Draw plate

A typical plate will have twenty to thirty holes, so a wide range of diameters can be drawn.

The plate is oriented so that the wider end of a tapered opening can receive a metal wire which is to be pulled through it.

Annealed soft, ductile wire is filed at one end to give it an initial taper.

Special pliers, called draw tongs are used to hold the tip of the wire and pull it through, sometimes with the aid of grease or wax as a lubricant.

Brittle wire that has not been annealed may snap during the drawing process (or develop microscopic or macroscopic cracks, which may weaken the piece or "grow" with further working).