I had fun with Shades of Clay's Holy Cabezel as you can see from last week's giveaway (the close is later today so you still have time). My favorite way of wearing pendants like this is to use thick leather cord. I also thought this modern style looks ...

 

Easy Wire Coil Glue-On Bail Tutorial

I had fun with Shades of Clay's Holy Cabezel as you can see from last week's giveaway (the close is later today so you still have time).  My favorite way of wearing pendants like this is to use thick leather cord.  I also thought this modern style looks best as close as possible to the cord. I also wanted to match the color of the polymer clay Cabezel.  So here is how I made easy wire coil glue on bails.




The first step is to find a suitable mandrel.  I wanted the coil to be larger than the thick cord I was using. I used the smaller mandrel of my large bail forming pliers.  You can also use knitting needles or other coiling tools. See these suggestions for making short wire coils.  Use vernier calipers if you do not want to eyeball the size like I did!  Here is my tutorial on how to use inexpensive vernier calipers.


I like the wire bails best when I use 16 G wire but you can also use 18 G or 20 G.  I used Parawire for my bails. First step is to straighten about 15-16 inches of wire - the amount will depend on how many coils you want to make and how big the scrolls are going to be.





I then coiled the wire around the smaller mandrel of my Wubbers. Do you see how the wire ends are coiling in opposite directions?


The next step is to make sure the wire ends line up. I used my broad nose pliers to bend the wire ends so they are perpendicular to the coil.


Then the wire ends can be trimmed down.  Again how much wire you leave will depend on how big a scroll you want to make.  About 1.5 - 2 inches should be okay.

Make a small loop with your round nose pliers. Then scroll the wire in one plane.  I like to use my nylon jawed pliers to avoid marring the wire.


I work hardened the coil part by lightly hammering while it was still on the mandrel.


Then more hammering of the scrolls. This time with the chasing hammer to flatten the wire scrolls - the flat surface will help the glue stick better.


Now comes the tweaking part.   It is important that the scrolls are perfectly even. If not, they will not lie flat on the pendant and you will not be able to glue the bail.  I again used my nylon jawed pliers to make the necessary adjustments.


Then it is on to gluing with E6000. Once dried, I slipped the pendants on the cord necklaces I made.




Before You Go:


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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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