Tools for Making Wire Jewelry

To make your own wire jewelry, you’ll need various types of pliers and wire cutters, plus a few optional tools that can be helpful for special projects.

Pliers

 

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Pliers are the most important tool for making wire jewelry. You’ll need only three kinds of pliers to get started:

• Flat-nose pliers: Have flat jaws and are used to bend wire at angles, straighten wire, close jump rings, and hold beads and other pieces in place. It’s a good idea to have two pairs of these pliers for maneuvering and manipulating wire into different forms.
• Round-nose pliers: Have conical noses and are wider at the base, tapering at the tip. They’re versatile tools used for creating loops of all sizes, opening and closing jump rings, and creating wirework and long chains. Their jaws have no grooves, so they’re less likely to scratch or nick metal surfaces.
• Nylon-nose pliers: Have replaceable nylon jaws that let you work with delicate or soft materials without scratching them. They are used for straightening or pressing wire.

Additional Types of Pliers

As you become more advanced in wireworking, you may want to get additional types of pliers that are helpful for specialized functions.

• Bent-nose pliers: Have a narrow, L-shaped tip that give you better access to tough spots, such as the center of a narrow wirework loop.
• Chain-nose pliers: Have a fine, almost sharpened, tip that’s perfect for precision work in tight areas.
• Gem-setting pliers: Designed to help you set stones by providing adjustable but controlled levels of force.
• Loop-closing pliers: Come in a number of different shapes and sizes, but all share one feature: a pair of grooves between the halves of the nose that hold wire stationary when closing jump rings and shaping loops.
• Needle-nose pliers: Similar to flat-nose pliers but with a longer, more tapered tip. They’re helpful for holding and maneuvering tiny jewelry components and small beads, and for bending wire.
• Crimp pliers: Have two gaps where the pliers’ jaws meet: one to flatten a crimp bead, another to bend the flattened tube into a round, beadlike piece.
• Stone-setting pliers: Designed specifically to tighten prongs on rings, pendants, and earrings. The nose of these pliers doesn’t come together when closed—instead, only the tips touch.

Wire Cutters

Wire cutters are pliers with sharp, scissorlike edges that ensure an even cut on beading wire or cord. There are two main types of wire cutters:

• Bevel: Leave an angled-cut edge that usually requires filing during finishing.
• Flush cut: Create a less angled cut that requires less filing to finish. They’re generally pricier than bevel cutters.

Supplementary Tools

In addition to pliers, there are several extra tools and materials that will help you to make wire jewelry.

• Jeweler’s files: A set of files of various shapes used to smooth the cut ends of metal wire.
• Cup burr: A specialized file with a tiny cup at one end with teeth inside. A cup burr is used to round and smooth cut wire, such as on an earring hook: the cup is placed over the wire and rotated quickly back and forth.
• Hammer: Used toflatten and shape metal when pliers alone won’t do the trick. Working wire with a hammer will also harden the wire, making it more durable. Look for a hammer with one flat surface and one peen (ball-shaped) end. The flat side leaves no impression on the shaped metal’s surface, whereas the peen side gives the metal texture.
• Bench block: A rectangular block, often steel-topped or made entirely of steel, that’s used to protect your work surface from hammering.
• Jeweler’s glue: Can be applied to any component that should be fixed in place.
• Polishing cloth: Used to buff and eliminate tarnish or other surface imperfections from metals.
• Ruler: Used to measure lengths of wire.

Safety Items

Working with wire can produce metal dust or even send wire flying if you lose your grip on it. You should always wear safety goggles when making wirework jewelry. You may also want to use protective tape, such as Finger Pro®, on your fingers to minimize cuts, burns, and abrasions.