Twisting metal wire

Jewelry Discussion
1

An easy way to twist square wire is to put 1 end in a vice and the
other end in a power drill bit. The gentle lean back with the drill
to put tension on the wire and SLOWLY start the poser drill. The
twist will start at one end and move to the other end of the wire.

It’s best to do this on a piece of wire 4 or 5 times longer than you
need, so that you have a stock of it. You’ll have to snip ooff the
ends that were in the vice and the power drill.

Cheers
Virginia

2

In addition to Virginia’s suggestion about using a power drill,
consider a power screw driver, the speed is less and the twist can be
more easily controlled. HTH,

Teresa

3

I’d suggest using a hand drill. I tried it with a power drill, and
ended up with an extremely tightly twisted wire. I’d rather have more
control over the amount of twist.

Janet Kofoed

4

Here is another ‘twist’ on Twisting Metal Wire. (sorry for the
pun…hahahaha).

I use one of the old hand crank drills. I chuck a coffee cup hook in
the drill, put a loop in the end of the wire and put the hook through
the loop. The other end of the wire is in the vise.

I count the number of turns of the hand crank, and can then repeat
the same pattern of twists for the next time. One turn of the hand
crank is about 3.5 twists of wire (yours might be higher or lower),
but I can multiply and get the twists per foot of square wire.

This is also useful when making double twisted wire . Chuck both
ends of a single round wire in the vice, put the hook through the
other end, and count your twists. To place two wires together for a
chevron pattern, use the same amount of wire a second time, crank in
the opposite direction, count the same amount of cranks, and you have
a matching pattern twisted in the opposite direction. Placing a
section of each of these twists together gives a V or chevron effect.

Love and God Bless
-randy
http://www.rocksmyth.com
Home 214-321-6253
Work 469-775-6650
Cell 214-280-7775

5

Incidentally you can also work harden round wire without changing its
appearance by twisting a single strand this way.

Ray Grossman
Ray Grossman Inc.
Manufacturers of Jump Ringer

6

In order to twist wire or wind a long coil for jump rings using a
power drill while maintaining complete control do the following: Use a
110 volt portable drill (not a battery powered unit) and lock the
trigger in the “ON” position. Plug its wire into your Foredom foot
control and operate the drill with your foot.

Start at a slow speed and gradually increase to a maximum of about
1/2 top speed.

Incidentally you can also work harden round wire without changing its
appearance by twisting a single strand this way.

Ray Grossman