Bending wire - what tools/techniques do you use?

[jpuke]

I'm returning to the hobby and the one thing I've never figured out is how to bend wire that well.
I use needle-nose pliers for bending the wire for the gear but I just can't get a good 90° bend close to the wheel (on the outside, after the wheel has been put on the wire) What tips do any of you have?

[SteveM]

I use needle nose and some times vice-grips. If I need a real sharp corner like you described I'll clamp the vice grips at the bend on the fixed portion of the wire then use needle nose pliers to make the bend. Having the wire held firmly by the vice grips allows me to get a good bend started and sometimes I can then whack the wire a few times with the vice grips acting like an anvil to really sharpen up the corner.

[John G Jedinak]

I place the wire in a bench vise tighten where I want the bend. Over the wire I place about a 8" piece of small diameter copper/brass tubing and use that as a lever to bend. When the bend is complete I remove the tube (and not the wire) and sometimes a good whack with a hammer (using the vise as the anvil) will get a good sharp bend. Usually starting with the inner most bend first is the best bet. Be sure to leave WAY ample excess for the wheel axles. You can always trim it back to the proper length.

[peterc4]

Start the bend with pliers etc then clamp it into a bench vise, tap the bend into a nice square angle with a small hammer.

Piano wire can break if you bend it too sharply - usually it doesn't go flying, but glasses can't hurt.

A small vice comes in very handy. I use mine all the time. It turned out to be one of my smarter tool investments.

[cliffm]

Peterc4 has a very important bit of advise in his post. SAFETY GLASSES> Having done a lot of t.i.g. welding we sometimes snip the ends of our filler rods to remove the carbonised end for purity in the weld. These little snips of wire can cause serious injury to an eye and on occasion other things as well. My eyes owe their well-being to the reverent use of eye protection. Sorry if I sound like a redundant mother but be safe and enjoy.

[Phugoid]

Most of the wire is pretty thin so I just use pliers, my fingers and the top of my work bench. To me a hammer is the tool of the devil in wire and sheet metal work. The most important thing about wire bending, like sheet metal work is good marking out and thinking a few steps ahead.....

[sawingman]

Back on June 11, "granpa" posted a tip that Lee Valley sells a wire bending tool/jig. Don't know if this would help.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 3456,43407

If the link doesn't work, it is item #92W67.01

[joecrouse]

If I hear about any of you messing with wire bending or ANYTHING in this hobby with out putting on saftey glasses. I'll have the mods put you over thier knee and spank you properly. And not in the good way.

Take it from me, YOU WILL NOT LIKE monocular vision. If nothing else it makes a trip to the MVA an even bigger pain in the keister. while balsa wood and or piano wire may not seem like it will hurt. It doesnt take much for you to wind up with a glass eye.

The practical joke aspects of having multiple glass eyes while funny (and Ihave at least 18 different eyes that I have collected and about 12 I wear regularly, Currently I have my smilie face eye in. I may put in my LED or Laser sight eye later today to mess with my users ) Does NOT make up for the hassle having only one eye.

Signed seriously as a heart attack
<One eyed Joe>

[jpuke]

Thanks for the tips guys. My other hobby is reloading for firearms so eye protection has been a top priority for years. Can't be too careful.