[Jewelry making - Article 00207] - Re: [Orchid] Drawing wire, getting burrs

[Trevor F]

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    Thank you all for your input on this one. I'm happy to report that
    I've tried some of the suggestions given and have found a very
    workable solution. 

    It turns out that the idea of providing some transition state from
    the squared wire that comes off the mill to the round holes of the
    drawplate was the correct analysis of the problem. James Miller's
    suggestion of hammering off the square corners was the solution I
    tried: using a forming block that I have that process was easy,
    fairly quick and quite effective. 

    James's suggestion reduced the burr problem to a mere fraction of
    what it had been, less than 5% I'd guesstimate. If I had been more
    thorough in my rounding of the wire by hammer before I started
    drawing -- I had only gone so far as turning the square wire into a
    roughly octagonal shape -- then I'm sure the burring would have been
    reduced even further. Many thanks James for that excellent analysis
    and suggestion: any problem that can be solved with a hammer is a
    problem well solved IMHO. :) 

    A couple people suggested sanding down the wire a bit before drawing
    as a means to get rid of any pointy edges on the wire likely to cause
    burrs. I don't doubt that this would have the desired effect but I'm
    sure I've read somewhere that this is not a recommended process if
    you want to keep your wire clean and your drawplate holes undamaged.
    I believe the idea was that bits of grit get lodged in the wire
    surface and are then pulled through the drawplate holes which causes
    abrasion on the drawplate and imbeds the grit into the wire surface.
    Whether that's a theoretical concern or a practical one I'm
    disinclined to find out. Personally I'm happy enough shaving off a
    few burrs here and there if and when they form if it means keeping my
    wire and drawplates clean. 

    Finally a comment on the milling process: some of you mentioned that
    your mills produced square wire with rounded edges. I'd say count
    yourself lucky because those rounded edges probably go a long way to
    making this burrs while drawing problem a non-issue for you. My mill
    gives the square wire very crisp beveled corners and my guess is
    that that's at least half the problem here. Crisp, squared edges
    through a round hole is just asking for trouble and my guess is that
    I've just happened to find the right combination of circumstances to
    make that trouble a reality. Mores the pity but at least a few
    minutes with a hammer (one of my favourite tools!) gets me back into
    the "happy drawing" zone. 

    So, there it is, problem solved. Thanks again everyone, your
    assistance has been much appreciated. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Visit TouchMetal.com at http://www.touchmetal.com
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