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MAKING YOUR OWN WIRE TRACES
Twisting Method

TWISTED TRACE WITH FIXED UPPER HOOK

Twisting Take the end of your wire and double it back to form an open loop, pass this loop through the eye of your first hook, and then the hook through the loop. Snug the wire up by pulling on both ends of the wire to make a neat loop-to-loop connection. This sounds a lot harder than it really is! Some people simply pass the wire twice through the eye of the hook, but the loop method is less likely to pull out if your twists aren't well made.

Put the hook of theTwiddling Stick in the eye of the hook, or the bend if the eye is too small. Bend the free end of the wire at ninety degrees to the main trace and grip it with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand (if right handed) - about an inch (25mm) of free wire is plenty, so it can be trimmed at this point. Now rotate the Twiddling Stick so that the free end of wire wraps neatly around the main part of the trace between your forefinger and thumb until the join is completely wrapped. Some of the stiffer wires are more easily twisted if the free end is heated with the flame of a cigarette lighter to soften it. Make sure you do not heat the main part of the trace as this weakens the wire. Twists 

Fixed Upper Hook Now cut your wire to length for the finished trace, allowing a little extra for attaching the second hook and swivel. Take your second hook and thread it onto the wire and position it the distance you want it to be from the end hook when the trace is completed. To fix this hook bend the wire down and along the shank of the hook, back around between the bends of the treble or double hook, then wrap it three or four times around the shank of the hook before passing it back through the eye. This makes a connection which will not slip. Take time over this to eliminate any loose wire.

Finally add the swivel in the same way you did the first treble and the trace is complete. 

Making a Crimped Trace with a Sliding Upper Hook


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