There is a fellow who sells a 'link cutter' for about 250.00 (i think thereabouts) that will rapidly cut your fine wire into very uniform length snippets. it's pricey, but certainly helps if you're doing a lot of granulation.
FWIW.
I make a Koil Kutter & set of 23 metric mandrels 2-13mm in 0.5mm
steps for a lot less than that.
There ar 2 models of the Koil Kutter, one for a # 30 handpiece &
one for a Dremel.
Dave
I make a Koil Kutter & set of 23 metric mandrels 2-13mm in 0.5mm steps for a lot less than that. There ar 2 models of the Koil Kutter, one for a # 30 handpiece & one for a Dremel.
hi Dave,
the guy calls his mechanism a ‘link cutter’ but it only will cut
straight snippets of wire of the same length, whatever length
one would determine that is neccessary for ones granule. his
link cutter, in my opinion is next to useless to make links, but
great for producing small granules. i can easily get a snippet
that produces a granule that is .3 mm in diameter with it,
smalller if desired.
if i had known about your koil kutter as previously discussed on
this forum before i bought my jumpringer, i certainly would have
bought the koil kutter. however, some granulators require
smaller granules than what a 2mm arbor jumpring made of the
smallest gauge wire would make. i already dislike to make the 30
gauge i use with the ‘link cutter’.
for the record, i don’t have any relationship with the guy who
makes the ‘link cutter’, other than buying one of his units.
prepaid before shipping no less.
best regards,
geo fox
Hi George,
Thanks for the reply.
however, some granulators require smaller granules than what a 2mm arbor jumpring made of the smallest gauge wire would make.
What is a good range for granual sizes? I haven’t done a lot of
granulation, definitley nothing in the 1mm range. I’m toying
with a different scheme for granual production.
TIA for any help.
Dave
I make a Koil Kutter & set of 23 metric mandrels 2-13mm in 0.5mm steps for a lot less than that. There ar 2 models of the Koil Kutter, one for a # 30 handpiece & one for a Dremel.
hi Dave,
the guy calls his mechanism a 'link cutter' >>
Wondering . . . how much is this handy gadget, and is there an
E-Mail or snail address???
Thanks!
What is a good range for granual sizes? I haven't done a lot of granulation, definitley nothing in the 1mm range. I'm toying with a different scheme for granual production.
hi dave,
this really depends on the granulator. my preference is the
ability to make tiny granules, .3mm is the smallest i’ve made,
though the tool i own will make smaller, the largest granule
i’ve used is .9mm. i try to make them in .1mm increments, but
that doesn’t work out in reality, so i’ve made a chart as to how
to adjust the ‘link cutter’ to get repeatable sizes.
in jewelry concepts, oppi untracht says that anything above 1mm
should be considered shot instead of a granule. this may be a
little arbitrary, but that is what he says.
i believe the tool i own could’ve been prototyped for the price
(this is an exageration), though it does do a marvelous job.
small gauge wire goes thru a .7mm feeder hole and is sheared off
by a spring loaded shear. the backside of the feeder hole acts
as the other side of the shear. a long (i think it is a 10-32
about 3" long, it would’ve been nicer to have a finer thread)
screw acts as an adjustable stop. the adjustable stop moves
(gets pushed by the shear lever) out of the way as the manually
operated shear lever comes down to make your snippet.
best regards,
geo fox
Hi all - Somehow I lost the part of the granulation thread that
dealt with Koil Kutters??? Is this a jumpring maker that you are
talking about in relation to granulation? Thanx - Laura
Hi Laura,
Somehow I lost the part of the granulation thread that dealt with Koil Kutters??? Is this a jumpring maker that you are talking about in relation to granulation?
Yes. The idea is that you wind a coil of a given size, then cut
it into rings. Each ring is the same size, so when they’re
melted they turn into granules of the same size. The size of the
granule is controlled by the diameter of the mandrel on which the
coil is wound & by the size of the wire used. Dave
Hi George,
Thanks for the info on granule size.
a long (i think it is a 10-32 about 3" long, it would've been nicer to have a finer thread) screw acts as an adjustable stop.
Does the length adjusting screw need to be that heavy? Possibly a
5-44 or a 4-48 could be retrofitted. A 10-32 moves .031/
revolution, a 5-44 .023 & a 4-48 .021, all rounded to the
nearest whole #. If you need extremely fine movement you could go
to a differential screw. They can be designed to provide very
small increments of movement.
Thanks again for the info,
Dave
Wondering . . . how much is this handy gadget, and is there an E-Mail or snail address???
hi fishbre,
what is your name? i feel kinda strange with your handle.
the handy gadget is called the AVZ granule & link cutter and
sells for a hefty $250.00 (i think that is what it cost, it
might be slightly less). it is a nicely made tool but i feel it
is definitely overpriced. perhaps dave arens can be prodded to
make an alternative mechanism if you’re not in a hurry.
the number is: 707.762.5800. i suspect the fellow who makes the
machine does so in his spare time. he does call back, and
requires payment in advance.
best regards,
geo fox
Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
the handy gadget is called the AVZ granule & link cutter and
sells for a hefty $250.00 (i think that is what it cost, it
might be slightly less). it is a nicely made tool but i feel it
is definitely overpriced. perhaps dave arens can be prodded to
make an alternative mechanism if you’re not in a hurry.
A device as simple as something that will clamp to a pair of
side cutters with an alignment tube on one side and an adjustable
stop on the other would suffice. If Dave makes it, I will
probably buy it. Especially if the stop adjusts long enough to
cut earring wires and posts to length, etc. Richard D. Hamilton
Fabricated 14k, 18k, and platinum Jewelry
wax carving, modelmaking, jewelry photography
Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
I have one, and once the coil is wound (I use a mandrel in a
lathe), cutting it is very quick, a great improvement over
cutting by hand. I have about 30 charm designs that use jump
rings and it is a godsend.
Rick
Richard D. Hamilton
Fabricated 14k, 18k, and platinum Jewelry
wax carving, modelmaking, jewelry photography
Does the length adjusting screw need to be that heavy? Possibly a 5-44 or a 4-48 could be retrofitted. A 10-32 moves .031/ revolution, a 5-44 .023 & a 4-48 .021, all rounded to the nearest whole #. If you need extremely fine movement you could go to a differential screw. They can be designed to provide very small increments of movement.
hi dave,
i was wrong about the length. it is only about an inch. thanks
for the info on how far the travel is. you’ve jogged me out of
the retarded attack i was having about being able to retrofit a
finer thread… i have the technology. how about a helicoil?
best regards,
geo fox
Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
That’s what I do. It works if you are careful. I wrap the
finished coil with masking tape before slicing it with cut-off
disc…saves the little rings from flying all over the place and
landing in unknown territories( subject of previous Orchid
thread). If you use a dowel, you can cut it right on the
wood… if you use a metal mandrel of some sort( aluminun
knitting needles work great!) , you have to remove the coil
before cutting.
My question… is it easier to make oval links for chains by
wrapping on an oval mandrel, or by fabricating round links and
then stretching them out into an oval shape? If an oval mandrel
is used, what do you use for the mandrel? Thanks!
karen
karen@carvedbyramsey.com
Hi George,
how about a helicoil?
Don’t know, let me check to see if they’re available in that
small a size I’d suspect they might not be. If they aren’t, all
is not lost. It would probably be possible to drill & tape a
10-32 for a # 3 or 4 screw with a fine thread. That’s assuming
there’s away to lock a portion of the 10-32 in position & keep it
from turning. There usually are several ways to do thi s.
Dave
My question… is it easier to make oval links for chains by
wrapping on an oval mandrel, or by fabricating round links and
then stretching them out into an oval shape? If an oval mandrel
is used, what do you use for the mandrel?
Two small dowels cemented together make a dandy mandrel for oval
jumprings.
Bucky
Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway.
@Bucky
Minutes off I-95 in central SC.
Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
The problem is that the coil tends to wiggle around and makes it
difficult to get a straight clean cut. One of my instructors
puts masking tape around the coil to keep it all in place and
then either saws or uses a cut off disk right through the tape
and the coils. This works pretty well and is alot cheaper!
J> Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
J> the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
J> flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
J> hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
G’day, Jesse: It works beautifully - I do it all the time,
including this afternoon - I’m making an apple & pear chain in
sterling. I also use old knitting pins as mandrels, and put a
hand drill - egg beater type in my workshop vice to make the
coil, tensioning the annealed wire between two slips of ply with
the other hand. I even draw the wire too. But David Ahrens
Kutter doubtless does it better. Cheers,
/\
/ / John Burgess,
/ /
/ //\ @John_Burgess2
/ / \ \
/ (___) \
(_________)Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding
the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my
flexshaft would work as well? I could also put the dowel in a
hand drill chuck. Whaddaya think?
That’s what I do. It works if you are careful. I wrap the
finished coil with masking tape before slicing it with cut-off
disc…saves the little rings from flying all over the place and
landing in unknown territories( subject of previous Orchid
thread). If you use a dowel, you can cut it right on the
wood… if you use a metal mandrel of some sort( aluminun
knitting needles work great!) , you have to remove the coil
before cutting.
My question… is it easier to make oval links for chains by
wrapping on an oval mandrel, or by fabricating round links and
then stretching them out into an oval shape? If an oval mandrel
is used, what do you use for the mandrel? Thanks!
karen
karen@carvedbyramsey.com
Re: the Koil Kutter, can someone tell me whether just winding the wire on a dowel and cutting it with a cutoff disk in my flexshaft would work as well?
It will work, but probably not as well.
What tool you use for winding & cutting coils into rings depends
on the u se the rings will be put to. Most chain makers want the
rings to be a unifor m size with not too large a gap. The Koil
Kutter blade is only .010" wide. Because the coil is mechanically
held while it’s being cut, the cut goes straight down the length
of the coil. The ends are square & ring distorti on is held to a
minimum. Time required to cut a 3 3/4" (aprox) long coil is about
5 sec.
Using steel mandrels insures the coils you wind next week will
be the sam e size as the ones you just finished, wood can change
dimensions with the humidity. Coils are also easier to remove
from steel than wood. Generally
wood dowels are not available in metric sizes in the US. It’s
lots easier to do the math when using metric (whole numbers, no
fractions). Using a cut off disk is a little messier & you have
to be careful of the wheel catching & throwing a ring or part of
the coil. It’s pretty hard to
get the fingers out of the way in time. If you are going to melt
the ring s into granules ragged ends aren’t a problem, only
accurate size is.
Which way you go depends strictly on the use you’re going to put
the ring s to, the quantity you need, the size repeatability &
how much time you are
willing to devote to ring production.
I could also put the dowel in a hand drill chuck. <<
You’ll need devise a way (vise) to hold the drill. You’ll need 1
hand to turn the drill & 1 hand to guide the wire on the mandrel.
I’ve used a variable speed electric drill for this, but it takes
a little getting use d to. I use a manual coil winder & I have 3
variable speed drills.
Hope this helps.
Dave