Raw Brass wire – I prefer to work with raw wire as it patinas nicely over time, is typically soft and is fairly easy to work with. If you use Jewelry wire, it may be coated and need to be sanded before you use it. It also comes with different levels of hardness which I explain below. The brass has 2 colors, yellow brass and red brass. I am not sure which color I used since I did not purchase the wire. But I think it’s the red brass. You can always use copper wire in its place.
Here is what you will need:
- 20 or 18 gauge wire – about 3 to 4 feet
- 24 (Yellow) or 28 ( Red) gauge wire – about 10 ft
- Ball pein hammer
- Flush cutter – prices range, buy what you are comfortable with. Expensive is not always better 😊
- Steel block – you need a very hard surface to hammer the wire on.
- Flat nose pliers – Jewelry pliers preferable. No teeth type pliers since they can mar your wire
- Nylon Pliers – a must have for jewelry designers and artists…LOVE this tool! These are optional for this project, but nice to have in your arsenal!
- Steel wool – optional, use if you are buying wire that is coated and sand to remove the coating.
- Needle for poking holes, or just use the wire to poke the holes.
NOTE: You can probably find these materials at Harbor Freight. This is my go-to store for in expensive yet not too bad quality of tools. I bought $4.00 flush cutters from here and have not had too many issues. The tips can break and chip, but they produce nice clean cuts and are sharp and strong enough to cut most of the wire I use for my jewelry projects and art projects. Do not use these for hard wire!
There are different metal Hardness when it comes to jewelry making. Although this is not a jewelry class, you can read this article on Rio Grande which helps you to understand the wires a little more.