Good morning everyone. I have used a great many drawplates in my time and have recently acquired one that draws down to an extremely fine diameter. I need a loupe to see the last few holes in the plate. Are there any tricks to draw down wire this thin? I will be using 22k-24k gold and fine silver. I am expecting to have difficulties keeping the wire from breaking and even feeding it into the smaller holes of the plate. Anyone have experience drawing very fine wire?
Hi Sandy, I draw wire from ingots very often. Pour, roll, draw. Anywhere from 4mm down to .3mm which I use for welding with my pulse arc welder. Fine metals can be a little tough to draw because they want to stretch
And then break before they pull thru the die/plate. The key to any drawing of wire or tube is to file or roll a long gradual taper. And to anneal, of course. People often file to abrupt a taper-- I call them puppy noses-- which get pinched off by the pliers or draw tongs.
I grab the tip of the long taper and ease it thru the plate and then grab behind it where the meat is. The taper is only a leader.
And of course lubricants! Bur life, wax, even chap stick.
Good luck.
Andy
Please excuse any typos-- curse my clumsy digits…
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