Shooter, I usually use wire the is about 3/32 of an inch wide by .010 thick. I use varying thickness down to .005 and up to .015. On a very sharp radius I thin the wire down to about 1/16 wide, which makes it easier to bend without it folding in on itself. The channel for the wire is first cut with a chisel that is of very thin blade sharpened from both sides such as a knife edge would look. Some make their wire inletting chisels from old hack saw blades. I used flat spring steel that I got Brownells many years ago. You will need a minimum of three chisels. One should be 1/16" wide, one 1/8" wide and one 3/16 wide. With just these three chisels you can do most any pattern. Lay out your design until you are pleased with it. Usually the best wire works incorporates many volutes etc. many crossing over each other. Try to avoid very long runs of wiggly lines they were rarely used except for some New England makers. I then cut a segment of the design by stabbing straight down with the appropriate chisel. Always cut circles from the inside out as there is less chance of chipping out the small center section that way. I prep my ribbon wire by drawing it lightly over the edge of a file held horizontally in a vice. This puts slight striations on the sides of the wire and I think gives it a better grip in the wood, others will disagree. I then insert the wire into the wood using a rather small "tack" hammer. It is pounded down almost flush, but not under the surface of the wood. When I finish a section, I mix a very small amount of Elmer's glue with water and wipe over the area. This allows the wood to swell tight against the sides of the wire and the slight amount of glue in the water sets the fibers into position. After the stock has dried for a day, I dress the surface down with a file and fine sandpaper backed up with a hard block. The stock can then be stained, after staining always buff the area of the wire with a Scotch brite pad to remove any stain from the wire. You can then finish as normal. This is just the basics, but should get you started. R.E. Davis supplies nice silver wire and in thicknesses not commonly available. Ron
