Twisting Fine-Gauge Wire Tutorial

I often teach my students how to twist their own wire to make jump rings, using either 16ga or 14ga wire and a battery-operated Makita drill to accomplish the job. You can buy wire pre-twisted, but it's easy to twist it yourself, and cheaper, too. (I demonstrate this technique on my DVD, Ethnic Style Jewelry Workshop, currently on sale).

Sometimes, though, I need a much finer gauge of twisted wire for purposes other than jump rings. I frequently twist 24ga or 26a wire (shown above) to use in coil-wrapped beads or for other uses. This may lead to problems. For instance, the wire won't stay in the chuck on the drill; it simply pops out as soon as you turn the drill on. No matter how many times you insert the two cut wire ends into the chuck and tighten it down, they just pop out again.

I've discovered an easy solution to this that I'd like to share with you here. Once you know how to twist your own fine-gauge wire, I'm sure you'll find many uses for it in your jewelry designs.

What you need: about 5 feet fine-gauge (28ga, 26ga, or 24ga) round, dead-soft wire (can be silver, copper, colored craft wire, etc.), small round nose pliers, 0000 (superfine) steel wool from the hardware store, flush cutters for fine-gauge wire, a drill with a keyless chuck, masking tape or something similar
Step 1: Clean your wire thoroughly with 0000-steel wool (hardware store) or with polishing pads from Rio Grande (order #337-020).
Step 2: Flush-cut about 5 feet of wire. Remember, you can twist fine gauges such as 28ga, 26ga (shown above) or 24ga wire to make beautiful twisted wire for coiling and other purposes.
Step 3: Bend the wire in half, and bring the two cut ends together.
Step 4: This is the trick to twisting fine-gauge wire in a drill: Wrap the two ends with a small piece of masking tape or something similar. Make sure the wire ends are tucked securely in the tape.
Step 5: Open the chuck on your drill all the way. Then insert the taped wire ends as deeply into the chuck as you can. Try to keep the wires centered in the chuck.
Step 6: Twist to tighten the chuck very tightly, as tightly as possible. This is why it's helpful to have a drill with a keyless chuck, the type you tighten by hand. Using a key to tighten the chuck is just too difficult!
Step 7: Grasp the opposite wire end with round nose pliers. Hold the pliers straight out from the chuck, and turn on the drill. Hold firmly as the wire twists until it breaks; this usually happens right at the chuck.
Step 8: Be sure to flush-cut both wire ends. You now have a nice long piece (about 28 inches) of fine twisted wire to use in your next jewelry design.
Introducing Ivy: If some of you have been wondering why I haven't posted as often here as usual in recent weeks, I have two reasons. One is my new kitten, Ivy (so-called because her favorite bed is an ivy plant in the living room), a very active, playful and mischievous kitty. Her favorite pastime is to hide behind the computer and wait until I'm typing away on a project, and then suddenly jump onto the keyboard and startle me. She's managed to wipe out whole paragraphs using this strategy.

My second reason is really exciting: I'm writing another book on wire-art jewelry! I decided to self-publish this time, just to see what it's like. I've had five books on art and craft published so far, by three different publishers, and it has been a great experience. But I thought it would be interesting to try self-publishing this time. This means that I have to photograph all the jewelry and each lesson, step-by-step, and write good instructions for my readers.

I promise to provide more information as soon as I can. For now, enjoy the lessons found here on the blog—and be sure to check back on my previous posts because there are lots of great lessons and informative articles—and also be sure to pre-order my latest book, Contemporary Copper Jewelry, by clicking here.
Finally, I'd just like to add that all of my DVDs are currently on sale for $24.95 and that the one pictured above features a chapter on twisting 16ga wire in a drill to make beautiful jump rings. Ethnic Style Jewelry Workshop is three and a half hours long, and has lots and lots of wire-art and light metalsmithing techniques plus four bracelet designs and two complete necklaces. A bargain if there ever was one...

Some of my overseas readers (outside the US) have written to complain that amazon.com won't ship my DVDs to them. I don't know why this is, but in the meantime you can always order my DVDs through my original distributor, www.FilmBaby.com. They take credit cards, will ship anywhere, and they provide prompt service. To learn more, click here.

Happy wrapping,

Sharilyn