Free the Heart II - Wire Puzzle - Level 2 - Wire Bending

As I had great fun making the first „Free the Heart“ wire puzzle, I have now decided to make another one - one with a higher level of difficulty!

This project needs the same skill requirements as the previously released "Free the Heart" project, such as fingertip feeling and a good eye. As this wire strength is relatively easy to work with, it doesn't matter if you need a second or third try to get a satisfactory result.

Have fun with the reproduction!

For the construction of "Wire Puzzle II" you need the following material and tools:

• electric cable (1 copper wire, 1,5 mm², Ø approx. 1.4 mm), minimum 60cm
• various pliers (for bending, cutting)
• cutter (for stripping) and/or wire stripper
• ballpoint pen or felt-tip pen (Ø 10 mm)
• something round with Ø 30 mm, for example small paint can
• soldering iron
• solder
• flux
• sandpaper
• small metal file
• a "third hand" can be helpful

Note: As it is not easy to put the individual steps into words, I have tried to document them in detail with the help of photos.

For this first step you need: 

• cable with copper wire 1,5 mm², Ø approx. 1.4 mm, 60 cm
• wire cutter, pliers
• cutter 
• something to measure

I had used up the rest of my power cord for my previous wire puzzle project. So for this project, I bought single-core wire from the DIY store because it saves me the work of removing a single wire from a multi-core power cable.

First cut a piece of copper wire about 60cm long. Then carefully cut the sheathing piece by piece with a cutter knife. This is unfortunately a bit fiddly.

Try not to damage the wire core when stripping and bend it as little as possible. Small bends are difficult to remove and damage to the wire surface will spoil its appearance. 

Now you can start bending the first eyelet. You need:

• copper wire, 1,5 mm², Ø approx. 1.4 mm, minimum 60 cm
• pliers for bending and cutting
• ballpoint pen or felt-tip pen (Ø 10 mm)
• something round with Ø 30 mm, for example small paint can

I started with the complete wire length of 60cm. There are no single wire lengths for the different parts as it is not possible to predict exactly how much wire is needed for each individual part.

Bending the first eyelet is the easiest. It should have an outer diameter of about 12-13 mm. All 4 eyelets should have the same diameter! A good aid to bend something approximately circular can be, for example, a ballpoint pen or felt-tip pen. The diameter of the felt pen should not be more than 10 mm.

The wire remains in full length. There are no predefined cut lengths. Only when the second eyelet is finished bending, it is separated from the rest of the wire.

Then bend the eyelet with a round or flat pliers (be careful to damage the surface of the wire as little as possible) at an angle between 45 and 90 degrees.

The round bent wire can be more than required for the eyelet! The part that protrudes is cut off as shown in the photos.

Before the second eyelet can be bent, the spiral must first be created. For this you need a round object of about Ø 30 mm. I have taken a small paint can for this.

Place the wire (as shown in the photo) on the can so that about 10mm to the eyelet remain free. Fix the wire well with your thumb and then bend it tightly twice around the can.

Now the opposite, second eyelet can be bent. With the help of the felt-tip pen you can determine the position. Then continue as with the first eyelet.

Now, the remaining wire is now used for the "crossbar".

• copper wire, 1,5 mm², Ø approx. 1.4 mm
• pliers for bending and cutting
• ballpoint pen or felt-tip pen (Ø 10 mm)

You don't have to bend the crossbar in conjunction with the "spiral-U". It is easier to do it separately. If you open the eyelets of the "Spiral-U" very slightly, you can insert the crossbar after finishing. Afterwards, the opening must be closed again by pressing it together.

Only to determine the distance between the two eyelets, it is useful to insert them once. But this can also be determined externally.

The remaining wire is now used for the "heart". It is the rest of the initial 60 cm.

• copper wire, 1,5 mm², Ø approx. 1.4 mm
• pliers for bending and cutting

Take the middle of it and bend them as shown in the photos, so that they are practically parallel. To get a distance of about 2 mm, it is necessary to help with a flat pliers.

Now gently shape the long sides with the help of your thumb into a heart and bend them until the heart shape remains stable. Only when the wires at the cross point reach the approximate length dimension for the heart, the protruding wire ends can be clipped off. The spacing from the tip of the heart to the heart arch should be about 50 mm

All that remains of the 60 cm wire are two ends of 4-5 cm. That's ok!

For this last step you need:

• soldering iron (with small point)
• solder
• flux
• a small screwdriver to apply the flux
• sandpaper
• small metal file

To prevent the eyelets from bending open, it is necessary to solder the gaps. In addition, the relatively thin wire thereby receives more stability and the object is qualitatively upgraded! 

To improve the flow properties of the solder, it is useful to apply soldering grease to the wire ends. It is important that the wire ends are as close together as possible.

Start soldering the crossbar. After you have soldered both eyelets, you need to insert the finished crossbar into the slightly opened eyelets of the "Spiral-U".

Now you can press the eyelets of the "Spiral-U" together again so that there is no gap. Then solder the two eyelets of the "Spiral-U".

At last you can solder the heart.

If a solder joint has become too thick, you can carefully sand it with fine sandpaper or a small metal file.

Done!

I hope that you like the result and enjoy it when you ask others to solve this slightly more difficult puzzle! 

How to "free the heart" and reinsert it correctly, I will show you in this video. Always remember that you do not have to use any force. It must go very easily!