1111 USING THE JUMP RINGER SYSTEM: With a chamois, straighten 21/2-to-3-footlengths of round soft wire. Place the first 1/2-inch into the chuck of yourJump Ringer and, wearing a heavy glove (optional) to protect your fingers onyour non-dominant hand, coil up the wire on the mandrel specified in eachproject. Cut off the ends of each coil, as shown in inset. See Helpful Hint No 1.

HEELLPPFFUULL HIINNTT NOO 1You should always coil up more than the requirednumber of rings. The mandrel size, coil and jumprings shown in Steps 1 through 5 are much larger

than normal but, for photographic purposes,demonstrate how rings are made using the Jump

Ringer system. (See Page 2 for more informationon this tool and please follow the instructions

supplied in the kit.) The owner of this system recom-mends that you support the coil as you cut through itby using a small soft-wood dowel. Other substitutescan be: orange sticks (available in the manicure sec-

tion at your local drug store), fireplace matches oreven wooden skewers (the type used for grilling).

Whatever you use, it should be made from soft woodand should provide enough support (while in the coil)

to prevent the coil from collapsing as you cut. For larger coils, use two lengths of matchstick.

2222 One at a time, place each coil into the coil holder; rub cutting compound (lubricant) along thetop of the coil and then move the top plate over the coil and replace the hold-down screw intothe right-hand screw hole. Gently finger-tighten the screws at both

ends until you start to feel a slight resistance in the screws. Insertthe wooden piece (provided) between the plate and the

block; push the coil towards one end, as shown ininset, to make room for the blade. One last time,

finger-tighten the screws.

33 If you havent applied the cuttingcompound to the coil, rub the lubri-cant onto the stationary blade and posi-tion the saw for cutting, as shown ininset.

Talk to any chain maker and you will learn how important it is to be able to quickly and skillfully make well-cutjump rings. With that in mind, here over this two-page spread are two methods: one using a JumpRinger system and the other using a jewellers saw to hand cut your rings. Whichever method you use, giveyourself permission to go through a learning curve. Every artist makes mistakes and will ruin a blade fromtime to time. You may also order pre-cut rings from your favourite supplier.

STANDARD TOOL LIST FOR EACH PROJECT:

2 pair flat-nose or chain-nose pliers (or one of each)

Jump Ringer System/Jewellers sawFlush cutters Ruler Heavy glove Tumbler Chamois Bench block and hammerPick (if necessary) LubricantFlex-shaft tool for the Jump Ringer System

Chains by Becky 10Content 2006 - Helen Goga

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AANOTHER HELPFUL TECHNIQUEFOR HAND-CUTTING JUMP RINGS..

1 Prepare a block of wood 11/2x21/2x4 ins high bymaking a groove midwayalong the length on thetop of it. At one end, nailor screw two smallpieces of wood to theblock, leaving a slightspace between eachpiece. This small spacemust line up with thegroove. And, on one endof a 41/4-inch length ofwooden dowel, shape adimple the same width as the coil of wire you are cut-ting. (The dimensions of the wooden dowel will dependon the size of the coil.) Use a jewellers saw.

2 Slip the saw bladethrough your coil of wire.

3 Re-attach blade end tosaw. Slide the bladethrough the space betweenthe two small pieces ofwood, and move the coil torest in the groove next tothese two pieces.

4 Hold the coil in place bypressing the dimpled end of your wooden dowel ontop of the coil.

5 As you draw the blade ofthe saw towards you,you will cut each jumpring off the coil. The endof the coil will rise slightlyas you cut, but the wood-en dowel will ensure thecoil will stay in place. (Itis important to rememberthat you cut only when you draw the blade towardsyourself, and not when you push back on it.) As thejump rings are cut off, remove them and allow the coil to move closer to the two small pieces of wood attach-ed to the block.

22

11

33

44

55

To open a jump ring, place the jaws of your chain- or flat-nose pliersnext to each of the cut ends on a jump ring and, while working in oppo-site directions, slightly turn the jaws of one pliers towards you as you

turn the other pliers away from you. Working theends of the jump rings in opposite directions

ensures that the ring will not become dis-torted. (To close up this ring, simply

reverse this movement until theends meet up flush.) Open

several jump rings tomake them ready

ahead of time.

HEELLPPFFUULL HIINNTT NOO 3

44 Cut the coil by moving the blade guard in one easy movement upthe coil holder, as shown by the red arrow.

55 Loosen the screws, removethe hold-down screw andmove the top plate to one side.Remove your waste and your jumprings are ready. See Helpful HintsNos 2, 3 and 4.

At this stage, you couldclean the lubricant off the

jump rings by placing theminto a tumbler; you can also

do this when you have completed the chain.

As the chain in most of the projects in this book

werent tumbled until theywere finished, you will

notice lubricant and burrson the jump rings

throughout some steps.

Chains by Becky 11

HEELLPPFFUULL HIINNTTNOO 2

Saw blade specifications:Bladesize

Cutsgauge

Bladesize

Cutsgauge

2/0 20-22 4 16-181/0 18-22 5 161 18-20 6 142 16-18 7 123 16-18 8 12

Should one end of any ofyour jump rings be higherthan its counterpart, openwide the jaws of your pliersto rest its lower jaw underthe bottom of the ring whileyou press down gently onthe higher (cut) end of thejump ring with the upper jaw.(See illustration at right.)This will force the higher cutend to align itself flush withits counterpart.

Content 2006 - Helen Goga

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