LOL - First Attempt - Harder than I thought

[topperace]

Ha, this is way harder than I thought…but first attempt.  

I cut a rectangle out of this rock my wife found as she liked the pattern in the middle.  Tumbled too long as it ate way too much
material and made it semi ovalish…. I finished polishing with different grits of sand paper, by hand.
My original design wouldn’t work now that the stone was “ovalish", so made do with what I could to hold it in with
somewhat of the original design.

Well, lots to learn.

[jasoninsd]

For your first wrap, I don't think you have anything to feel badly about! You have some real good ideas...and it will just take a few more to nail down the nuances. Way to go!

[khara]

This is very cool. First, I love that you cut the rock for your wife. 2nd, the fact that you learned that tumbling can often take way more than we want is a good lesson, and you’ll remember it now having experienced it for yourself. I’m impressed that you then actually finished the sanding by hand. And your finished wrap for a first piece is great. I agree, it is a harder craft than it looks. For me, it seems as I get older I just don’t have the fine tuning dexterity that I used to have. Practice definitely helps it to come a little easier.

[rockjunquie]

I think you did a great job on the stone and wrap! This is your first, so it's all about the learning. What kind of wire did you use? Looks like stainless steel.

[dshanpnw]

I like the agate. I polished my very first stone by hand using sand paper and that made we want to start tumbling. Wrapping takes practice. I should get back to wrapping because I like it. I am going to suggest a YouTube channel for a beginner's wire wrapping tutorial. You might have already seen it, IDK. So here it is: Check out her other beginner videos. Thanks for sharing your wrap.

[liveoak]

That's a great first wrap-you should be proud you did it !

Keep at it, it gets easier, sometimes, sort of, maybe

Patty

[MsAli]

You did better than my 1st attempts 😅

[rocknewb101]

I think it also looks great! I've never event attempted to wrap, but we have some pretty amazing wrappers here. Practice makes perfect and I think you're already well on your way!

[rockbrain]

I agree with everyone else. Nice first try! The type of wire definitely makes a difference. Dead soft copper has been the easiest for me. Aluminum would probably be easier but the harder the wire the sturdier the final product. I also agree that some simple tutorials are a great way to start to get some of the structural basics. Keep it up!

[susand24224]

Everyone has said most of my thoughts such as (1) great job for a first wrap! But I will add one more. A tumbled stone, at least for me, is often the most difficult thing to wrap. So--it looks like in a labor of love you used a difficult stone, difficult wire, and created something that works. This is success on so many levels.

[topperace]

Mar 8, 2024 9:07:52 GMT -5 dshanpnw said:

I like the agate. I polished my very first stone by hand using sand paper and that made we want to start tumbling. Wrapping takes practice. I should get back to wrapping because I like it. I am going to suggest a YouTube channel for a beginner's wire wrapping tutorial. You might have already seen it, IDK.  Thanks for sharing your wrap.

I used Beadalon German Style Wire, Silver, 20 Ga and 24 Ga from Michaels.

[topperace]

Thanks All for the responses!! Great resources for learning.