Last year I decided that I just HAD to have a Jump Ring Maker. It was going to save me so much time and money – I could make my own jump rings from wire I had on hand, rather than ordering them.
Different sized rods for making jump rings
What the heck is a jump ring? Well, they’re these little circles of wire that jewelry makers use to hold all kinds of things together, and I use a lot of them. They’re used in chain maille, and I use them to hold earring dangles on earrings, for example. You can buy them from many different vendors, but it can be cheaper to make your own. That’s the positive view – the negative view is that if you’re not skilled at this technique, you could waste your materials and time turning out crummy rings.
Wire wrapped on the jump ring maker
And I’ve had both kinds of results. I’m still learning how to use the tool, and getting wire wrapped smoothly and tightly around the metal rods (this is how you begin making the rings) is the first step. The other key step is smooth handling of the saw that’s used to cut the rings.
The Jump Ring Maker
There are plenty of videos out there on how to use the jump ring maker, so I won’t bore you with the details. Was the jump ring maker worth the money? It hasn’t saved me what I spent on it yet, but I’m finding it easier to make rings and as long as I have wire on hand, I’m never out of rings – so the convenience factor is great. I still have failures – it seems that out of every batch of jump rings I make there are 3-8 that are wonky shaped or the cuts are uneven. But we can call that user error!
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