Bending swingtop wire lids

[liambesaw]

I made a video showing my process for bending the wire for swingtop lids, thought I'd share here in case anyone was interested.

 

[Pres]

In another life, when I taught Jewelry and Metalcraft, when we had complicated wire bending, we would make a jig for the set up with nails/screws and collets to bend more complex wire set ups. Maybe a jig set up would speed this process along. Just a query with MHO.

 

best,

Pres

[liambesaw]

10 minutes ago, Pres said:

In another life, when I taught Jewelry and Metalcraft, when we had complicated wire bending, we would make a jig for the set up with nails/screws and collets to bend more complex wire set ups. Maybe a jig set up would speed this process along. Just a query with MHO.

 

best,

Pres

I mention that in the video.

I did end up making a rig, however due to the stiffness of the 12 awg steel, I can only use it for certain parts.  Anything with a loop I have to do by hand, and anything with a 90 degree bend I also have to do by hand.

The most time consuming parts are the ones that I can't make a jig for, and those are the pieces that are bent around the collars.  Maybe if everything I wanted to put a lid on was exactly the same, but really each piece is very simple to bend by hand. I can do one in 10 minutes now.

 

I do bend wire for a living, so the learning curve was a lot shorter for me.  Have bent orthodontic and dental wire for the last 18 years

[Bill Kielb]

1 hour ago, liambesaw said:

I mention that in the video.

I did end up making a rig, however due to the stiffness of the 12 awg steel, I can only use it for certain parts.  Anything with a loop I have to do by hand, and anything with a 90 degree bend I also have to do by hand.

The most time consuming parts are the ones that I can't make a jig for, and those are the pieces that are bent around the collars.  Maybe if everything I wanted to put a lid on was exactly the same, but really each piece is very simple to bend by hand. I can do one in 10 minutes now.

 

I do bend wire for a living, so the learning curve was a lot shorter for me.  Have bent orthodontic and dental wire for the last 18 years

Nice job, my hands hurt watching though. I do like those lids and they last forever!
Next to it (Below) a very popular (But extremely easy to make) trinket box. For a bit of decent epoxy these sell lot hot cakes. Really nice when you can use the pre made closures though but size is restricted to what can be purchased.

Nice you took the time to make the vid.

[Pres]

Knew you had done that Liam, and often the wire jigs only get you so far. I also forgot, I did some wire work also when working nights as a parts fabricator for an aircraft factory. More fun though was making helicopter doors on the stretch press!

 

 

best,

Pres

[liambesaw]

27 minutes ago, Pres said:

Knew you had done that Liam, and often the wire jigs only get you so far. I also forgot, I did some wire work also when working nights as a parts fabricator for an aircraft factory. More fun though was making helicopter doors on the stretch press!

 

 

best,

Pres

Boeing??

My step dad did a brief stint at the Boeing wire shop here in Everett, grueling thankless work on large wire bending jigs.  If I could use a softer alloy I could do this way easier, but then of course I'd lose all the tension required to keep the hardware in place.  It is hell on the hands, a pair of industrial sized 3 prong pliers would help a lot, haha

 

[Pres]

Ohhh no, a little place called Schweitzer Aircraft. Over the years, they made sailplanes, Ag Cats, and helicopters. During the years around my HS graduation and college time they were making Huey door frames for Viet Nam. Stretch presses did the frames, however a lot of wire went into Ag Cats and sailplanes.

 

 

best,

Pres