Oval Jewelry Wire Ear Wire Finding Jewelry Making Project          Page 2

Step 1:  Using your flush cutter, cut two three inch segments of 20 or 21 gauge soft wire.

Step 2:  Using your round nose pliers or your fine step jaw pliers, make a loop in the end of the wire segment with the flush cut.

Step 3:  Using your nylon jaw pliers, straighten the wire by holding the wire by the loop, and repeatedly pulling the wire through the jaws of your nylon jaw pliers. 

Step 4:  Position a single metal peg and either a 3/4" Super Peg from our set of Large Round Super Pegs, or a Spiral Maker, in your jig as shown at right.  Place your initial loop on the regular metal peg and wrap the wire around the Super Peg or Spiral Maker as shown. 

Step 5:  Remove the wire from your jig and measure exactly 1" from the beginning of this wire component.  See the picture at left.  Use your fingers to grasp the wire at this 1" measurement.  Now grasp the wire at that 1" point with your fine step jaw pliers or with your round nose pliers and bend the wire into the oval shape.

Step 6:  Continue bending the wire until your wire appears as shown at right. 

Step 7:  Using your flush cutter, cut the excess wire about 3/16" from the point where the wire overlaps. 

Step 8:  Using your cup bur tool, round the end of the cut wire as shown here. 

Step 9:  Finally, we will need to harden the wire to preserve the shape of our oval ear wire finding.  We do this by placing the ear wire finding on a anvil, bench block or jeweler's block and hammering the wire with a nylon hammer, rawhide hammer, or metal chasing hammer.  The metal chasing hammer will flatten the wire slightly and for this reason, it makes the wire harder and the shape more permanent.  The rawhide and nylon hammers won't change the shape of the wire, but they will make the wire stiffer and more permanent (but not as stiff as the chasing hammer will.)  The finished ear wires will appear as shown.  

In the next page we will show an example of how by adding beads to these ear wire findings you can make some simple, attractive and unique ear wires.