dealing with wire ends

[enjoy_your_day]

Hello! I have a wire-working question! I looked through the "wire" section in the FAQ, but nothing addressed this specifically

Comments

[enjoy_your_day]

thanks!
I don't have either of those, but I've been wanting to get a dremel so maybe now is the time. With the other two options, I'd be slightly concerned about getting a good color match to the wire, whether it was with the solder or with the paint I would put on the clay.

[cicisunflower]

when i read this, i automatically thought about the game Cooties ;-)

You could take the end of the wire, and flatten it with a hammer (i use a little hammer i got from a scrap book making kit, and use a regular sized hammer turned on it's side as an anvil) then use a dremel or hand file to round the end off. i think this would work really well if you were to take the flattened part and turn it outwards, and it would help provide stability.

hope this helps :)

[enjoy_your_day]

heh, cooties.
Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that! I think the wire is probably too thin to flatten out much, but I'll keep it in mind as a possibility.

[cicisunflower]

it would work perfectly w/ the 20g, but anything smaller than a 22, wouldn't work well on it's own. you would still be able to flatten the 26, and round the end (and the flattening of it, actually hardens it) but the turning out and providing stability is questionable.

[toxicsiren]

what about sticking a little bead/crimp on the end to finish them off with little "feet"?

[nikkif]

You could hammer the ends of them flat, bend them over like little feet, then use a file to smooth the ends. Or you could just use the file. That's how people generally get rid of the sharp bits. Alternately, you could use a wire cutter that cuts blunt ends. Specialty jewelry supply places have them.