Wire WrappingThere are many articles on wire wrapping. I am only going to discuss a couple of them here. Your fused glass pieces will take on different shapes and sizes so read over the information and decide which method is best for your individual project. When you are making fused glass jewelry, your glass piece is usually referred to as a cabochon, or cab. These are hung from a pendant bail or wire wrapped and added to a necklace. For your first attempt, try using a larger cabochon. This will make it easier to handle during the process. The first thing your will need to do is to get all of your wire wrapping tools together. Wire Wrapped Jewelry
Use masking tape and simply wrap it around the edge of your piece. Take note of where the tape meets by marking on the tape. Unwrap the tape and measure the piece. This will determine the length of square wire you will need. Add about four inches to the measurement.
Cut three pieces of your square wire to this determined length and use a soft cloth to straighten your wire.
Place the three pieces of square wire closely against each other and use your clamps to hold them together.
Find the middle of the wires and wrap them together at that point, using your round wire. Measure out about an inch from the middle on each side and make two other wraps. This will now give you three wraps. One in the middle and two wraps about an inch away from the middle on each side.
You are now going to cradle your piece in your wires. Place your fused glass piece up against the wires and bend the wires around the cab. You should have the middle wrap on the bottom of the piece and the other wraps are on each side of your cab.
Bend your wires around your piece. Taking another piece or wire, you will want to wrap at the top of your cab to secure your piece in place. There should be six pieces of wire sticking out at the top of your piece. These will each be about two inches in length.
Place your piece so that the front is facing you and using either a round or flat nosed pliers, pull the wires towards the center of your piece. There will be three wires around the edges of your piece. You are going to pull the top right towards the front center, the top left towards the center, the bottom right towards the center and the bottom left towards the center of your piece.
Now turn your piece over and do the same on the back of your piece. Pulling the wires in towards the center of your cab will secure it into place. Now separate your top wires, and using round nosed pliers curl four of the wires down. Take the remaining two wires and pull these to the back and wrap around your back wires to create a bale for hanging, or just loop them and wrap for hanging. Or, you can just take three wires and curl them and use the remaining three wires to make your loop.
Using a Grinder BitThe other method for wire wrapping your cab involves a couple of more items. You will still need all of your other wire wrapping tools, but you will also need a grinder and a special grinder bit. These are called jewelry bits and can be attached to your grinder just as you would your other grinder bits.
With these bits, you can actually make an indentation in your glass piece. Attach the jewelry bit to your grinder and grind a groove in the edge of your glass.
You will need to cut a length of wire that will go around your cab and allow about an inch or two extra. Use the tape method described above for more information. Using a soft cloth, straighten out your wire. Place the wire around an in the groove of your piece, pushing the wire into the groove on each side and around the bottom. Bring the wires up and twist them together. Try not to twist the wire more than a couple of times. Not only will this make your piece look better, it will keep you from breaking the wire. Don’t use pliers to twist these pieces, because it can mar and weaken your wire. At this point, you can cut one of your wires and use the remaining wire to bend into a loop for hanging, or use both wires for this effect. Use your round nose pliers to wrap a loop around the pliers. You can finish off the piece by wrapping the excess wire around the twisted part you did previously. Cut off your wire and tuck in the sharp end of your piece. It is not that difficult to wire wrap jewelry. These techniques should help you bring your fused glass pieces to another level as you turn them into wire wrapped jewelry pieces.
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