Making Wire Hooks for Christmas Ornaments @ CMEZ

There are many ways to hang ceramic Christmas ornaments but they all start in preparing the wetware.

When casting Christmas ornaments you have some options in determining how those ornaments will hang. Some molds have holes or loops in the design and it is just a matter of making sure the hole is open before letting the ware dry. Other molds and most do not have the designed hanger/loop so the caster has two options. One, poke a hole in the top of the mold with a small skewer or similar to allow a thread or ribbon to be attached after firing, or attaching a wire hanger into the wetware. Of course the wire has to be able to withstand high firing temperatures, so the caster will want to use nichrome wire for the hangers. There are ready made nichrome ornament hangers on the market, but they are shaped like a ‘U’ and this author has found them to be inadequate and untrustworthy. If after inserting them into the wetware,they are jostled, they could be significantly loosened and eventually disengage from the ornament. It would be very sad to see all the painstaking work of detailing an ornament to result in it falling from the Christmas tree due to faulty adhesion. One of the better ways to hang ornaments is to use a handmade circular loop that has been reinforced with slip after inserting it into the wet ornament. That way, even if jostled, the loop with maintain its grip because of the ceramic bridge created. To make these loop/hangers, it is just a matter of a little time and effort. One can sit down and make hundreds at a time and store them so they will be ready when needed. To begin, you will need a supply of nichrome wire, small needle nose wire cutters/pliers and some kind of rod about 1/4 inch in diameter. The handle of a brush can work, a dowel rod, or a ceramic rod. Anything durable and round will work. 1. Cut your wire into lengths of about 1 1/2 ” Make a pile of them before going on to the next step. 2. Wrap the wire loosely around the rod, crossing the ends 3. Pinch the ends with the pliers and give several turns/twists, creating a pigtail 4. Remove loop from the rod.. Voila! After you have your supply of loops, it is just a matter of pushing the pigtail of one into the ornament until it is set deep enough for some of the circle to imbed into the wet clay. Then take a drop of slip and fill the slit caused by the insertion. When dry, clean off excess. When fired, you will have a tight and strong loop with which to hang the ornament.

by Majik

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