A few of you had heard of Bezelform's wire wrapping mandrels before, but many of you haven't. All though were very interested in winning the mini-kit and entered last week's wildly popular giveaway. As Cindy said, "You can't have too many tools, love my tools!"

By far, the largest group were beginner wire work enthusiasts or total newbies. Remember that the templates make the task of wire wrapping cabochons easier! They will not create master wire workers overnight. So practice, practice, practice. If you didn't win this giveaway, and are still gung ho about owning a kit, I recommend the mini-kit first to see if you are going to like wire work. You can always upgrade if you find you love it.


Try it with copper first just to get the feel of things. Unfortunately, I don't think you can easily find square and half-round copper wire - if they exist at all - so you will have to go on to using sterling silver. Those shapes do make it easier as the flat edges align together much better than round ones. I find it tricky to keep the square wire from twisting and have to double check with a magnifying lens!

Shown below are a couple of Rick's own designs. The new jade (serpentine) cabochon on the left is held with the top and bottom wires bent inwards. Bending wire in this fashion in effect tightens the hold the wires have on the gemstone. The faceted smokey quartz gemstone on the right is held with wire prongs. I must say, I like Rick's tidy method of taking care of the wire ends at the top - the instructions are on his website.


I initially thought that metal smiths would also find this tool useful. But upon reflection, the technique of soldered bezel settings (see my past post) has so many steps that this tool may only be marginally useful for them. But if the metal smith also did wire work, then it is worth having the templates.

Cue in the drum rolls! After consulting the numerical "oracle", random.org, the winner is Jaclyn! Congratulation! Jaclyn says she is just starting to get interested in wire work so this tool will be a great help!

More Wire Wrapping Tutorials:
For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips

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