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[Farmerbob]

First one, then the other.

Two pairs of pliers.  No other sane way to do it with really stiff metals.  I had to use 2x lineman's pliers for the washers.

[Thief^]

Two pairs of pliers.  No other sane way to do it with really stiff metals.  I had to use 2x lineman's pliers for the washers.

Yeah, I'm used to working ~1mm silver, and that's pretty hard stuff, so I'm used to using twin sets of pliers. I think I might need to get some with a shorter (and wider) nose though for these thicker gauges.

[Girlinhat]

Yeah, for your thick gauge wire you're gonna need leverage more than anything.  Look for specialty pliers mainly, though you may have to get some steel-working pliers and grind the teeth off yourself - either by yourself or asking if the local hardware store can do it for you.

[Farmerbob]

Two pairs of pliers.  No other sane way to do it with really stiff metals.  I had to use 2x lineman's pliers for the washers.

Yeah, I'm used to working ~1mm silver, and that's pretty hard stuff, so I'm used to using twin sets of pliers. I think I might need to get some with a shorter (and wider) nose though for these thicker gauges.

Ya, what you are looking for is probably going to be what is called "Lineman's Pliers"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

They are workhorse pliers.  Darn near indestructible, with (relatively) flat gripping surfaces, and capable of cutting heavy guage wire easily.  There are hundreds of different variants and sizes of this particular general design of pliers.


Did some more looking - if you want to use precious metals or avoid unnecessary marring of bright or high finish metals, this is what you want.

http://www.craftsunleashed.com/index.php/jewelrybeading/tool-comparison-round-nose-vs-chain-nose-pliers/

[Thief^]

14awg 6.7mm ID aluminium, 14 awg 6.4mm ID EPDM black rubber, and 14awg 5mm ID alumium edging. Looks pretty good I think

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Farmerbob]

14awg 6.7mm ID aluminium, 14 awg 6.4mm ID EDPM black rubber, and 14awg 5mm ID alumium edging. Looks pretty good I think

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Good Looking Stuff !

[Girlinhat]

Welp, TRL still hasn't sent me any sort of refund for these mis-sized rings they sent me.  They claim to have sent it via paypal, using the merchant services, but the money never showed up in my account and they don't seem to care very much.

On the other side, Blue Buddha Boutique delivered a set of colored rings rather promptly and politely, and a few extra rings.  I'm... not sure why they sent me 5 extra rings of a different size and totally different colors, but, y'know, that's not a bad thing, just confusing.

Despite having prices as high as 4x more than TRL for certain items, these rings appear to be actually usable.  No matter how little I'm paying for TRL products, if they aren't usable then there's simply no business.  -$20 to TRL and +1 to B3.

[Farmerbob]

Welp, TRL still hasn't sent me any sort of refund for these mis-sized rings they sent me.  They claim to have sent it via paypal, using the merchant services, but the money never showed up in my account and they don't seem to care very much.

On the other side, Blue Buddha Boutique delivered a set of colored rings rather promptly and politely, and a few extra rings.  I'm... not sure why they sent me 5 extra rings of a different size and totally different colors, but, y'know, that's not a bad thing, just confusing.

Despite having prices as high as 4x more than TRL for certain items, these rings appear to be actually usable.  No matter how little I'm paying for TRL products, if they aren't usable then there's simply no business.  -$20 to TRL and +1 to B3.

Loss Leader.  They hope you see something you like, and will choose to buy more of them.

[tommy521]

14awg 6.7mm ID aluminium, 14 awg 6.4mm ID EPDM black rubber, and 14awg 5mm ID alumium edging. Looks pretty good I think

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Is using rubber rings at all painful? I imagine they would grip your arm hair/skin if you moved it around at all. Also, I might be building a forge in my backyard sometime. I was going to go with a skyrim-esque design (yes I know skyrim isn't real but I of course researched it more. This is just for visualization) so basically a cylinder, going to put some pipes/holes in the side where I can hook up a blower to keep the fire going strong. I might also make a smaller one close to it for melting down scrap aluminum, copper and possibly steel. Should be entertaining, I hope I go through with this one.

[Thief^]

Nah they're non-stick. The metal rings are actually worse because they can theoretically grab hairs where they're split.

[silverskull39]

plus if there's a bad quality cut or it's not closed all the way they scrape at your skin, too.

[kisame12794]

14awg 6.7mm ID aluminium, 14 awg 6.4mm ID EPDM black rubber, and 14awg 5mm ID alumium edging. Looks pretty good I think

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Is using rubber rings at all painful? I imagine they would grip your arm hair/skin if you moved it around at all. Also, I might be building a forge in my backyard sometime. I was going to go with a skyrim-esque design (yes I know skyrim isn't real but I of course researched it more. This is just for visualization) so basically a cylinder, going to put some pipes/holes in the side where I can hook up a blower to keep the fire going strong. I might also make a smaller one close to it for melting down scrap aluminum, copper and possibly steel. Should be entertaining, I hope I go through with this one.

A bit of advise. Start small, and work your way up. Also are you going to try casting metal?

[tommy521]

A bit of advise. Start small, and work your way up. Also are you going to try casting metal?

Possibly some sand casting. And thanks for the advise

[Farmerbob]

A bit of advise. Start small, and work your way up. Also are you going to try casting metal?

Possibly some sand casting. And thanks for the advise

If you are going to be doing small jobs and have strong sun exposures, you might consider a fresnel lense as a heat source.  No vibrations from fuel shifting.  Not sure how it would work for sand casting, but works fine for smelting, and you don't need to pay for or supply your own fuel, just a fresnel lens and strong sun.

[kisame12794]

A bit of advise. Start small, and work your way up. Also are you going to try casting metal?

Possibly some sand casting. And thanks for the advise

If you are going to be doing small jobs and have strong sun exposures, you might consider a fresnel lense as a heat source.  No vibrations from fuel shifting.  Not sure how it would work for sand casting, but works fine for smelting, and you don't need to pay for or supply your own fuel, just a fresnel lens and strong sun.

You may want to use propane for melting metal, and be very careful with what you melt. Some metals give off toxic vapors when heated. It may not matter if you are outside, but I would still avoid it.