Drawplates

[jcurtis55]

Thought I would get a drawplate, but since the Byrnes is not available, is there a good alternative?

[vossiewulf]

Micro Mark sells one. No idea how it compares with the Byrnes, but at $54 it better work reasonably well.

[Dziadeczek]

Jewerly equipment suppliers have various draw plates.

[vossiewulf]

10 minutes ago, Dziadeczek said:

Jewerly equipment suppliers have various draw plates.

Yes they do but they're about two or three time as expensive as the Micro Mark version. On the up side you can be sure they'll work very well. But yes Otto Frei, Contenti, Rio Grande all have drawplates. Actually Contenti carries some in the same range as the Micro Mark.

[jcurtis55]

28 minutes ago, Dziadeczek said:

Jewerly equipment suppliers have various draw plates.

Aren't those made for wire?   I read the wire drawplates are not interchangeable with drawplates made for wood.

Edited December 21, 2024 by jcurtis55
typo

[vossiewulf]

The Micro Mark one claims to be specifically for wood but it says it is simply a jeweler's drawplate. Which implies those for wire will work as well for wood. But I'm not certain on that, I have the Byrnes one.

[palmerit]

I just bought a bought a Byrnes. It arrived a few days ago. Maybe I got one of the last ones they had?

[Dr PR]

Artesania Latina makes several "micro shapers" draw plates for wood.

[jcurtis55]

1 hour ago, palmerit said:

I just bought a bought a Byrnes. It arrived a few days ago. Maybe I got one of the last ones they had?

Their web site says they no longer have them in stock.

[palmerit]

Ah. I must have gotten one of their last ones.

[Dziadeczek]

Amazon has several draw plates, their prices ranging from inexpensive to quite pricey.

Notice that the holes in the plates are drilled not simply through, but their profile is conical. Which means that on one side of the plate each hole is bigger (base of the cone) and on the other side it is smaller (apex of the cone).

The same plate can be used for pulling through a soft metal wire, as well as drawing wood.

You insert a wire from the base side (larger hole) of the plate and pull it through the apex (smaller hole).

With wood you do it from the opposite side.

In other words, to make a thinner wire, you squeeze it through the plate, but with wood, you shave it (apex side has sharp edges).

 

From my own practical experience with a draw plate, the best wood is prewetted bamboo (skewers from grocery stores), because bamboo has long and strong fibres that can withstand pulling with forceps. Other wood tends to break more easily.

If you want to use something other than bamboo woods, like fruitwoods, or boxwood or similar for your treenails, use rather treenail cutters from Vanda Lay Ind. - he used to make them in 3 sizes, later on only 2 and finally, as far as I know, stopped making them altogether. Possibly you can still get this gadget on Ebay or similar sources.

[Fritzlindsay]

9 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

No idea how it compares with the Byrnes, but at $54 it better work reasonably well.

I have one that I rarely use as the holes are not consistently reduced from one size to the next and it only goes down to 0.020"    Hopefully they have an improved version compared to the one they sold me many years ago.  Hope Donna Byrnes can get the company up and running again as Jim's plate has been a joy to use.

Fritz

Edited December 21, 2024 by Fritzlindsay

[jcurtis55]

Picked up a drawplate from Model Expo for $12.   I'll try it before spending over $50 at Micro Mark.

[Kauz]

Hello,

jewellery (wire) draw plates usually have a chamfer on the small side of the holes, so wood is not shaved when trying to draw through. One could try to grind the plates till the chamfer is away, but it's a lot of work the plates being hardened steel, and you'd have to go through all the grits like in knife sharpening, otherwise there'd be scratches in the dowels. Also I've got cheap plates that are awfully warped, so grinding would be out of question.

[Kauz]