[Jewelry making - Article 00360] - Re: [Orchid] Drawing half-round wire from round

[Bill Bedford]

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>         However, I've seen instructions that say to solder together
>     two pieces of ROUND wire for their entire length, and then pull
>     that through a half-round drawplate.  THAT I don't see how it would
>     work, and it would seem that even if it did, you'd have exposed
>     solder joints at some spots along the length of the drawn wire. 

    Well -- you flatten the ends of the wire where they are going to be
    soldered together. So that not only do you get a good joint, but the
    section of the 'tail' will match the shape of the holes in the draw
    plate and so be that much stronger. 

    There is a subtle difference between half round wires drawn from
    round and square wires. If you start with square wire the angles
    where the flat meets the curve of the wire will be sharp while if
    you start with round wire there will a small radius there. If you
    intend to solder the wire onto sheet the the wire with slightly
    rounded corners will look better because the solder will form a
    meniscus in that radius and so give you a sharper looking join. The
    sharper edged wire on the other hand will tend to blend into the
    backing sheet. 

Bill Bedford

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