Basic Wire Wrapping Tools

My Wire Wrapping Tools.

I'd like to share with you the basic set of tools that I use all the time. When you first start out with wire wrapping you need very few tools. Our tools tend to be mostly pliers and cutters and for your first set of tools you will need wire cutters, round nosed pliers and chain nose pliers. As you go along you will add other tools to your kit and I have more tools that I have picked up to enable me to do things better or quicker  and I'll introduce you to them as I use them in the wrapping tutorials.

My basic tool set consists of the following -

Bail making pliers.
2 pairs of flat nose pliers.
Plastic jawed pliers.
A ruler.
A permanent marker.
Wire cutters.
Chain nose pliers.
Round nose pliers.
Wire straighteners.

Buying cheap sets of tools is a false economy. I appreciate that if you are just trying out the hobby you will want to keep your costs to a minimum until you know you are going to continue with it. I have gone through about four sets of tools so far and now buy the individual items as I am in a better position to understand what I need now that I have some experience wrapping.

I was given some very sound advice when I was starting out and that was to buy the best quality tools I could afford and then use them as little as possible. Very good advice indeed. I use my hands for as much as I can and use tools when I have to. In the beginning I had a 'death grip' on my tools that left all sorts of unattractive marks on the wires. You will need to develop a gentle touch with your tools for the best results.