Gecko Koiler

Posted by Dale Hoffman on 1st Jun 2011

Many years ago I had another jump ring maker. I don’t know whether it was the product, or me being left handed, but I had serious problems. I could never get a clean 90 degree cut, even though I had clean 45 degree cuts, I was never happy.

Nearly four years after I cut my last jump ring, I tried the Gecko Koiler. Well... watch the smile spread over my face.

This ALL aluminium tool is so easy to use, I set it up on both my Proxxon and Dremel motor tools. I wasn’t able to cut rings sitting down last time. This time, I sat and just cut, and cut, and cut. And every ring, every single ring is cut at 90 degrees!

The very light weight aluminium guard is a little different. It has 3mm wiggle room. If it wiggles, it is on correctly. So instead of going back and forth trying to centre the blade in the groove and adjusting screws over and over, I just wiggle the blade over the groove and it drops in. Instantly. Very cool.

The last time I used my Dremel to cut jump rings I had huge problems trying to turn it on and off and at the same time hold the blade in the groove. This time, I LOVED my Dremel (and Proxxon) to cut the rings. It was so easy. I kept looking in case I was doing it wrong. I wasn’t because the Gecko Koiler is so well designed. The weight of the guard allows the blade to sit in the groove easily. The on/off button on the Dremel is right where your finger needs it to be. Just flick to high and go. The Proxxon has the foot control.

The blade just drops through the top of the guard. The window is large enough to easily use the wrench and tighten it.

I love the fact that you can cut 1mm rings with the Gecko Koiler. A piece of shim is available to protect that size coil and the blade won’t cut right through the rings. You can ask for the shim when you order. If you do a lot of fusing, the 1mm rings are perfect for making exact sized balls.

There is no right or wrong end to the holder. The coil sits right in the middle between two stops. Your coil should be no longer than 75 mm, although it certainly can be much shorter. I cut coils of 25mm easily. There are two cutting grooves. One on the base for very small coils, the top groove for other sizes. Simple things like matching prick marks so you know which way the top screws on either side of the holder, makes this such an easy tool to use. There are prick marks on the grey neck and guard so you know you have it correctly attached. For the tool challenged like me, it is a piece of cake.

The baseboard that holds your mandrels and coil holder, has a double job. The second, the rubber feet on the base, turn it into a jig to keep the coil holder secure when cutting. You will need to put the coil holder solidly against something when cutting, otherwise the holder just keeps sliding over the bench or table with the pressure of the motor tool. The rubber feet means it won’t move. Horizontal for right handers, and vertical for left handers. And yes, left handers do need to cut their rings in a slightly different way. The blade turns ONLY one way.