How To Make Your Own Tile Stand Using Wire Coat Hanger

Our Objective

We wanted a stand designed specifically for our tiles and small mirrors projects.

We wanted something that was more thought out as part of the project and that would not distract from the presentation.

Etched Glass Tile with Open Bible and Cross

There are numerous simple wireframe options available at your local craft or hobby store, as well as at Dollar Stores. But they are not the right size and are still distracted from the presentation. So, we decided to make our own frame. This picture shows an etched glass tile on the stand.

The Journey

Somewhere along the process, we landed on the idea of using wire coat hangers as the material source. The gauge of the wire was strong and would support the project with ceramic or stone tile and our etched mirror tiles. It seemed like a good fit, and there are plenty of wire coat hangers. Without wire bending tools and no immediate access to any, I tried to build a jig after binging on YouTube videos for wire benders. Oh, I take it back, We did have a wire bender, but it was the type for jewelry wire, and I decided that was not going to work. My wife has successfully used it on smaller gauge wire for other projects, just not for this one.

This picture shows me using a smaller gauge wire on my homemade jig. It was easier to make a prototype with a smaller gauge wire and then make another one with the coat hanger wire which is a bigger gauge.

The jig was made from a piece of MDF and a couple of different-sized clevis pins. They have cross-holes in the pin that I used for height adjustment when bending the wire. I did cut a couple of slots on the top of the pins to allow for the wire to be positioned while starting the bend. I got the clevis pins from a kit I purchased from Harbor Freight. The big box stores have them too.

We still have several of the stand created from this jig. I really like the minimal space required for the stand, but they are not easy to make. And they do look a bit different.

Let’s Make a Stand!

1 wire coat hanger
1 pair of piers
1 medium to large wire cutter
1 hammer
1 magic marker
1 universal wire bending tool with 1 3/8” cylindrical die.

The tools I used for this project were determined by what I had at the time. During the journey to make a wire bender, I did purchase a wire bender that is a bit more flexible than my homemade jig.

You can find several of them on Amazon. It’s called a ‘mini universal metal Bender’ (this is not an affiliate link). There are several versions of this wire bender tool. The picture and information for the tool I ordered did not show the four-cylinder dies that it actually received.

For this project, I used a 1 3/8″ cylinder die and one of the square blocks to complete the bends.

Select A Wire Coat Hanger

I used a painted (white) coat hanger for this project. It was the closest one, for no other reason. I’m glad I did because, as you will see later, it was easier to see the markings made to show the bend locations. I cut this one and straightened it by hand.

Don’t use the white wire coat hanger that are plastic coated.

You need to start with an 11.5-inch straight piece of wire to make the stand for a 4×4 tile. You’ll see later in the steps where you can increase the length to adjust for a wider stance.

Depending on how you cut up the coat hanger, the wire will need additional straightening. I gently used a vise to assist. Just be careful not to clamp down too hard and damage the wire.

Locate the center of the wire and mark the center.

The center of this wire is 5.75 inches. This will be our final bend. The other two marks identify the width of the stand.

Add two more marks 1.5 inches to the left and right of the center.

OK, we’re ready to clamp up the wire in the wire bender. I used the 1 3/8 inch cylinder die as shown. Notice the position of the bending handle and the pin in the handle. The pin position is necessary to get the tightest turn on the wire across the cylindrical die. You may need to hold the wire and move it slightly to get the pin in the first position, as shown in the picture. I bent it just enough to allow the pin to go into position and causing the wire to start bending.

Move the handle around the die to bend the wire until the wire is parallel with the other end.

Loosen the jaw of the wire bender by rotating the bigger black star knob counterclockwise to release the wire.

You have completed the first bend which is the arced portion of one side of the stand.

Now we are going to do the same for the other side of the stand and create the other arc.

Insert the other end of the wire into the jaw with the previously formed bend turning out from the tool as shown in the picture below.

Notice again the position of the handle. The handle is all the way to the left in the picture to allow the new bend to be around the cylinder.

You may have to hold the wire and move it a bit in the bending direction to have room to insert the pin in the first position of the handle.

After your second bend you should have a wire that looks like this will it is still on the bending tool.

This is the wire after it was removed from the bending tool. This picture shows the initial markings that show the middle of the wire and the location of additional bends. From the picture below you may be able to visualize the reminding bends that are needed to complete the stand. The outer markings locate the end of the curved section of the stand.

I continued to use the wire bender tool to complete the bend for the ends of the arced portion of the stand.

This is when I changed the die from the cylinder to the block die. No more arced bends, only 90-degree bends for the remainder of the project.

Notice that the bend mark it located such that aligns with the moving portion of the jaw. This is the reference point and will be important for the next bend. Also, notice that the handle was not used and removed from the tool for this step.

After completing this bending remove the wire to change position to the other end of the wire. You need to adjust the bend mark for the angle block position as shown in the following picture.

Notice the bend mark and align it with the block instead of the moving portion of the jaw. This is necessary because the bend action will be in the other direction this time and the bend will be across the block, not the movable jaw.

Now the arcs of the stand are in similar positions, and we are ready for the next bend. There is another stand in the background (upper right corner) that may help you with visualizing the bends we have completed and how the next bends will complete the stand.

For this next step, you can loosen the jaws and adjust the position of the wire so that the arcs are pointing up.

You can position the next bending mark using the same end of the wire we just finished bending.

This is a 90-degree bend. I bent it slightly to get it started but finished it with a hammer. The bend was just too small for me to manually bend by hand. I was careful not to make too much of the bend by hand so as to create a bigger arc and make certain it was as close to 90 degrees as possible by using the hammer.

Next I changed the position of the wire in the bender to make the bend for the other arc following the same steps to bend slightly and finish with the hammer to ‘tighten’ the 90 dgree bend.

Removing the wire, now stand, from the bender, we can check it for symmetry and how even it sits on a flat surface. Bending by hand to make small adjustments may be necessary.

A final bend to put an arc in across the front will be necessary to keep the tile sliding off the stand.

Check the ends of the stand where the initial cuts were made and file them down such that they are smooth. Don’t want to scratch a tabletop.