Using A Coil Winder To Wind
Jump Ring Coils
How to use a coil winder to produce wire coils for cutting into chain maille jump rings.
There are a number of winders on the market thst use a drill chuck to hold the jump ring mandrel.
They are simple to use, the mandrel is placed in the jaws and tightened.
With slotted mandrels the wire is placed in the slot and as the handle is turned the coil will be wound.
If the mandrel has no slot, hold the wire in the jaws with the mandrel, as you begin to turn the handle the coil will be wound away from the chuck and towards the end of the mandrel.
Wind slowly letting the wire run across the ball of your thumb keeping pressure on, wind the handle and making sure that the coils do not spread apart.
The winder can be either bolted to a bench or clamped to the bench with a “C” clamp.
These winders produce excellent results for jewelry making.
If you are going to use a power cutter such as the Jump Ringer system or Koil Kutter, push some wooden skewers or dowels inside the coils to support them during the cutting process.
There are some small power operating winders on the market which also work well.
Mandrels
Correct size mandrels miust be used to ensure jump rings sizes are accurate.
Steel mandrels are the best for this, rather than wooden dowels.
Mandrels are available in metric and inch sizes. Square, oval, diamond and triangular shapes can also be purchased.
Rings made from non round mandrels generally require a special jig to hold the coil.
If you are using a power cutter you will need to purchase special jigs to hold the non round shapes whilst cutting.
Some mandrels will have a slot in the end.
Other mandrels do not have a slot and the wire is held in the drill chuck.
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