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Coiling Wire on a Madrel

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While this isn't the first thing that can ruin a batch of jump rings, there are many opportunities for gremlins to ply their trade here. Any error will be amplified untold times in the final product. Don't guess which steps are important and which ones can be faked or skipped.

Precision is not a word that describes hardware store mandrels - stay away from them. They are often ovalized, loaded with surface imperfections, and spiraled. Suitable for craft or novelty items, it's difficult to make jewelry with them.

Mandrels should be machined and polished. Hardenable tool steel or drill blanks will last forever with proper care. Complete collections include 1/64" increments up to 1/2", or 0.5mm increments up to 13mm. Larger sizes can use 1/32" or 1mm increments but should go up to about 1" (25mm). Making 1500 rings on a short mandrel requires many coils so it wastes time and material. Consistency becomes a problem, too.

Wire mills are fairly reliable so any wire issues likely happen after leaving the factory. Freshly made wire might need to chillax for a few hours to dissipate hidden stresses, usually only a concern for those who make their own. Coils might need some time to settle, too.

Metals have a temper rating from dead soft to hardened spring state. Most work-harden, too. Hardness affects the ferocity of springback or windup. Annealed wire is more likely to match the mandrel diameter. A paltry 3% oversize can kill a Jens Pind Linkage (JPL) so size does matter.

Pulling wire over the edge of the spool introduces a very unpredictable twist and causes additional stresses that will express themselves in detestable ways. Avoid this by unrolling the spool as the wire is pulled, like hanging it on a dowel inside a milk crate.

To reduce springback and ensure a tight coil, the wire must be under tension. Without consistent tension, jump rings from the same coil can be unrecognizable, never mind from different batches. Applying tension by holding the wire is ill-advised. Shards and splinters will slice and embed painfully and deeply into unsuspecting flesh, not even slowed by gloves. The solution is a tensioning device.

Wire can be secured to the mandrel several ways. A hole or slot is convenient and virtually failsafe. A drill bit depth stopper work great. Some people attempt to jam the wire into the drill chuck. Pliers or large clamps are bulky and dangerous when spinning. Manual winding is not recommended but it can work. For production or serious hobbyist use, a coil winding machine is indispensable.

Round wire is still round when it twists, more or less. Profiled wire is more moody. Square, diamond, or half-round will be unusable if it twists. It must be coiled and uncoiled with the utmost care to keep it square and straight. Also, any space between the individual wraps makes an ovalized ring.

Putting it all together - The tensioning device hangs on the mandrel and guides the wire. The mandrel rotates freely inside a stationary plastic tube. The wire is secured by a hole in the end of the mandrel.

Micromaille will throw every convention about coiling jump rings out the window. Not the typical micromaille, but rings under 1/16" I.D. (0.06", 1.59mm) using 26ga (0.4mm, 0.016") or thinner wire. The real micromaille.

Posted by M: May 8, 2019

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