Wire jewelry: how to straighten your wire before the fun starts

Wire for jewelry making often comes in coils or spools and you have to straighten it before using it to get rid of the natural curl or curve it develops.

Straightening wire lets you have a nice even and smooth piece of wire to start making your jewelry.

You can check on any imperfection the wire might have (scratches and scars) and you can sand it to perfection.

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What’s in straightening wire?

First, shape the wire into a compact coil tucking the loose ends in and then thoroughly anneal (heat) the wire with your torch to a bright cherry red taking care not to melt it (keep moving the torch); and then quench it.

Dry it with a soft cloth and tightly grip one end of the wire onto your bench vise. The wire will hang loosely and unevenly (that’s what you don’t want).

With your draw tongs (or a good heavy duty pliers if you don’t have draw tongs) grab the other end of the wire and pull it evenly (don’t tug at it), make a controlled drawing motion, only with your arms, towards you.

You should feel how the wire “stretches” or “springs” a bit and when you let go of the wire it should look straight and remain stout and unbent.

You can then sand it to bring its shiny surface back to life.

Happy wire jewelry making!

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