Rockwerks Lapidary Forum

Hi all,

Just trying to get some photos going on here. Here are a few wraps I have done.

This is a fossil shell cab that Jody gave to me. Thank you again Jody, I absolutely love it! I wrapped it in copper and purposely aged it with salt water to give it a patina.



This is a red tiger eye cab/gold filled and copper wrap that I gave to my mom for her birthday. Its super shiny but I just couldnt capture it in the photo.




Two Christmas Gifts. Boulder Opal Cabs/14kt gold filled wraps (Bad photo sorry)


I am still a beginner at this wrapping stuff. Ive only made about 10 so far. In case you are wondering, on almost all of mine, I use 20 gauge, square, dead soft wire for the main portions of the wrap and 21 gauge, half round, half hard wire for the binding wires. I really prefer simple wraps that show off the stone, like the one Jody gave me. But Ive found that many people like more frilly things....which is why I did the boulder opal the way I did.

Shannon

Holy Cow, Those are fantastic, I like the Opal ones, the wire is just the right color, and great wrap. I will have to try copper
Dan

Thanks Dan!

I really prefer more simple wraps like the one at the top.....some people really like frilly ones though and I guess if your goal is to sell, you have to go with it.


Shannon

That copper wrap brings out the smoky look of the shell cab, I like it. Your cabs all look great. The red tiger eye and wrap I especially like for it's sleekness. I haven't tried any boulder opal yet, but I can't wait to get some.

I agree with you about fluffy, people seem to like it.

OK, silly question time. How do you bind the wire so tight around the sides? When I try that, the sides start kinking and lumping up. Freehand is a disaster. Have tried putting the side wires on the jig, on a jury-rigged stretcher, have tried coiling the binding part, zip. Either the binding smashes or the side wire lumps up.

Shannon, it is so hard to believe you have only done 10 of these and can do them this well. They are all excellent in my opinon.

Jody,

The key is half round wire. I started out working with round only and was not happy with the appearance. When you use square wire for the main body of the wrap and then half round for binding wires........the flat part of the half round wraps very snug and tight against the square. I use dead soft square wire for my wraps as its the easiest on my hands. With dead soft, you want to use your fingers for the shaping of the wrap. With half hard or full hard, you have to resort to tools which can mar the wire easily. I have a product called tool magic that I dip all of my pliers in. Its a rubber coating that keeps the pliers from nicking the wire.

After the wrap is finished, I tumble it in stainless steel shot with a squirt of dawn dish soap. Many people dont do this but it shines the wire like you wouldnt believe. It doesnt scratch the stone.......its like thousands of little hammers tapping on it. It shines up the stone and deburrs any little sharp pieces on the wire. Ive even tumbled boulder opal wraps in stainless steel shot and they have turned out great. Keep in mind this is with sterling and gold filled wire though. Im not sure how it would do on plated. I keep one tumbler barrel specifically for tumbling with stainless shot. I also have plastic tumbling pellets added in there for filler and cushioning. Another benefit of tumbling with shot is that it "hardens" the wire. This means that it will wear better and not bend as easily.

Hope this helps. And thanks everyone for the compliments. You see the end result.......what you dont see is me tearing expensive wire off the cab three times before I get one that is even halfway acceptable. LOL

g'day Shannon .wow what can i say that wrapping is unreal .you sure you weren't a spider in your last life
:lol

I like the first two wire wraps. Very plan and simple that show off the rock. How do you obtain your cabs?

rocknut

Hi rocknut,

Thanks! I make all of my own cabs and have been cabbing for only about a year now.

Your jewels are looking very professional, Shan. I think you must have a natural talent for for it. You must have to remove the stone from the main frame wire to wrap the half wound. It is remarkable that it keeps its shape so well while that is going on. What size s.s. shot are you using and where did you get it?

Ken,

With jewelry it is best to have the shot a mix of shapes to get into all the nooks and crannies of the wrap better. It is sometimes sold under the name "jewelers" or "jewelry" shot. It is a mix of balls, cones and pins. I get mine from Kingsley North.

I keep a vibe bowl specifically for jewelry that has 2 lbs of shot, 1 lb of plastic pellets....mainly as a space filler, and a squirt of dish soap. I tumble my stainless chain mail overnight and my gold filled, sterling and softer base metals for a couple of hours. If it is a soft stone like boulder opal I check the bowl every 30 minutes. Ive never had the shot harm any stone or metal yet. It gives everything a nice bright finish and also de burrs any little sharp ends and hardens the piece making it more durable.