Wire Sculpture Tools & Techniques:

Wires:

Make sure that the wires used for sculption ae quite flexible as flexible wires are the best for wire sculptures. Sculpting Wires are available in various material & sizes.

Wire Material:

Brass, copper, Steel, Aluminum & Silver.

Wire Size:

Wires are measured in gauges. Wire gauges ranging from 10 gauge to 28 gauge are mostly used in wire sculptures.

10g & 12g are very thick wires.
14g & 16g are heavy wires.
18g, 20g & 22g are medium heavy wires.
24g, 26g & 28g are very thin wires.

Pliers and Cutters:

Pliers & Cutters are basic tools required for shaping wires. There are two type of joints used in these tools - box joint & Lap Joint.

Pliers:

There are four main types of pliers used in wire sculpting. They are Flat Nose pliers, Round nose pliers, Chain nose pliers & Bent chain nose pliers. Each plier has its unique usage in sculpting.

Flat Nose:

These pliers are broad with a flat jaw. Used for gripping & holding wires, creating angular bends, opening and closing jump rings.

Round Nose:

These pliers are Smooth and have round jaws. Used for making loops and bends in wire.

Chain Nose:

These plies are smooth and have flat and pointed nose. Used for gripping, tucking wire ends & getting into tight places.

Bent Chain Nose:

These pliers are smooth and have a nose bent at either 45 degree or 90 degree. Used for Getting into tight places, picking up small parts, opening and closing rings.

Other Pliers:

Household Plier:

Household Pliers - Usually they come with one built in wire cutter & Shear-cutter in side of the pliers. Used for larger gauge wire.

Rosary Plier:

These pliers are used to create Loops and bends.

Combination Plier / Forming Plier:

There are various jaw combinations available in market to bend wires, or to strip metals to specific shape such as Concave / Convex Forming, Round / Flat Nose Forming, Round / Concave Forming, Square / Round Forming, Rectangle / Oval Forming & Round / Concave Forming.

Slim-line Plier:

Cutters:

Cutters are used to cut wires in two different shapes- Sharp-edge & Flat edge.

There are 4 major cutter types available. They are Metal Shear, Slim-line Flush Diagonal Cutters, Flush End Cutters & Wire cutters.

Metal Shear:

These cutters are used to cut heavy metal sheets and heavy wires with minimal effort.

Diagonal Cutter:

Used to work on sides or edges of wires.

End Cutter:

Mostly used to cut corners of flat surface and wires.

Wire Cutter:

Used to cut wire rings with a minimal effort.

Pincer/Tweezer:

Used for picking up small objects, pinch or pull wires and create jump loops. There are many types of tweezers - pointed, blunt and tapered.

Vise:

Bench vise & pin vise are mostly used in wire sculpting.

Bench Vise:

Bench Vises are used for holding or clamping a sculpture.

Pin Vise:

Pin vises are used to hold thin wires by one end.

Soldering Iron:

Soldering irons are used in pairing or connecting wires.

Hammer:

Although not a primary wire sculpture tool, they are used to work on heavy metals & wires.

Screw Driver:

Mostly used to create loops.

Steel Ruler:

Safety Glasses:

Rulers with different grades in inches, mm, etc. are
used to measure wires precisely.

Always wear safety goggles that are closed on all sides
to protect eyes from any flying debri.