Copy from old blog
Wire Works & Free-Wire Circuit Basics :: BarnBrewMaker (webnode.page)

So this is technically my first blog that focuses on my interests. And here I am going to introduce  my  Automation, Wire Works/Toys & Free-Wire Circuit Building journey I am currently taking to master the skill. I was fascinated by the Automaton and the contraptions made by the African Wire Artists/Sculptor Ralph Borland and his friends doing amazing wire art. And my other inspiration is Mohit Bhoite who has done amazing Free Wire [a.k.a] Dead Bug Circuit. And both of them have done the work using Wire, which are ordinary fencing wire and brass wire.

 Above video is from African Robots, And the below video is from Hackaday in which  Mohit explains the techniques he used to construct the Free Formed Circuits. 

Enough Motivation, Lets Learn!

The material I chose was Fencing/Construction/Rebar tie wire, since it is super cheap and easy to work with, and best part is we can solder it too! I have bought lighter and bulkier gauge wires. Yow will find it in almost all hardware stores, mine costed around Rs 50 for both in India.

The next part will be to straiten the wires, so that it can be used for bending. We can achieve this using the c-clamp/Bench vice and a Electric Drill, and alternatively we can use another c-clamp that holds wooden plank and wire sandwiched instead of electric drill. Please note that for better result use an electric drill instead of  c-clamp and wooden plank. Below is a video explaining the process of straitening the wires by TabLeft Workshop using electric drill.

I will explain the wire straitening using the c-clamp and wooden plank in another post.

WARNING: While using electric drill please do this process with caution, and do it very slowly as possible. The first time I tried this method resulted in a light injury to my hand. I failed to control the speed and it resulted in breaking the wire in mid way which went lashing all around and ended injuring my hand!

Below are the picture of the strait wires I have achieved using an c-clamp and an electric drill. Please note in the first image, the wire in the bottom was made using the c-clamp and the wooden plank method, which is not perfectly strait!

Wire Bending Techniques 

This part deals with the wire bending and the tools I use. And the techniques which I use are borrowed from the field of Dentistry, called Orthodontic Wire Bending. You will find a ton of videos and information on the internet. And below is the video I used for reference which was uploaded by JUST Prosthodontics DepartmentJUST Prosthodontics Department on youtube.

And below are the tools which I used for the wire bending technique. Here the round nose pliers and the heavy duty wire cutter are optional. I mainly use the Needle Nose pliers(Dull green) and the Big Pliers for most of my work, And the Marker(Sharpie) for marking the area to be bent. 

And the second set of tools are as important as the first set, since here we use it for designing and rough sketching. I use a ruler and a pencil for the initial design and finally use a black 0.5 pen or any other pen for highlighting the design. I find this method super easy to design and play with. 

And below are the tools which I used for the wire bending technique. Here the round nose pliers and the heavy duty wire cutter are optional. I mainly use the Needle Nose pliers(Dull green) and the Big Pliers for most of my work, And the Marker(Sharpie) for marking the area to be bent. 

And the second set of tools are as important as the first set, since here we use it for designing and rough sketching. I use a ruler and a pencil for the initial design and finally use a black 0.5 pen or any other pen for highlighting the design. I find this method super easy to design and play with. 

Design Part

As I said earlier, the initial design is done using the pencil and ruler, and the final step is done using pen to highlight. 

Bending Wires Using the Design Reference

This is the final part, where we bend the wires using the techniques used in the Orthodontics Wire Bending. The wires may not be bent properly or may not be uniform, everything comes through practice. And round corners are due to the material property.

Final Words

Don't be discouraged if the wire bending did not come professionally. Everything comes through practice, and do note "Practice makes a Man perfect, only if the Practice is Perfect", so it takes time and effort to learn the skill. And if you still not satisfied with your work please keep in mind that even the Railway Workshop version of Avtomat Kalashnikova which is the first version, never looked anything like the Standard Avtomat Kalashnikova of 1947!