Copper Wire River Map

by twyse in Craft > Art

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Copper Wire River Map

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Put your favorite river or stream on a wall, indoors or out.

Supplies

  • Google maps
  • Printer
  • #4 bare copper wire (available by the foot at many hardware stores)
  • Hacksaw
  • Heavy duty staple gun with long staples
  • A work surface that you can staple into

Optional

  • A small drill bit and drill
  • Small nail
  • Cold chisel
  • Hammer

Find Your River

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  • Zoom in on the section of river or stream that you want to use.
  • Do a screen capture.

Edit the Image

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  • Paste the screen capture into Paint or another image editing program.
  • Crop the section of river you want to use.
  • Flip the cropped image horizontally so that the staple marks are on the back of the finished product.
  • Convert the flipped image to a PDF file. I use PDFill PDF and Image Writer.

Print the Image

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  • Open the PDF and size the PDF program screen to the approximate size of the river image. I used Foxit Reader.
  • Print the current view at an enlarged scale with the tile large pages option.

Bend the Wire Into Shape

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  • Use several staples to attach the end of the wire to the work surface.
  • Place the first page of the printed river under the wire.
  • Staple over the wire, and bend the wire to match the shape of the river. Use the staples as fulcrums to bend the wire.
  • An awl can be used as a temporary fulcrum for tight bends.
  • A pliers may be necessary for very tight bends.
  • Continue to insert sections of the paper under the wire and shape the wire to the river.
  • Depending on the shape of your river and your work surface, you may have to occasionally pull the staples out and reposition the wire.
  • Cut the bent wire free from the roll.
  • Flatten the wire so it hangs flat against the wall, or carefully shape the river so parts of it stand out from the wall to give it greater depth.

Hang the Wire

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  • There many ways to hang the wire, but the following is my favorite because the hanger is hidden.
  • Drill a small hole in the back of the wire, but don't drill through the wire.
  • Place the head of a small nail in the hole, and use a cold chisel and hammer to deform the wire around the head of the nail.
  • Add more than one nail along the length of the river if you want to display the river in the correct orientation rather than hanging freely.
  • Drill holes in the wall to accept the nails.
  • Hang indoors our outside.