How to file wire to a point

Jewelry Discussion
1

I am making a pin out of 20 gauge artistic wire and need to make a
point at the end of the wire.

I purchased a set of three files at a bead store today…but it’s not
working. Am I using the wrong thing or am I doing it incorrectly.

Thanks,
Bev

2

Bev,

Cut the wire longer than you need. Shape the hinged end or solder to
pin. Use a sanding disk on your flexshaft while twirling the
(straight) wire between your fingers. When you have a near enough
point, go to the polisher and polish- pointing DOWN and twirling to
get it centered and dull enough not to shred cloth.

J.

3

Your wire is fairly thin. Your files may be too coarse for it. Does
the file seem to catch? Remember to file away from yourself because
that is the way files are designed to work. If the file is not too
coarse, place the wire on a block of wood that file marks on will not
bother you. Rotate the wire as you file it. It shouldn’t take much.

marilyn

4

Straighten the wire, put it in a flex shaft or drill, taper with sand
paper. Perfectly centered taper.

Judie

5

hi Beverly, when I read your post I wondered if artistic wire would
prove to be too soft and flexible to use for a pin, even after it has
a point?

Hope
NSW AU
http://taueret.typepad.com

6

You might even try two sanding discs facing one another; run your
hand piece at a slow speed; stick that wire right between the two
discs.

KPK

7 
I purchased a set of three files at a bead store today..but it's
not working. Am I using the wrong thing or am I doing it
incorrectly.

Bev, files only cut on the forward stroke – if you’re pulling the
file back toward yourself, it’s not going to remove much metal. (I’m
assuming these are metal files. How coarse/fine are they?)

Judy Bjorkman

8

Hi,

You might even try two sanding discs facing one another; run your
hand piece at a slow speed; stick that wire right between the two
discs

In addition to Kevins suggestion, I’d put the wire to be
tapered/pointed in a pin vise so you could keep it turning while it
is between the 2 discs.

Another way might be to put the wire in the chuck on a handpiece so
that just enough sticks out to taper/point. The hold that at the
appropriate angle on apiece of abrasive paper… After getting it to a
taper/point switch to a finer grit paper to put a shine on it.

Dave

9

Artistic wire is a copper cored wire and generally quite soft. Have
you thought about just using a pencil sharpener? It might be easier.
Otherwise, a good nail file would also probably work well on this
product.

Sandra Graves, Isis Rising

10

I place an abrasive wheel (cut off disc) on my Foredom. I hold the
wire in my hand and rotate it against the wheel.

Once the wire is pointed I run it on a hard felt wheel charged with
Zam. I normally hold the wire so that it is parallel to the spin of
the wheel. This way the point does not get dulled as it would if held
perpendicular to the spin of the wheel.

Another way to polish the point is to hold the wire down on a piece
of wood and run the polishing wheel against it.

This will polish I and remove any abrasion marks.

Be sure to wear protective glasses.

11 
I am making a pin out of 20 gauge artistic wire and need to make a
point at the end of the wire. I purchased a set of three files at a
bead store today..but it's not working. Am I using the wrong thing
or am I doing it incorrectly.

Probably not applicable, but you reminded me of a summer job at a
tungsten wire-drawing facility. They pointed the wire for the
initial draw by dipping the end in a solution, some acid, I presume.
It sizzled and made a nice tapered point.

Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ

12

I didn’t know what artistic wire was until this thread, guess I am
disartistic.

If its true that the stuff is very soft, and if you ‘had to’ make a
point… what I’d guess is happening is that the wire is just
deflecting on the power stroke when you file. Sure, its soft its
going to do that. Turning it against a sanding disc of whatever
configuration is likely to get the same result.

Take your saw and load it with a suitable size blade to fit the
wire. Cut a long notch into your benchpin or something else. What you
want is a groove that graduates to nothing.

I have no clue the dimension of artistic wire but for the sake of
illustration let’s call it thirty thousandths. Cut the groove in the
wood so that at the corner of the block its about.030" deep but
towards the middle of the block(flat face) it tapers to zero depth.
Lay the wire in the groove and file at a slight angle to the wire
towards the point, rotating the wire for a uniform point. Yeah, you
will need a fine enough file to not jam up. The downward pressure
from the file should keep the wire locked in the groove giving you
some control.

HTH

13

G’day;

I have used molten Sodium nitrite to point both tungsten and
molybden wire. For silver you would use warm nitric acid; and gold,
aqua regia. If you have access to a high amperage power source, I
used an electrolyte like sodium nitrate or cyanide solution to point
silver by the dipping method. Move the wire up and down to achieve
the kind of point you need. The fast-etching method is the best; you
don’t work-harden the wire

Cheers for now,
JohnB of NZ