When my husband told me he wanted to get a draw plate so he could make wire, I thought he was nuts. However, I humored him and got him one from Rio Grande. The plate cost about $30 and has 31 holes. The largest hole is for 9 gage wire and the smallest is for 24 gage. I also purchased a small bottle of "Bur-life" ® which is a fatty alcohol based lubricant used to help you pull the wire through the holes.
Though I still think it’s 100 times easier to buy wire than make it, I realized it would be very handy for changing the size of the wire. Have you ever had plenty of one size wire but needed another? This happens to me often enough that a draw plate actually would come in handy.
In order to use a draw plate, besides the plate, you’ll need:
jewelers’ files
lubricant
vise
wash cloth
gripping pliers
1. Add drops of lubricant onto the holes of the plate that you’ll be using.
2. Place the draw plate in the vise and use the wash cloth to wrap around the par of the plate that the vice is up against in order to keep from scratching up the plate. Also, make sure that the holes you’ll be using are not covered by the vice.
3. Use a file to file the end of your wire so it is tapered.
4. Cover the wire with the lubricant.
5. Now feed the wire through the back side of the plate where there are no numbers. Insert it through whichever hole it fits through snugly.
6. Use the gripping pliers to pull the wire through the plate. Try not to use jerky motions so you don’t bend up your wire. Instead, try to draw the wire through slowly and smoothly.
7. Continue to draw the wire through the holes until you get the size you want.
Besides changing the size of your wire, you can also use a plate to work harden your wire or to straighten wire that you’ve bent up. Now, I no longer think my husband is nuts.
Here's a printer friendly copy of this file.
All graphics created by Tammy Powley.
