Draw plate
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Draw plates are used to draw wire to make it thinner. They can also be used to draw tubes of wire (chenier). They come in many different sizes and shapes: round, square, oval, half-round and hexagonal for example. The plate has rows of holes drilled through it which go down in size by tiny increments. The holes are wider at the back. Wire is annealed and then filed at one end to taper it. The tapered end is inserted into a hole that is next down in size from a hole that it can easily pass through. Pliers or draw tongs are used to hold the tip of the wire and pull it through. Using some grease or wax will act as a lubricant to pull the wire more easily. The wire can be drawn about 3 times in a row before it needs to be re-annealed. Otherwise it will break because it becomes too brittle. The draw plate doesn't shave the wire off to make it thinner, it stretches it, so you don't lose metal, and end up with a piece of wire that can be many times longer than what you started with. While drawing the wire gets warm which is the energy used by the drawing. The plate is held in a vise, or on a special piece of equipment where the tongs are attached to a chain and a handle is turned to move the chain, pulling the tongs and drawing the wire. Wire up can be pulled by hand when the diameter is under 3 mm otherwise a drawing bench with a crank must be used.
In the three images on top the plate is 165 mm wide and 35 mm high. The largest hole on the front of the draw plate is 2 mm in diameter. The plate is 6 mm thick. On the back there are only 3 sizes of hole - 5 mm, 4.5 mm and 4 mm in diameter.
 Metalworking:
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Callaïs | Casting | Centrifugal casting | Cloisonné | Doming technique | Draw plate | Engraving | Filigree | Findings | Fretwork | Goldwork | Lapidary | Metal clay | Millesimal fineness | Omega chain | Persian weave | Relief | Repoussé and chasing | Soldering | Vacuum casting | Water torch | Wire wrap jewellery |
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