today we're gonna be showing you how towire wrap a bead onto a plain link chain. you can use the same techniques in thistutorial to make your own chains from scratch using only wire and beads. this is a really important tool that alljewelry designers should have because you can apply them to so many other different designs. here are all the tools and materials you will need. we're going to be using 22 gauge half hardwire for this type of wrap because it holds its shape much better than soft ones. to make the loop we need one round nose plier and one flat nose.
as you can see there a round nose is to make the loop, the flat nose is to flatten it. you will need a wire cutter too. i have two flat noses here in case i need a better grip for something butreally just need one. ...so let's get to it! we're gonna make the loop now start off by putting the wire onto the round nose and bending into a circle. the size of the loop doesn't have to be
perfect on the first try. you can still adjust it at this point.just make sure you leave around a quarter or half-inch after the loop to complete thewrap. i left a little bit more just so it's easier see. after you make theloop the size that you want, pull the chain onto it like this. it's already blendingin there and then we are going to use our flat noseplier and grab the loop just like that.
get a good grip on that. now we're gonna grab the short end of the wire using a round nose or flat nose--i'm usingmy flat nose. grab the short end and make a neat little coil like this. you should only be bending the short end. the other end should stay straight.i'm gonna show you what it looks like with a single coil now because afteryou do more than one coil it becomes difficult go back.
so anyway this looks good some i am gonna continue with one more to make sure it's nice and strong. as i mentioned earlier we are using 22 gauge wire which is a bit thicker so two coils is fine. for thinner gauges like 26 or 28 gauge it's probably better to use at least twomaybe three coils depending on how many-- how much weight the wire has to bear. bigger gauges may only require one ortwo coils to be safe. ...so we're almost halfway there
we can cut off this short end like that. just remember to always wear safetyglasses because you don't want bits of wire flying in your face. so now, part of the wire is still sticking out andi am just going to flatten it with my flat nose plier so it's nice and neat. and now i can put the bead onto the wire
and after that we're basically justgonna repeat the steps from before now its on there. the only difference thistime is that when you're making the loop, you need to leave a little bit of spaceto allow for those two coils. i'm just gonna move it up there a little bit--maybe not that much room, a little bit less. it's hard to see, but it'sthere. there you can see it. ...again you don't need to get it right onyour first try you can make your loop and adjust it afterwards before you make your coil
now that we have a loop we will attach the other end of that chain. just stick that on there. now we're gonna grab hold of the loop with the flat nose just like the first time around. and pull the loose end around. actually thistime i'll just use my hands since seems pretty stable. i like the spacing, there's enough spacefor it, so i'm just gonna go around two times andafter we have those two loops, i will just make sure that it looks good
and i'll tighten it with my flatnose. yeah we're almost there now. i'm justgonna cut it here where the third coil would have begun. a little trickthat i use is that i don't actually cut this wire because it's hard to get inthere. i just leave a little mark that's not enoughto actually cut through and i just kind of bend it back and forth until it breaks on that weak spot that i left. so this waythe wire that's left over at the end is shorter and it's easierto tuck in with the flatnose. it also wastes a lot less so we'll havemore wire for the next wrap.
so we're done, nice and even. so this tutorial tookabout five minutes but when you get used to it it will take a minute each or even less. asyou do more of these, your wraps will look more even, you will become more comfortable with different gauges, and you will work much faster. this is really a case of practice makesperfect!
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