How To Choose Tools Needed For Wire Scultping

Wire sculpture is a simple, yet fun hobby. it creates little mess and needs very little room. The necessary materials are cheap and can be obtained at most any hardware or home improvement store. The resulting sculpture can be displayed in many different ways and can be modified over time to fit the artist’s whim. The following is a list and description of all the tools you'll need to get started in your new hobby.

Wire Sculpting Tools

Flush Cutters- Flush Cutters are a small and very sharp set of shears designed to cut cleanly and neatly through most kinds of wire. The sculptor will be using them often, so they should be sharpened often with a few strokes of the Needle File featured further on. Shears such as these are normally very affordable regardless of how well designed they are, so getting a pair with foam grips and compound lever action to reduce the amount of force needed to cut is a must.

Flat Nose Pliers- Flat nose pliers are used in lots of different professions, particularly with electricians. In Wire Sculpting they work well at bending thicker gauge wires and can be used to form wires into right angles. This is a particularly difficult thing to do as wire tends to curve in multiple areas like a "U" shape rather than bend at a single point like the angle of an "L". They come with many different grips and other features and some are quite cheap. However, I would suggest a pair with ergonomic foam grips and a locking function because the hobby ceases to be fun once your hand starts to cramp.

Chain Nose Pliers- Chain Nose Pliers are principally used by jewelers for forming the metal chains of bracelets, necklaces, and lockets. With these the narrower the tip is, the better. They come in both bent and straight nose variations. The bent nose is preferable because they put less strain on the wrist. Chain Nose Pliers are difficult to find unless you know of a store that sold materials for jewelers, so online purchasing is probably the only option.

Round Nose Pliers- Round nose pliers are useful for bending loops and radius bends in wire. They come in double jaw, single jaw nesting and step jaw. Double jaw pliers have always been the most popular because they are readily available. Single jaw nesting pliers are easier to use for many types of bends because of the concave or nesting lower jaw which helps hold the wire during the bending. Step jaw pliers feature three different diameter steps which are useful for many types of bends. Amateurs who don’t want to invest too much should choose the step jaw pliers. Someone who is deeply involved in wire sculpture should have one of each.

Polishing Cloth- Polishing cloths are used to work off any smudges, light scratches, or patinas that may have formed while you where forming your sculpture. They come in many gradients; from rough to jeweler's cloth fine. Any cheap rag, old shirt, or towel will do for a rough cloth. A fine cloth can be purchased at any sunglass or jeweler’s kiosk in most shopping centers. They can also be found sometimes in your local supermarket. Any clean cloth with no chemicals and a high thread count will do.

Quick Clamp- The Quick Clamp will prove invaluable shortly after your first attempt at wire sculpture. Your hands will thank you. With a Quick Clamp you will be able to firmly hold onto even the smallest length of wire while twisting or bending it. It provides much better leverage and grip than if you were to try holding onto the wire with gloves or your bare hands. In order to avoid damaging or flattening the wire you're working on, go with any clamp that has softened vice grips. Something using soft rubber or plastic is best.

Needle File- The Needle File is used to file away the burrs and jagged edges that result from clipping wire. Some also use it to flatten or shine certain spots of their wire sculpture to unconsciously draw the eye. For the starting individual the half-round file is best. It's got a flat edge on one side and rounded edge on the other, allowing the hobbyist to flatten or curve surfaces as he/she wishes. A diamond file will last much longer and provide smoother results than those made from plain steel, so the investment of a few extra dollars is worth it.

Tips & Warnings
Art is defined by the beholder, pay no mind of what other people think of your work. As long as you like it, it’s beautiful. Though some wire sculptors have used have used gold and silver wire in their work, plain copper, aluminum, or steel wiring is best to start out with. Wetting copper wire after its been sculpted speeds the oxidization process and can change the finish of your work radically. Try incorporating other pieces of decoration in your work, like bits of chain, tile, or bead to make a three dimensional collage.

Be very careful not to touch your face after using the file, metal filings can pierce the mucous membrane and result in an emergency room visit. Don't allow yourself to be distracted while using the flush cutters. Your fingers are much softer than wire and can be cut through much more easily.

How To Pick Tools Needed For Pottery

When initially working with clay and learning the art of pottery, many amateur potters make the mistake of going out and buying all kinds of shaping tools. Such tools are only really needed by the time your finished works are of a smooth and professional look. Until then, you can make do with pens, pencils, and plastic forks, knifes, and spoons. For those who believe themselves ready to advance to the next level of this ageless art, here's a brief explanation of the most used potter's tools and what to look for when buying them.


Loop Tools
The loop tool is a simple metal loop set into a handle. Depending on the shape of the loop they can be used for cutting swaths from a finished clay pot for large designs or uniformly thinning the pot's walls. They are also available with thin, malleable wire but the stainless steel loops tend to last longer. Also people often have the option of choosing between double ended loop tools with stainless steel handles or single ended loop tools with finished wooden grips. Go for the wooden handles as they are easier to clean and their larger size grants a greater degree of control over the tool.

Ribbon Tools:
Ribbon tools are used by potters for medium-duty cutting, shaping and slicing. They use the same stainless steel ends as the loop tool, simply on a smaller scale. Also because of their smaller size, where the end of a loop tool may when being used to deal with the contours of the item being sculpted, a ribbon tool will stay rigid and cuts more deeply. It's less common to find a single ended ribbon tool, so don't try as it will simply lead to a great deal of frustration. Often they are sold in kits with many ribbon tools having different shaped heads for different tasks. They can all prove to be useful and are cheaper when in kits, so it's probably best to buy them as such. Stainless steel handles can be cleaned by scrubbing them in hot water more easily than wooden ones, having no grain to collect dirt and clay. But because of that inherent grain, wooden handles make the tool easier to hold and manipulate. The choice is up to you.

Potter's Rib:
A potter's rib, often simply called a rib, is a simply shaped tool, usually wood, that is used to manipulate or alter the shape of any vessel being thrown on a potter's wheel. They work in a manner similar to a woodworker's lathe, shaping or stripping the clay dependent on the angle of the tool and how much pressure is applied. Usually they are found in two shapes, kidney and rectangular. The kidney shape helps smooth edges, pushing round indentations into the vessel. The rectangular shape is used to scrape off excess clay or push sharply angled indentations into the vessel. Traditionalists still use wooden ribs, but they can be found made out of various metals, and plastics. Some have even been seen made from stone. In my opinion the easiest to hold rib is made from wood, but the rib that's easiest to clean and can round edges the smoothest is made from Teflon.


Needle Tool:
The needle tool is a long, thin heat-treated steel needle used to make a clean smooth cut with a minimum of drag when removing the uneven top edge of thrown items. The width of the needle is crucial, too thick and the needle pushes clay aside rather than cuts through it. Too thin and the needle fails to pull through the clay, potentially bending or breaking the needle or chipping pieces out of the top of your thrown item. One that is slightly smaller than the average nail you might use to hang a picture frame is acceptable for most situations. The needle itself should have a pointed sharp tip. If such a needle dulls over time (though this is unlikely) simply stroke it lightly across a whetsone, giving the handle a quarter turn after each stroke. Handles come in plastic, wood and stainless steel in different widths. Any of the materials works just as well as this tool need not be handled with the same skill as the others. What you would want to take into consideration is the width of the handle. They range from slightly thinner than a pencil to as thick as a piece of rebar. The larger a person's hands, the larger the handle would need to be to feel comfortable.

Modeling Tool:
The purpose of a modeling tool is less to cut or remove clay from the work or sculpture as to push it into place, create fine detail, and smooth over the rough edges. This tool is not used in pottery a great deal, but it's the clay sculptor's best friend. A smooth-edged butter knife will work just as well when you're starting out. A dull number two pencil will work as a stylus for finer detail. They are comparatively cheap and easy to find, coming in plastic, wood, and metal of lots of different shapes. The metal modeling tools have a tendency to cut into the clay rather than push it into place and I would not recommend them. Plastic tools are more resilient and can withstand more pressure that wooden ones without splintering. They're also heat resistant so they can be thrown into the dishwasher for cleaning, whereas a wooden modeling tool would likely split.

Tips & Warnings
Before you spend the money to purchase all these tools, look around the house for items that would work just as well. You'd be surprised how many normal household implements have unforeseen uses.

Using potter's ribs requires a still and the steady application of light pressure, misuse of this tool on a potter's wheel can result in flying clay in all directions and light injuries to the work hand.