Thursday, August 6, 2009

Making my own Fine Silver Ear wires and Headpins

So my 2 1/2 year old daughter has been away with my mother at the cottage so I have had quite a bit more time to do some work and try out my new torch. Yah... so exciting.
Thing you need for this project.

Fine silver wire anything between 20 - 22 guage
Butane torch
Measuring tape
Fire block or anvil
Long nose pliers
plate

1. So i started out by cutting 2 and 3 inch pieces of wire. It depends on how big you want your ear wires. I didn't find that you really lose any length in the making of the ball.
2. Read the instructions for you torch. Fill and adjust the flame to be bright blue and about and 1" long.
3. Hold the piece of wire with your pliers with the end that you want the ball on pointing down.
4. Fire end of wire until it drips down to make a ball. I found that i had to count to 5 with my torch and i would have a nice 1.5mm ball on the end. If i wanted it more like 2mm then it took about 8 seconds.
5. Let them cool for a few minutes on a plate before handling

Caution.... even when using a 3" piece of wire the whole thing got very hot. Don't touch.... the metal ends of your pliers will also get hot.