Wire Overlay

Did you know?

You are currently viewing a specific part of a larger topic? There's more information here: Overlay

Wire Overlay is a subset of Overlay specifically using wire, rods or tubes of a small size as the base material.

Uses

Wire Overlay is widely used in cases where simple or very small lines are desired but without adding more complexity to the Pattern. They can also be used similar to Filigree by adding simple embellishments with minimal effort. Wire Overlay can also be used to attach stakes, free floating parts and other parts to a project without a direct connection with glass.

Creating the Overlay

Wire Overlay is likely the easiest to source as any Solderable material can be used and these options can generally easily be found at any hardware store. Electrical wire, grounding wire, brazing rods, filler material and even small pipe can be used. Though you do need to be careful as there's lots of products out there that will have a soderable core metal but are coated in something else making them ineffective.

A guide to finding a good material to work with

1. Make sure the material is BARE METAL or the coating is easily stripped off!
2. Try to bend the material to see how difficult it would be make the required shapes you need.
3. Test applying solder to the material.

Good materials should easily take solder and be reasonably easy to bend without damaging it or needing special tooling.

TODO

Seems like you have stumbled into a page that isn't complete yet! If you can help fill in the following missing content please feel free to contribute!

---

• Examples of wire overlay.
• Examples of raw materials

Issues with Wire Overlay

Junction Joints

Due to the form of the material, any branching of direction or other change beyond a single line will require solder or wrapping of the material to connect the separate parts together. This can lead to the joints where they meet being larger than the material is normally which might be undesirable.

Bare Metal Materials

Many of the options available for use as wire overlay will be bare metal. Which can be used as is if the color of the metal is desired but otherwise if the overlay should match the color of the project it will need to be Tinned. Tinning large chunks of mass can be difficult and these parts can get extremely hot in the process.

Solder Attachments

While wire overlay could be glued on, the lack of surface area in most cases will make the glue visible. Thus it's best for the wire to be soldered into joints.

Floating Ends

Wire Overlay that isn't attached on both ends can easily be caught on cleaning implements or other things getting near the project. This can cause the overlay to be damaged or bent with relative ease.