But then I move on to the next even after I anneal and I just
either can't pull it through (my hands are covered in bruises and
sore just typing this) or I end up snapping off the tapered bit of
metal or I fall over with the pliars slipping off. I am using
vegetable oil for a lubricant and pliars that have notches in them
(I forget what they're called!).
Actual drawtongs are easier to hang on to, especially when drawing
larger wire.
Then, are you pulling the wire in the right direction? It goes into
the larger tapered opening and is pulled out the smaller tighter
side. Don’t laugh. I’ve seen people make this mistake before, not
realizing they were mistaking which side the wire enters into.
Beeswax works better than vegitable oil. So does “burr life” or
similar bur/cutter lubricants.
The taper in the wire cannot be too steep, or you end up trying to
pull on a stub thats substantially smaller than the size wire you’re
drawing. That can make it more likely for the wire to break.
If you have a wire rolling mill, use it to get the wire as close as
possible, so you’re drawing it down as little as needed, starting the
drawing with the smallest size that will still give the size you
want. If you’re drawing wire that’s larger than the smallest grooves
on your wire mill, then use the mill to step roll a taper into the
end. That means you’re pulling a taper that’s work hardened, even
though the wire you’re drawing is annealed. You can also do this,
after annealing, but hammering the end to a tapered flat, then
filing the wide dimensions you just hammered in, to get the end
taper. This reduces the breakage problem.
Then, what size wire are you trying to draw? Rose gold is pretty
hard and stiff stuff, even when annealed, at least as compared to
yellow golds or silver. So what seems like it should be easy on
silver can be substantually harder to draw in rose gold. Many
drawplates go to larger sizes than can be simply hand drawn in harder
metals. For those larger sizes, you’d need a drawbench to get enough
force the draw larger wire. A 2.5 mm round wire in rose gold could
easily be very difficult to hand draw, especially if you’re not as
big and strong as the local highschool football players.
If you don’t have a drawbench, at least be sure the plate is really
securely clamped in a heavy enough, securly mounted, vise. If the
plate wobbles or shifts as you pull, you increase the chance of wire
breakage.
Also, check to see that the serrations on your pliers are not too
sharp. Some serrated pliers have such sharply cut grooves that they
cut the wire when strongly pulled, not just grip it. You may find
slightly sanding the inside of the plier jaws to take off the sharp
edges may help reduce breakage.
And finally, what quality of draw plate did you buy? Carbide ones
are universally easier to pull than steel, and while good Italian
made steel plates work well, there are also cheaper plates made that
can be virtually useless. For 50 bucks, you should have gotten a
decent steel plate, but check. If it says “india” return it or throw
it out. many of them are almost useless.
Hopefully something in there will help…
Peter Rowe