Lesson 13: Jump Rings

Lesson 13: Jump rings

·         Anneal your wire first.

·         Use the vise-grips to anchor the end of your wire. Spin the vise grips around, using your fingers to feed the wire into a coil.

·         A tight coil is VERY important!

·         Cut jump rings with your saw. Larger jump rings are tougher to cut.

·         Cut from the top of the coil, cutting through 1-2 links at a time.

·         Use the smallest size saw blade we have to cut jump rings.

·         If you are having trouble cutting the jump rings, wrap the coil in masking tape, or slide the coil onto a wooden dowel.

·         Solder your jump rings whenever able. Not only does this finish the piece more professionally, it also adds a lot of strength to the links.

·         When soldering jump rings together to form a chain, solder half of them closed. Then link an open ring through 2 closed. Add another open and closed ring until you have reached the desired length. Solder jump rings closed.

·         Use a VERY small flame and a VERY small piece of solder. If both look too small to ever get the job done, they’re probably just right!