Wire jigs
The All About Jewellery Making Mini-Guide to Wire Jigs
What is a wire jig and how is it used?
A wire jig is a device used by jewellery makers to shape wire. It enables you to create wire shapes that are the same size over and over again. This means that a wire jig is particularly useful for creating ornamental links for a bracelet, necklace or a pair of matching earrings. It is essentially a board with holes into which you place pegs of varying sizes. The pegs can be positioned in many configurations allowing you to create a wide variety of shapes. To give you a better idea I have taken a photo of my own wire jig:
Here is a close up of the wire jig pegs - as you can see there are a variety of sizes:
Now for an example of a piece of jewellery made using a wire jig:
The framework for this pineapple quartz chandelier pendant was made using my wire jig. For this particular result I used one large peg at the base guiding the wire around two medium peg pegs up to one small peg at the top. If you have read my post on this pendant you will know that this piece intially started out as one half of a pair of earrings. I was able to successfully create a matching pair because I used the wire jig. Unfortunately I over-estimated the size and they were rather enormous for earrings!
Once you have decided on your desired configuration of pegs you can starting creating shapes! A good way to start is to post the end of the wire you are using into one of the holes in the pegboard prior to wrapping it around the first peg. This helps to create some tension so that you can pull the wire round evenly and it can easily be trimmed off once you have completed your design. Don’t rush, try and take the wire round smoothly keeping it as close to the board as possible. Practice is the key here.
What types of wire jig are available and how should I decide which one to buy?
There are a large range of wire jigs on the market from very basic plastic ones to much more sturdy examples such as mine and those produced by the well known company ‘Wig Jig’. Initially I started with a cheap plastic one but I found this to be inadequate for my needs and actually not terribly effective at creating wire shapes. The plastic was just not up to the job. My current wire jig, illustrated above, is excellent as both the pegs and the board are metal. I got this particular one from International Craft.
I have never used a ‘Wig Jig’ but my research has shown that their pegs are metal and their bases are acrylic. They have by far the widest variety of jigs: these include super-size pegs and a spiral maker as well as jigs with boards offering layouts of circular, square and semi-circular holes for the pegs. Their range can be seen here.
You can of course make your own wire jig. The easiest way to make a simple model is to hammer nails into a block of wood in the configuration you want to use. This would be very sturdy but you would have to make a separate jig for each pattern you want to make. Althernatively you could make an adjustable jig by drill holes to take small dowel. If you do this remember to not drill all the way through the wood or your pegs will fall out.
What size of wire should I use?
The best thing to do is have a little experiment but here are my guidelines.
I personally suggest that anything finer than 22 gauge is a bit too flimy. It all depends what you are using it for. If you want to create links that will retain their shape then 20 or 18 gauge are best. Anything thicker will probably be a bit difficult to bend round the pegs and anything finer will not hold its shape. It is advisable to ‘work-harden’ your wire with a mallet after you have removed the wire from the jig as this will strengthen it.
If you are making wire shapes for card embellishments that do not need to be particularly durable a thinner wire such as 24 or 26 gauge would be ok. These gauges of wire often comes in a variety of colours and so are particularly suited to this purpose.
See my guide to wire gauges if you need further explanation as to the thickness of the wires mentioned.
Where can I learn more?
There is lots of information on the internet but the best place to start is the ‘Wig Jig’ website. Besides lots of information about jigs there are also lots of tutorials for wire components.
Useful wire jig links
http://www.wigjig.com
http://www.jagwearjewelry.com/wirejig.htm - how to make your own wire jig
