Wire Art

[1dave]

5 - Working Wire:
I've found it advantageous to own numerous Draw Plates and a pair of draw tongs.

They come in all kinds of shapes, round, half round, square, triangle, heart, etc.
That allows you to buy a few large gauge wires, then draw them down to the diameter and shape you want later on.
Also you can twist or braid small wire and pull it through a half round DP for interesting ring shanks, etc.
Really interesting is to twist together silver and copper wire, pull through a square DP for bending into name pins.

Specialty pliers are available at jewelry supply stores AND at orthodontic supply houses.


There are lots of bending jigs available:





Which allows you to make names,


And all kinds of neat stuff!


Imagine displaying your tumbled stones in this!

[talkingstones]

Ok Dave, Hang on just a minute. Suppose someone who had never really done any smithing before was looking at this board right now. She is wondering about making a metal bracelet… probably like a thick wire type thingie with a large set stone in the center…. She's done wire wrapping and works her own stones but wants to start taking things to the next level. What kind of equipment would she need to do this bracelet and how would she go about doing it? Just saying….

[1dave]

Nov 18, 2013 7:35:12 GMT -5 talkingstones said:

Ok Dave, Hang on just a minute. Suppose someone who had never really done any smithing before was looking at this board right now. She is wondering about making a metal bracelet… probably like a thick wire type thingie with a large set stone in the center…. She's done wire wrapping and works her own stones but wants to start taking things to the next level. What kind of equipment would she need to do this bracelet and how would she go about doing it? Just saying….

Well, if it was me just beginning, being the tightwad I am, I would go to Home Depot and purchase about 5 feet of #8 ground wire, cut off 4 pieces just long enough to nearly go around my wrist and lay them side by side with my stone lying in the middle.

Bend the wire into curves so the outer wires curve far enough to accommodate the stone, then solder the ends together.

Or, bend the wires lie this: (===)The outer wires being more U shaped and soldered in the middle.

That is basically what was done for this bracelet in silver:


Cut a piece of #12 copper wire and pound flat to make a bezel, fit it to the stone, solder it into a hoop, Make whatever design you like, bend the finished flat bracelet around a pipe so it fits the wrist, then set the stone with a burnisher.

If you really like it, reproduce it in silver or gold.

[orrum]

Ok Dave you just awed me!!!!! That copper bracelet mini tut is incredible!!! If I do it is there a wsy to make the copper not turn my wrist colors? Maybe antique it?

[1dave]

Nov 18, 2013 10:11:27 GMT -5 orrum said:

Ok Dave you just awed me!!!!! That copper bracelet mini tut is incredible!!! If I do it is there a way to make the copper not turn my wrist colors? Maybe antique it?

Some think copper is healthy, some have way too much copper in their blood.

For me it is an inexpensive (cheap!) way to try new ideas, never insert the stones.

You could solder very thin sheet silver to the inside before bending it into shape . . . or dip it in that liquid they make tool grips out of . . .

[gerard]

Never had any luck using a draw plate - cant seem to get the wire to pull through - even annealed as soft as i can get it. Any tricks you care to share on drawing wire?

[1dave]

Nov 18, 2013 10:40:36 GMT -5 gerard said:

Never had any luck using a draw plate - cant seem to get the wire to pull through - even annealed as soft as i can get it. Any tricks you care to share on drawing wire?

Pound the end to a smaller diameter so some will poke through, anneal, anoint with lightweight machine oil.
Place the draw plate into a WELL SECURED vice, stick the end thru and pull like H E double toothpicks!

Anneal again after reducing a couple of sizes. Good Luck!

[wireholic]

Nov 18, 2013 10:11:27 GMT -5 orrum said:

Ok Dave you just awed me!!!!! That copper bracelet mini tut is incredible!!! If I do it is there a wsy to make the copper not turn my wrist colors? Maybe antique it?

Your body actually needs minute amounts of copper and wearing raw copper really does help with arthritis - your wist will stop turning green after a couple days. If arthritis is not an issue - you can coat the inside with clear fingernail polish or dip the whole piece in floor wax if you want to keep it from tarnishing or turning your skin green

[orrum]

Thanks Wireholic!

[gerard]

Nov 18, 2013 11:02:13 GMT -5 1dave said:

Nov 18, 2013 10:40:36 GMT -5 gerard said:

Never had any luck using a draw plate - cant seem to get the wire to pull through - even annealed as soft as i can get it. Any tricks you care to share on drawing wire?

Pound the end to a smaller diameter so some will poke through, anneal, anoint with lightweight machine oil.
Place the draw plate into a WELL SECURED vice, stick the end thru and pull like H E double toothpicks!

Anneal again after reducing a couple of sizes. Good Luck!

Thanks - will give that a try -double toothpicks and the oil - why didn't I think of using oil?

[1dave]

Nov 18, 2013 10:11:27 GMT -5 orrum said:

Ok Dave you just awed me!!!!! That copper bracelet mini tut is incredible!!! If I do it is there a wsy to make the copper not turn my wrist colors? Maybe antique it?

I was going to make the described bracelet using what I thought was hard Silver Solder purchased 40-50 years ago. It turned out to be a strip of German Silver!!!!

Impossible to melt with a propane torch. I'll have to find some real solder and try again someday.

[1dave]

Nov 19, 2013 16:05:21 GMT -5 wireholic said:

Nov 18, 2013 10:11:27 GMT -5 orrum said:

Ok Dave you just awed me!!!!! That copper bracelet mini tut is incredible!!! If I do it is there a wsy to make the copper not turn my wrist colors? Maybe antique it?

Your body actually needs minute amounts of copper and wearing raw copper really does help with arthritis - your wist will stop turning green after a couple days. If arthritis is not an issue - you can coat the inside with clear fingernail polish or dip the whole piece in floor wax if you want to keep it from tarnishing or turning your skin green

True! But some people get too much copper. Check out "Copper toxicity."

COPPER TOXICITY SYNDROME
by Lawrence Wilson, MD © Revised, July 2013, The Center For Development

Do you know anyone who suffers from headaches, fatigue, insomnia, depression, skin rashes, spaciness or detachment, learning disorders or premenstrual syndrome? These can be symptoms of a copper imbalance. It is an extremely common nutritional imbalance. It is often overlooked, in part because it is not always simple to detect.

Copper is an essential trace mineral that is vitally important for both physical and mental health. It has been studied for years, including at government laboratories. However, its importance for health is still largely unappreciated. The following article is an introduction to the large subject of copper imbalance. The author is deeply indebted to Dr. Paul C. Eck, an avid copper researcher.

COPPER'S ROLE IN THE BODY
Copper has a number of important functions in the human body. The problem usually occurs when there is too much of it in the soft tissues of the body. Here are some of the important roles of copper:

1. Bones and connective tissue. Copper is required to fix calcium in the bones and to build and repair all connective tissue. This includes the tendons, ligaments, skin, hair, nails, arteries, veins and a few other tissues.

Imbalances can contribute to osteoporosis, bone spurs, and almost all conditions of the skin, hair and nails. Others symptoms related to connective tissue include most cardiovascular problems, tendon and ligament conditions, scoliosis, and other skeletal and structural imbalances as well.

2. Energy production in the cells. Copper is needed in the final steps of the Krebs energy cycle called the electron transport system. This is where most of our cellular energy is produced. Any problem here causes fatigue, depression and other imbalances related to low energy.

3. Immune Response. Copper must remain in balance with zinc. When imbalances occur, one is more prone to all infections, in particular fungal and yeast infections that are so common today. For example, most people have some intestinal yeast if they eat sugars and most people have chronic sinus infections if they have common symptoms such as post-nasal drip and others.

4. The glandular system, particularly the thyroid and adrenal glands. The thyroid gland is extremely sensitive to copper. In part this is due to its nature and how easily it is influenced by the sympathetic nervous system. Common conditions seen with copper imbalance include hypothyroidism and even hyperthyroidism of a particular type that is very common that I all secondary hyperthyroidism. Grave’s disease usually due to stress, copper

imbalance and often mercury as well. Anyone with a diagnosis of Grave’s disease or hyperthyroidism should have a hair analysis performed at a lab that does not wash the hair and properly interpreted.

Most often, the problem goes away with a properly designed nutritional balancing program. Reducing all stress and balancing the body chemistry are both required to resolve the condition naturally in my experience. Drugs may be needed temporarily to control the symptoms. Surgery or radioactive iodine treatment and too drastic and not needed, in my experience so far.

5. Reproductive system. Copper is closely related to estrogen metabolism, and is required for women's fertility and to maintain pregnancy. Imbalance can cause every conceivable female organ-related difficulty such as premenstrual syndrome, ovarian cysts, infertility, miscarriages, sexual dysfunctions and more. It affects men less than women in this area, but it may affect men’s potency and sexual drive as well as that of women.

6. Nervous system. Copper stimulates production of the neurotransmitters epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine. It is also required for monoamine oxidase, an enzyme related to serotonin production. As a result, copper is involved deeply with all aspects of the central nervous system. Copper imbalances are highly associated with most psychological, emotional and often neurological conditions. These include memory loss, especially in young people, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and others discussed below.

THREE COPPER IMBALANCES
It is possible for a person to become copper-toxic, copper-deficient or to have a condition called biounavailable copper. The first two of these are fairly easy to understand. Copper is found in certain foods in greater quantity such as meats, eggs, poultry, nuts, seeds and grains. Other foods are quite low in copper such as fruits, in particular. Others that tend to be low are vegetables and some nuts and grains.

Refined food diets are low in copper in many cases. Also, some, especially children, need much more copper than others. This has to do mainly with their metabolic type or body chemistry. Fast oxidizers need more copper while slow oxidizers often have too much. Those who we find are fast oxidizers require a lot more copper. This is a technical area, but it is an observation that holds true in most all cases.

Slow oxidizers often have excessive copper in their bodies. Thus they are far more prone to copper imbalance of this nature. To read more about this technical aspect of copper that is very important for practitioners, read Fast, Slow and Mixed Oxidation on this website.

What is biounavailable copper? In this very common situation, copper is present in excess in the body, but it cannot be utilized well. The reason it occurs is that minerals such as copper must be bound and transported within the body.

Biounavailability often occurs due to a deficiency of the copper-binding proteins, ceruloplasmin or metallothionein. Without sufficient binding proteins, unbound copper may circulate freely in the body, where it may accumulate primarily in the liver, brain and female organs.

When copper is biounavailable, one may have symptoms of both copper toxicity and copper deficiency. Copper toxicity and biounavailability are seen most often. These occur almost always in people who are in the state called slow oxidation. As stated earlier, copper deficiency occurs most often in people who are in the state called fast oxidation. This article uses the words copper imbalance when more than one of the three types of copper problems are possible.

SYMPTOMS OF COPPER IMBALANCE
Each mineral has “target organs” where it tends to build up. The places where copper accumulates are the liver first, then the brain and the reproductive organs. Copper may affect any organ or system of the body. However, it usually affects about four or five major systems of the body. These are the nervous system, the female and male reproductive system, connective tissues such as hair, skin and nails and organs like the liver. Let us discuss each of these in detail.

The article goes on a long way from there, but some people naturally get rid of excess copper by having bright red hair, etc.

[1dave]

Back to Wire art, make wire stands to display your slabs and specimens, and use it in WireWrapping to make jewelry. What a great way to display those awesome tumbled stones!