Working With Wire (2-Day)
Learn to manipulate wire and bend it to your will. Useful in assemblage
and jewellery making, you'll learn how to create your own structures,
elements, clasps, chains,fasteners and rivets. Once you learn how useful
wire can be, you'll leave the glue in the drawer!

REQUIRED TOOLS/MATERIALS:

The tools below are things you will be certainly using in the workshop, and to avoid having to wait for a communal tool to become available, you should plan on getting them for the class:

• Cordless hand drill - If you have a variable-speed hand drill already, you won't need a cordless, but if you don't own a power drill yet, this is a good example. And while I'm at it, I might as well show you the BEST, smallest cordless hand drill on the Australian market. So if money is no object (over $250, and can be found at many Bunnings stores), try the AEG drill here. It'll be one of your most well-used and loved tools. Can you tell I love my new drill?
• roll of 're-bar tie wire' (found for under $10 in hardware stores in the construction materials section, near the cinder block and chain-link fencing. IMPORTANT: make sure it is steel or iron wire, NOT galvanized!...it should be dark grey-black) If met with blank stares, tell them it's for tying reo-rod together. NOTE: You won't need to haul the whole roll, as it's quite heavy - bring 1/4 of it with you and you'll have plenty!
• Memory wire cutters (this makes cutting the re-bar wire a cinch): <Here>
• small bench vise (about a 3" (7 to 8cm) jaw is fine, or even smaller if you find one...most hardware stores have a few sizes)
• A small ball-pein hammer - go here and choose 'Generic BALL-PEIN Hammer: Indian made / Face: 15mm diam'
• a regular pair of utility pliers
• jewellery pliers: a round-nose and a flat-nose (if you don't have any jewellery pliers, here's an inexpensive well-made set of four.
• a small plier with a serrated edge on the inside (gripping edge)
• Ring Clamp: <Here>
• Bench Pin: <Here>
• small bench vice (about a 3" (75mm) jaw is good. IMPORTANT: Do not bring a suction-type vice, nor can it be one of those hobby-type hollow metal ones. It must be solid steel. Here is a pic of just what to look for - either the type like in the image that is screwed down to a table, or a clamp-on model.
• small file (any fine-tooth file will do)
• drill bits (any standard hardware-store set)
• extra 1/16" drill bit
• pair of flush-cutting pliers - a super-cheap usable one can be found here.
• Bar clamps <Here> 450mm is shown. You may be able to find them cheaper - Bunnings and Mitre 10 stores will carry them. The little 150mm one is handy as well for small projects. Get one of each if you can find them at a good price, you'll use them all the time.
• piece of scrap wood to drill into
• fine steel wool (find it in a paint-supply section of a hardware store)
• 3M Wet-Or-Dry Polishing paper - quite simply some of the coolest polishing equipment money can buy <Here>
• an assortment of found objects that you can practice joining or embellishing with wire...see the Precious Little supply list for possible things to bring in this vein.
• jeweller's saw (get one ideally with a 4" (102mm) to 6" (152mm) 'throat'... House of Jewellery has the perfect saw frame. Go here and click on the image. You'll want frame 4, item #49.705, or 49.706.
• saw blades (get two sizes: 1 dozen of the #1 or #2 size and 1 dozen of #3/0 (that's "three-aught") size, any brand
• automatic centre punch: a cheap-as-chips one can be had here.
• Ear protection: foam ear plugs, or other headgear for hearing protection, if you're sensitive to hammering (we'll keep the noise down as much as possible, but there will be some, so just to be safe....
• Work gloves (to protect hands while working the wire - look for a close-fitting kind, rather than a big gardening-glove type)

Please email me with any questions you might have that this page didn't address.

See you there! Keith