Wire bending basics...ad to it if you like....

[yooper886]

Something else I thought of. When I was in the Air Force the Orthodontist and my superviser taught us to use just use our fingers for some minor bends instead of using pliers to avoid nicks in the wire. Fingers were sore for a while until you get used to it worked pretty well for me back then. Of course back then I was out of school for less then 6 months so I didn't understand the reason why nicks were bad for the wires.

 

[labdude]

Another point on wire bending....
If your just starting, or trying a new method, do it the same way with the same pliers for a couple of days....at the least.
Trying a new technique, or learning for the start, making a wire succesfully won't happen quickly.
Wire bending is a lot like learning to play a new musical instrument. If you know how to play a piano, it can be fairly easy to play a guitar. Just takes time to become able to do either or.
Give it time, go slow, speed happens, it can't be pushed.

 

[labdude]

And on the Panavise....they do make different "heads" for them. I have 2 different types.