|  Putting
it all together.
This is an ideal time to make a practice piece with the 12-gauge copper mandrel
and the copper twisted or round wire coils. Insert your 12-gauge mandrel wire
through the middle of your focal bead and place spacer beads at either end. Add
a silver bead and a spacer bead to both ends of your mandrel.
Cut 2 pieces of the same size twisted wire coiling. The length you cut will
depend on the size of your wrist. My wrist is 5-3/4" and the first 2 twisted
coil pieces are just short of 3/4". Increasing or decreasing the length of
your twisted wire coiling is how you will adjust the size of your bangle. Of course,
trimming is easier than adding, so be generous in the beginning.
Add spacers, silver beads (beads shown are 10 mm in diameter) and then spacers
at either end of the mandrel. Add a piece of twisted wire coiling (mine is 1/2").
Add spacers for your end pieces.
  To
keep all the components on your mandrel, you need to add eyes to each end. To
make the first eye, grasp one end of your 12-gauge wire near the bottom jaws of
your round nose pliers, and rotate your pliers hand away from your body. Your
eyes should be made so that they lie flat when the bangle is placed on a table.
With your chain nose pliers, place the tip of the pliers at the joint and rotate
your hand towards your body. This will make the eye stand upright.
To make the same size eye on the other end, you'll need to know how much wire
you used to create the first eye. This is best accomplished if you're working
with a practice copper mandrel. To determine this length, mark the joint of your
first eye with an indelible pen and also mark the area on your round nose pliers
where you made the eye. Reinsert your round nose pliers and straighten the eye.
Measure the wire from the joint out. You now know the length of wire you need
to leave at the other end of your bangle each time you make an eye (at the same
place on your round nose pliers).
Reform the first eye. Cinch all components down towards the eye. Measure the
amount of wire left on your mandrel. Trim the wire if necessary, and form your
second eye.
 Once you have both
eyes completed and facing the same direction, gently curve your piece so that
when you place your bangle on a table, the eyes are parallel to the table. Don't
curve the bangle so much that the eyes meet; leave enough space in the middle
to allow for your clasp.
  Swan
clasp.
Cut 4-1/2" of 14-gauge silver round wire and blunt cut both ends. Using your
chasing hammer, flatten 1/4" of one end of the wire on the anvil or steel
bench block.
Insert the flattened end into the tip of the pliers with barely any wire sticking
out. Rotate the pliers away from your body, forming a small loop. I used small
round nose pliers but you can use larger ones as well.
  In
the back of your long round nose pliers, insert the wire with the loop above the
tip and facing you.
Rotate your pliers away from you. Notice how the larger loop is made in the
opposite direction of the small loop.
 Grasp
the other end of the wire with the tip of your round nose pliers.
Have as little of the wire peeking through the jaws as possible, and rotating
your hand away from your body, make a small loop. Continue laying down wire right
next to the loop. Grasp your developing spiral with your chain nose pliers and
continue to spiral until you measure 1-5/8" from end to end.
Grasp the wire next to your spiral with your chain nose pliers.
With the thumb of your free hand, press against the tail of the wire and form
a bend. Grasp the loop with your long round nose pliers and gently urge the wire
to rest next to the spiral. Partially close the clasp with the round nose pliers.
  With
your chasing hammer, flatten the curve of your large loop and the “v”
bend at the bottom of the clasp. Open one eye of your bangle and insert your clasp
through the bottom “v” and close the eye.
 Adjustments.
The moment of truth has arrived. Too big? Too little? Or, just perfect! If you're
in the perfect group, consider yourself lucky and move on to Step 14.
After making hundreds of bangles I still make many, many (did I say many?)
adjustments. So, if your bangle looks like it would fit your ankle instead of
your wrist, you'll need to trim off some of your coiled twisted wire and your
mandrel as well. Open one eye, slip off your components and begin trimming. Remember
to trim equal amounts from the left and right sides to maintain balance in your
design. If your bangle is too small, unfortunately you will need to cut a longer
mandrel and make longer pieces of coiled twisted wire to get your extra length.
If you made a practice piece, this will be no problem.
 Antique and
polish
Antiquing (oxidizing) your bangle is a matter of personal preference. Antiquing
will give the wirework more depth and contrast and a bit of an Old World look.
I antique my silver by dipping it into a hot solution of liver-of-sulfur —
smelly, but very effective.
To create the liver-of-sulfur solution, place a pea-sized chunk of liver-of-sulfur
in 1-1/2 cups of near-boiling water. For obvious reasons, please don't heat your
water with the sulfur in it. Use an old bowl that you reserve only for antiquing.
Do your antiquing out of doors and avoid inhaling the noxious fumes. Dip your
jewelry into the solution until the silver turns a steel gray and then rinse in
cold water. After the jewelry dries, clean the silver with #000 steel wool, then
polish with a jewelry polishing cloth.
Congratulations! I do hope you enjoyed making your bangle. Wear it in good
health and happiness.
Return to Part I
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