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How to Make Your Own Spacer Bars: Stepped Spacer Bars
This project continues our How to Make Your Own Spacer Bars project.
These instructions describe how to make a stepped spacer bar. Please see the first project page for how to make straight spacer bars.
| You will need the following tools: | Optional Tools: |
- Round nose pliers
- Dowel rod or mandrel: 2 - 4mm in diameter
- Wire cutters
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- Chain nose pliers (optional for spirals)
- Metal file
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You'll also need 18 - 24 gauge wire. |
| Basic Stepped Spacer Bar |
| 1. |
Cut a length of wire and straighten it.
The length of wire is dependent on the number of coils the spacer bar is
going to have:
| Coils | Length |
| 2 | 9" |
| 3 | 12" |
| 4 | 15" |
| 5 | 18" |
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| 2. |
Holding about 1" of the wire on a dowel or mandrel with the thumb of your non-dominant hand, create a three wrap coil by winding the wire from the front to the back of your dowel three times to make a coil.
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| | For more tips and suggestions about making coils, please see our coil technique page. |
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| 3. |
Remove the coil from your dowel, and without rotating it, place the dowel right next to the first coil.
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| 4. |
Now, begin creating a second coil by wrapping the wire in the same direction as the first coil: from the front to the back. Wrap three loops around the dowel.
By wrapping the second coil in the same direction as the first, the coils are offset in a step-like pattern.
Remove the coil from your dowel.
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| 5. |
If you are making a two coil spacer bar, remove the coil from the dowel and continue with the next step.
If you are making a spacer bar with more coils, remove the coil from the dowel, and repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have the desired number of spacer coils.
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| 6. |
If you would like plain ends on the spacer bar, you can trim the excess wire, and file the ends.
When trimming the ends, hold the pliers at an angle to get a cut that
blends better than an abrupt cut. |
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Alternately, you can add spirals to the ends.
For more tips and suggestions about making spirals, see our spiral technique page.
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| Completed spacer bar | Example of spacer bar in use |
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Project Continued: < < How to Make a Straight Spacer Bar
Project Continued: > > Adding Spirals to Spacer Bars
Technique Tutorial: > > How to Make a Coil
Variations > > Variations You Can Do with This Project
Other Projects >> Other Projects That May Interest You
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