SKILLS
Using a power drill
Basic soldering
BendingTIME IT TOOK
15 minutes per cuffMATERIALS- 24" 20-gauge solid round copper
wire - 24" 12-gauge copper wire
- 24" 20-gauge round sterling silver
wire, dead soft - 12" 12-gauge sterling silver wire
- 12 ⅜ " OD (outside diameter) refrig-
eration copper tubing - 12" 8-gauge half-round sterling
silver wire - 12" 1.5mm round sterling silver bead
wire, dead soft - Hard solder
- Optional: 12" 2.3mm round sterling
silver bead wire
TOOLS
Safety: Closed-toed shoes, eye
protection, respirator and ventilation
system or fan
Hand Tools: Colored tape, fi ne point
Sharpie, bench block and hammer, heavy
duty wire cutters, cloth tape measure,
bench pin, jeweler’s saw and 2⁄0 blades,
lube, ring fi le, nail salon sanding sticks,
Scotch Brite wheel
Forming Tools: Vise mounted on heavy
table, hand power drill with adjustable
chuck, stepped oval bracelet mandrel,
non-marring mallet
Annealing and Soldering: 12" x 12"
Solderite soldering board cut in half;
air/acetylene Smith Silversmith torch
with #0, #1, and #2 tips or butane torch;
bucket of water; copper tongs; solder
pick; cutters; Prips fl ux in spray bottle;
pickle pot
Finishing: Bench polisher or shot-fi lled
tumbler setup and rotary tool; clean
muslin buff s and Fabuluster polishing
compound; hot, soapy water and
toothbrushSOURCES
Most tools and materials for this project
are available from well-stocked jewelry
supply vendors, many of whom can be
found in our Advertisers’ Index, page- Copper tubing and wire are from
hardware stores.
What
You Need
Project Demo
1 2
5
3 4
dropping the hot metal into a large,
water-fi lled bucket on the fl oor. I use
copper tongs.3
Flatten one end of the 12-gauge
wire on a bench block with a
hammer until it is about the same
thickness as your double twist wire,
so you can clamp the two securely
into your vise. Mine is an old cast-
iron Wilton vise I bought years ago
for $5 at an estate sale.4
Trim the other end of the
12-gauge wire so it is the same
length as the double-twist and fi t
both deep into the chuck of your
drill, tightening securely. Press the
trigger and twist the wire until spi-
raled. This time, you are only going
to twist the wire 20-24 times. If thewire comes loose from the vise or
the drill chuck, trim, reinsert, tighten,
and try again. Anneal and quench
when done.5
Trim to a 6" or 7" length, using
heavy duty wire cutters. Use a
fi le and sanding sticks to smooth
the ends so they won’t scratch your
skin. Mount your oval step mandrel
in your vise. Wrap the wire around
the mandrel and use a non-marring
mallet to shape. I start with the small-
est ring on the mandrel and work my
way to the next largest size. Once
formed, scrub well with a tooth brush
and hot, soapy water, then burnish by
processing the cuff several hours in a
shot-fi lled tumbler setup.
Tip: To prevent wires from fraying
during wear, flux the ends with PripsMAY/JUNE 2020 77
76 Lehndorff_DoTheTwist_Demo_mayjune20.indd 77 3/17/20 9:59 AM