture and a little bit of shaping. I'll eventually be making rings and bangles, but not for a while as I need to save up for the metal mandrels.

I'd be very grateful if any of you could give me some advice here. I don't want to waste money buying the wrong item, as is so easy to do when you don't know what you're doing. lol

Thanks for any info given.

Angela

Oxidizing my own wire

Wanda W — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:55:39 GMT

Hey all my family thinks I am nuts as I have many jars with wire strung in them. I have been oxidizing Brass wire and Copper Wire w/ Ammonia fumes and Sterling Silver wire with the hot hard boiled eggs. this has been fun and allowed me to be more creative with the variety of oxidized wire. I am curious if any of you are also doing this, Thanks Wanda

Wire-Sculpture Drusy Contest

mbcreations — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:11:47 GMT

Just a heads up concerning the new contest going on over at Wire-Sculpture.com. They are having a "drusy" contest with some great prizes for anyone interested in entering. Including the opportunity to win a special prize that includes VIP treatment with Wire-Sculpture and Dale "Cougar" Armstrong at their planned wire seminar in Buffalo, NY.

Take a look and see if you want to enter.

Mary

Viking Knit: Wire sticking out

radegunde — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:57:00 GMT

Hello,

I'm not sure this is the right place for my question ...

Every time I have finished a piece of viking knit, I encounter the same problem: Once I pulled it through the hole and it is beautiful and visually just like it should be, I need only to finger it a bit to feel prickly wire-ends sticking out - just a little bit, enough to *** but not enough to cut them of.

Does anyone here have had the same problem?

I think it has to do with how to continue with a new piece of wire: Normally, when I come to the end of a wire, I pull it through the last loop, pull the new wire through the same loop, and cut the end of the old wire two rounds further, leaving approximately 2 centimeters to hang free inside the knit. Only apparently, they don't want to hang free.

For any suggestions as to what can I do, I would be deeply grateful!

Radegunde

Bit Thin

CarolynA — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:38:19 GMT

Was it just me or did anyone else think that the latest issue was full of beginners projects? They do a fantastic job BUT for the first time, I was disappointed that there wasn't much to sink my teeth into and hence I went off to Eni Oken's site and spent more money on a tutorial with a bit of clout.

Cas xxx

Wire-Sculpture Webinar with Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

MaryB — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:32:16 GMT

Good Morning All:

Okay, have a question or two.

Did anyone attend the Saturday webinar with Dale at Wire-Sculpture.com? I managed to get into the second session since the first one filled up so quickly. It was a neat experience using GoToMeeting since I was totally unfamiliar with this at all.

If you work in wire, you know the style and the name Preston Ruether and his scuplted jewelry techiniques, dvds, etc. I am really excited to see what the new owners of Wire-Sculpture are gonna do with this site now that they have Dale on board. Sounds like this site is going to do a complete turn around for those of us who work with wire and become our one site stop for everything...techinques, supplies, etc.

I am excited about that simply because I know these new owners are listening and understanding what we want and need in the way of stones, wire, supplies, etc.

I'd love to hear from the rest of you in regards to your views, opinions, etc. concerning this.

Mary

Welcome and thanks for your input on Step by Step Wire Jewelry!

Sara — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:03:26 GMT

Hi everyone,

My name is Sara, and I'm the assistant editor for Step by Step Wire Jewelry. I'm looking forward to chatting with some of our readers on this forum!

Please contact me if you'd be interested in our Writer's Guidelines and specs. We're ALWAYS looking for projects of all levels! Don't be afraid, please e-mail a photo or two of projects you're coming up with...they don't have to be perfect, just a clear photograph will do.

Also, if you have any questions about the magazine, like if you need to find a project in one of our older issues, feel free to ask. For any businesses/vendors out there, I'm also in charge of compiling our Product News section, and I'm always looking for new or interesting products to feature. (Believe me, it's great to have free advertising!!!) If you have any tips (if you're not a vendor) of cool things you might've purchased recently, please also send those my way.

My e-mail is sgraham@interweave.com.

Hope to hear from you soon, and thank you so much for your interest in Step by Step Wire Jewelry!

Sincerely,

Sara

Customized Handcrafted Gemstone Beaded Jewelry Designs(Seattle, Washington)- Rachel Burklund Designs

rachelburklund1 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:15:03 GMT

Get customized handcrafted gemstone beaded jewelry designs at affordable prices from Rachel Burklund Designs at Seattle, Washington. Get unique designs of handcrafted beaded jewelry, beaded necklaces, beaded bracelets, beaded earrings, beaded anklets, beaded pendants and beaded rings at great prices. For more information visit http://www.rachelburklund.com/

Quick questions regarding design submissions...

rgenovese — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:45:06 GMT

Hi! I have a couple of quick questions regarding design submissions...

1) I have a piece that I would like to submit to your magazine for consideration for publication. However, I would also like to submit the same design for Bead Star 2009. Can I do this or do I need to choose one or the other?

2) If I submit a design to Step by Step Wire Jewelry, but you think the design would be better suited for one of Interweave's other publications, do you let the designer know and/or forward the submission to the editor of the other publication?

I apologize if these questions seem silly, but this will be my first time submitting a design for publication and my first entry into a design contest, so I want to make sure that I understand the process and that I do everything right. The idea of submitting one of my designs is scary enough without the added worry that I'm going to screw something up!

Thank you so much for your help!

Rachel

Submitting a tutorial to Step by Step Wire Magazine

popnicute — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:47:19 GMT

Hello!

I'd like to know if i could submit my tutorial to Step by Step Wire Magazine?

I'm in Indonesia and currently not a subscriber.

If i could, I'd like to know a few things

1. Will i get paid? how much?

2. Will i get a copy of the magazine sent to my house?

3. What type of file should i submit? any restriction about the size?

it's a tutorial of the toggle clasp i used in my newest piece "Sun Sparks"

it has about 29 pictures in it :)

oh, yeah, I OFFER FREE TUTORIAL FOR 10 GUINEA PIGS *cough* i mean FRIENDS

sign up here, write down your e-mail and i will send it to 10 of you for free count it as my store opening's freebies also cos you've been all so nice to me

please for serious learners only.. i know not all of you are interested on learning how to make a clasp of my style. so please don't take the chance just because it's free. i would like to give a fair chance to those who really want it

thanks!

EDIT:

Updated list of free tut given:

1. Jeni

2. Hanna

3. Scott

4. Swati

10.

Wire Wrapping Silverware

RBead — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:11:04 GMT

Hello. I just joined beading daily and am interested in getting information on how to wire and bead wrap silverware. Does anyone know of books or tutorials on this subject?

Thanks

Error in Tutorial?

Livewire — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:53:46 GMT

In the Fall 2008 issue, Susan Kelso has a tute for her beautiful Seascape Necklace. I question the measurements to cut the wire in step 1. 6mm pieces and 5 mm pieces?

Advice for firing with a kiln?

Sheila H — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:27:03 GMT

I am just starting to try ( note the TRY ) to make some focal pieces out of wire. Right now I am still in the practicing stages, but I bought some sterling silver wire ( just a small package ) from Hobby Lobby to try a piece with that.

Now that I got home and have been trying to read on the internet, I am thinking that I may need to go to pure silver so I need some help/advice.

I also found out that my mom & dad still have their large ceramic kiln ( I thought that they had sold it several years ago ). So, I was thinking about using that toharden the wire rather than using the old trusty hammer. ( Still trying to work that whole process out ).

Any advice on sterling versus pure silver and what temperature I should be firing out. I tried reading on the internet but I really did not get a clear answer from the sites I found.

Thanks to all of you for your help and advice!

Snapsets

CrystalCubeBead. — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:43:45 GMT

Where can I get the snapset as used in the Tennis Bracelet in SBS Wire for Oct? I didn't find them in FMGs on-line comprehensive catalog. I supose I could wander around the web.

Stan B.

Wrapping odd shaped stones

Billy Z — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:01:11 GMT

Does anyone have a good way to wrap odd shaped stones without it looking tacky? I am trying to wrap some oddball tumbled stones for a friend to put on a charm bracelet and everything that I have tried either looks too gaudy, busy, or just plain tacky. If I make it look nice, then the stones are not very secure, and if I secure them well, then I get the other mess.

My latest brainstorm was to solder the wire in a 'basket' of sorts and while it looks okay, it's still not what I am looking for. She wants it in silver, and there is no problem with fusing or soldering as I was an Electronic Technician for 25 years and have been N.A.S.A. certified in several soldering techniques.

I have already wasted about 2 feet of fine silver wire on this project and it's still not finished so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks muchly,

Billy ;o)

Subscription Customer Service Contact Number

Billy Z — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:49:23 GMT

I have been trying to get in touch with customer service for several days now, but I keep getting an error that states that the number is NOT is service. The number on the invoice is 1-800-836-7865. I need to find out what the deal is so that they don't cancel my subscription before it gets started. I would greatly appreciate any information whatsoever.

Billy ;o)

Just got Summer '08...and WOW!

Square Effects — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:57:56 GMT

I finally decided to get a subscription because it's my fave magazine, and I have to say that this issue is the best I've seen! I've got maybe 2 yrs of the magazine, and this one had me drooling from start to finish. I LOVE seeing something from Dale 'Cougar' Armstrong on the cover. I've honestly never attempted any of her designs, but she is one of my favorite designers.

I had a total 'AH HA!' moment with the kumihimo bracelet instructions, that was so strong I shared it with my sig. other, and HE actually got it too!

Maybe it's my own personal tastes and preferences, but I want to try every design in the magazine.

I'm especially thankful for the continuing article, Wire Workshop. And I loved reading 'now that's non-traditional!'. It's nice to see designs and articles that appeal to the masses, but thinking outside the box intrigues me significantly, gets the dark recesses of my brain dusted off and working again.

Keep up the amazing, fantastic work!

Square

Need help with hammering....

RobinC — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:00:17 GMT

Hello,

I am new to this forum process, so please bear with me. I have been reading the posts and have already learned so much that I have worked up the nerve to put this question out there.

I work with sterling wire (20, 18, and 16g are my favorites). I like to hammer the wire and I use a polished anvil and a polished hammer for a shiny finish. Here is my question: when I hammer a loose coil (for a pendant or earrings), the wire distorts. Is there a technique for hammering that will avoid this outcome? I do pay attention to keeping the piece flat on the surface of the anvil, but the distortion keeps happening.

Many thanks!!!

Welcome!

Dpeck — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:32:39 GMT

Welcome to the Step by Step Wire Jewelry forum. We are so excited to open up these forums to our readers for the exchange of ideas and inspiration. And to share with us exactly what you would like to see and learn from the pages of our magazines. I'm tickled to know that with the introduction of this forum, we'll be benefitting from the immediacy of your feedback, and from our ability to respond to your wishes and suggestions.

My very first order of business is to invite you all to send me pictures of your beautiful wire work! As you know, we devote two pages of every issue to a gallery of our readers' original designs. We love to showcase your work! But in addition to that, I urge all of you aspiring writers to share your designs by writing tutorials for Step by Step Wire Jewelry. We meet regularly to review submissions, and you need only send along photographs of the pieces you'd like us to consider. You can see our writers guidelines on our web site, www.stepbystepwirejewelry.com. They tell you everything you need to know to submit to Step by Step Wire Jewelry.

If you've ever wished we'd cover a certain technique, if you've seen a great book, or an inspirational exhibit, let us - and all our readers - know, right here on this forum. It's all about sharing and learning, and we're ready!

Warmly,

Denise Peck, Editor-in-chief, Step by Step Wire Jewelry

dpeck@interweave.com