Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tutorial: Power Cables from Floral Wire

A few weeks ago, A Sent One asked in a comment how I make power cables from wrapped floral wire. In this post I will explain the process.

Here is an example of one of these power cables in action. This method is by no means unique. I came up with the idea as a theoretical one day, 'Can I make my own power cables from wire?' while I was twisting up some razor wire sections. Eventually I tried it out when I needed some power cable for a conversion. It worked, and so I never looked back.

I get these spools of floral wire from Michael's for something like $2. The green is 22 GA and the silver is 30 GA. The 22 GA works great for armatures for sculpting, as well as being my go to pinning wire.

I wrap the 30 GA wire around the 22 GA wire, holding the end with a pair of needle nose pliers. I pinch the wire to the shaft with my left hand, then turn the shaft with my right. Once I build up enough coil, I can twist it without having to grip it in the pliers.

Three inches finished in a few minutes. Once you get the hang of it, the process is pretty simple.

Cheers,
-CJ