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Book Review:Wire Jewelry VISUAL Quick Tips by Chris Franchetti Michaels

May 12, 2009 by Vikram Goyal

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Wire Jewelry VISUAL Quick Tips by Chris Franchetti Michaels

  • Spiral-bound: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Visual; Spi edition (January 9, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470343842
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470343845 
  • Just like Visual Quick Tips Beading book I reviewed last month, author Chris Franchetti Michaels  Visual Quick Tips Wire Jewelry book is a winner!!!!

     

    Along with tons of tips, tricks and how to’s, it  also has the  coil wire binding so it can lay flat while you have 2 hands full of wire and pliers. I really think ALL jewelry instruction books should be bound this way!

    As with the Beading Visual Quick tips, this book has lots of  detailed color photos and concise instructions so you never have to second guess how to bend a piece of wire or guess what size gauge you have in your hand. This book  is a MUST for anyone who wants to start making wire jewelry or as a handy reference guide for more advanced wirewrappers.

    Chapter 1 is all about jewelry making wire-types of wire, wire shape, gauge, temper finishes and care.

    Chapter 2 goes over wirework tools. From pliers to wire cutters, hammers, block, mandrels, files and more. There are pictures of each, so you can tell the difference between a rubber mallet and a chasing hammer.

    Chapter 3 is all about safety, storage and organization-all important!

    Chapter 4 is when you start working with the wire-Basic wirework includes making jump rings, eyepins, basic wire clasp and more.

     Chapter 5 is more advanced techniques. You’ll learn how to make a wrapped briolette, wave finger ring, herringbone wrap and more. 

    Chapter 6 is wire chain. Make S hook chain, double spiral chain, byzantine chain and other fun chains.

    Chapter 7 is using a wire jig. From basic techniques to wire jig patterns.

    There is an appendix with the American Wire Gauge chart, coils per inch reference char, millimeter and inch conversions, oxidation methods, polishing techniques and resourses. I love this book and you will too.

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    Have you read?

    Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

    Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

    This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

    “Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.” 

    The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles. 

    Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies. 

    It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans. 

    Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain. 

    It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal. 

    Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

    About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

     

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