[Jewelry making - Article 01279] - Re: [Orchid] Making my own head pins

[Sara Grinnell]

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Tracy,

    In my opinion and from experience, it is easier to melt the ends of
    the wire into balls vs. soldering round pieces of shot to them,
    especially if you are using 21g wire. 

    I like to use a clean, charcoal block that is hard. I line the wires
    up on it with the ends hanging slightly over the block, at equal
    lengths. Then, using your torch, melt the ends until they touch the
    block. There is a technique you will discover on how fast you need
    to heat the wire ends so that they will roll into balls vs. melting
    over at an angle. 

    Since you will be using sterling, experiment with some scrap pieces.
    It should become a quick and easy task with a little practice. I
    always make more of the head pins than I need because the set-up of
    this project is more labor intensive than just melting the ends of
    wire. 

    After all of the wires have been balled up, pick up the cool side of
    your charcoal block and shake all of the wires into the pickle pot.
    I hope this helps!

Sara
Studio C Designs
Mpls. MN USA

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