Wire Jewelry Tip September 18: Spiral Wire Measurement Chart

by Narlene Allen, Wire-Sculpture.com

Wire Jewelry Tip of the Day for September 18, 2013

Spiral Wire Measurement Chart

This week we are going to feature a handy tip shared with us by one of our wire-jewelry artists; Mint Spring.

This a simple little thing that she made ages ago and has found it to be helpful when trying to gauge how short to cut ending wires or what size a spiral will end up being based on the length of wire that is left.

You can make one for 22 gauge square wire and one for 18 gauge square wire or any other gauge that you desire!

Materials:

About 8 inches of wire (whatever gauge you want the spirals to be). Mint suggests making these out of  22 gauge, as that is the most common gauge to work with.

Tools:

• Wire Cutters
• Flat Nose Pliers
• Chain Nose Pliers or Needle Nose Pliers
• Thin Sharpie Marking Pen
• Ruler

Step by Step Instructions:

Step 1: Straighten the wire.

Step 2: Lay it next to a ruler.

Step 3: Mark at: ½”,  7/8”, ½”, 1”,  ½”, 1 ¼”, 1/2”, 1 ½”, ½”, 1 ¾”, ½”, 2”.

Step 4: Cut at the 7/8”, 1”, 1 ¼”, 1 ½”, 1 3/4”, and 2” marks.  This will give you 5 pieces of wire each ¼” longer than the next shorter piece, and 1 piece 1/8” difference in length.  (Mint uses both the 3/8” & ½” sizes in smaller pieces of jewelry thus the 1/8” difference in length for these 2 pieces.)  By keeping the tail pieces all the same length the size of the spiral is in better proportion to the next one.

Step 5: Line them up in order of length with all of the ½” spaces at the bottom. (Ignore the extra in between sizes in the picture, there was not enough difference to use all 1/8” progressions.)

Step 6: At the ½” mark, bend each piece to the right (or left if easier) at about a 45 degree angle. This is just approximate. Having the bend gives you a consistent starting point for each spiral.

Step 7: Using the chain nose or needle nose pliers, make a tight spiral starting at the end OPPOSITE  the ½” end. Curl it up until you reach the bend.  Do this on each piece.

Step 8: Line them up in order on a business card or other stiff piece of paper.  Label each size swirl and tape securely and in order to the card.

Ready to use!

Wrapping it up:

I’d like to thank Mint Schlief for sharing her tip with us this week! To see more of Mint’s Designs, visit her Etsy Shop at Mint Spring Designs.  We will also be featuring a FREE pattern from Mint in the near future.  If you haven’t signed up for our FREE patterns, you can do that HERE.

We are always looking for submissions for weekly tips or new wire artists! If you have an amazing pattern that you’d like to share, simply Click Here to submit your idea. You could be featured on our Blog or we might pick your pattern!

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Related Posts

• How to make a tight wire spiral.
  How to make a tight wire spiral.

5 Comments

1. 

   rhoda weyr

   September 18, 2013 at 5:35 am

   ohmigod! This is so simply beautiful a hint, and so beautifully simple as well. Bless you!
2. 

   Dorothy Pollak

   September 18, 2013 at 10:06 am

   Thank you for this exquisitely simple and essential help. It’s nice to see a real hint again, instead of the usual tool ad. I know those are helpful to some people, but to those of us waiting for something to hone our skills or make things easier, who can’t afford to buy new tools, this was a breath of fresh air
3. 

   Rochelle

   September 18, 2013 at 11:26 am

   Thank you for the amazingly useful tip!!!
4. 

   Gina

   September 18, 2013 at 10:18 pm

   Thanks so much!!!! I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing over the years but this is GREAT! I will be making them with several size wires.
5. 

   Dena Ellison

   September 21, 2013 at 9:04 am

   Great helpful tip!

   I do this with my hand made clasps, too.

   I am with Dorothy. Would like to see more actual tips like this. Thanks for getting back to basics.