turkeylegs1246 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Help! I've tried making a jig to bend wires for slab molds w/o success. I have a Boggs tackle maker but I have been unable to bend wire for slabs with it. Currently I am buying wire forms from battlefield wire. Their prices are very reasonable. My problem is that sometimes I use up my supply and and want wire forms to mold limited numbers of slabs. I've had limited success bending the wires with round nose jeweler's pliers. But those forms are not as exact as I would like. Does anyone know how to bend wires and get consistent results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike-A-Pike Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Okay, I have a Boggs Tacklemaker, but I haven't got a clue about what the form your trying to make looks like. Depending on the form, I get pretty consistent results. I went to their web site and don't see a "slab form." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeylegs1246 Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Bruce, the wire form is nothing more than a wire oval shaped like half a paperclip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeylegs1246 Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 The radius is not my problem. My problem is that I cannot duplicate the width from one radius to the other radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedHed Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Make a jig using two nails (diameter the width of your bend) and a board. Space the nails apart at the length of the wire form and secure the nails to the board. Bend the wire around the nails and trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeylegs1246 Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 LedHed, I've tried that with limited success. My bends,the radius, are inconsistent because I'm not getting the bends tight enough. Thinking about it, my nails might be too large in diameter to get the proper radius. I'll mic the radius and get the right diameter nail and try that. Geez..I can't see the forest for the trees sometimes. I'll let you all know how it works. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike-A-Pike Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Another idea would be to put a piece of masking tape over the base of the Tacklemaker and use a knife or razor to cut out around the King Pin. Then, mark how long you want the wire to be before making the radius bend. Flip it over for the second bend and repeat the radius bend. To make theradius bends as close to standard as possible, mark how far around the King Pin you have to go on the tape by the sliding form stop. I would think with a few minor adjustments, you'd as close to factory as your going to get. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeylegs1246 Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Well shut my mouth I tried bending a wire with my tackle maker using Bruce's input and it works. Turns out that I have a Hagens wire former and not a Boggs. But the principal operation is pretty much the same, I think. Turned out that the radius formed with with my Hagens is just a tad over the radius of the do-it forms. But a pinch of the radius with a pair of needle nose pliers and the form fits the mold as good as the do-it form....maybe better. This will work! But if I need a bunch of forms...I'll order them. Probably cheaper in the long run. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike-A-Pike Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Well turkeyleg, They say even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while... To many years on Air Force flightlines bending safety wire, fishing for parts and tools dropped by trainees in real tight spaces, and finding a whole range of creative uses for wire. You don't even want to hear about what I learned to do with wire in the Marines. I'm just glad it worked out in this case. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
