Books Reviews

Book Review: Handcrafted Wire Findings

By Sandy Amazeen Jun 7, 2011, 3:19 GMT

Add personal style at minimal cost with custom-made findings.Why spend hundreds of dollars stocking up on expensive manufactured clasps, jump rings, ear wires, bails, and more when you can make exactly what you need for a fraction of the cost? Making custom findings enables jewelry makers to affordably create just the right component to complement their own jewelry designs.Handcrafted Wire Findings looks at your wire stash and focuses on how ...more

After spending hours creating a beautiful jewelry piece why simply slap on whatever commercial finding you can locate when, with a little help from this book, you can custom build just the right finishing detail.

Using what is referred to as fine silver wire allows the hobbyist to fuse with just a micro torch and a soldering pad to make strong, smooth, professional looking ear wires, ring connectors, toggles and more.

A ball peen hammer, a few simple metal stamps or a carefully placed wire coil can add the richness of texture to the simplest of findings, turning them into tiny works of art. Although most of the designs are shown in silver, there are several unfused pieces that could be made in less expensive metals such as copper or brass.

With Interweave’s usual outstanding close-up photography, detailed written instructions presented in a clear, cookbook style layout it is easy for beginners to recreate any of the more then thirty projects.

At the start of each chapter is a handy photo guide showing a thumbprint of each project with the page number where it can be found making it a snap to find just what you’re looking for. Beginning and intermediate jewelry makers will discover how simple it is to make the prefect finding to finish their pieces in style thanks to this understandable how-to guide.