Use pliers to straighten the coat hangers. These came with a white plasic sheath which got stripped off later. Snip off the ends where they wrap around each other; it's not worth the time to straighten them.



This is where the vice/rod jig comes into play. Place the rods in the vise vertically, about 3/16" to 1/4" apart. Use the contact points of the hanger with the rods to create the necessary curvature.



To know what that curvature is, I rendered each digit in blender with a reference object for size: the green rectangle is 6" wide. I then opened each image in Photoshop as I worked the bends; for my images a zoom of 97% resulted in the green rectangle being exactly 6" wide (your zoom will vary).



The hangers are for structure... they don't need the loops that will be in the EL wire. Bend slowly, especially at the corners, otherwise the hanger wire will get fatigued and break. This happened to the first 2 I made. Try to keep the wire as flat as you can.



As you work, check the curvature by holding the wire digit against your computer screen (be careful not to scratch the screen). Some adjustments can be made with pliers, others on the jig. It is easier to adjust an existing curve than create a curve from a straight length.



Each digit also needs a leg. I made the legs extend 7 1/2" below the lowest point of each digit. Some of the legs (on the 3, 5 and 9) extend from a part of the digit that arcs upward, so bend them behind and then down.



Finally, notice that the 1 isn't a single line, but two. This is done to give the one more area, otherwise it would appear dimmer than the other numbers.



On average, each digit took about an hour to bend. 1 and 7 were easiest, 8 was most difficult. I estimate it would take twice as long without the jig.



Once each digit is done, if the coat hangers have a sheath like mine did, carefully cut it off. I used small wire cutters. Then I sprayed the bare wire with two coats of black Plasti-Dip.



Optionally, put tack welds on the digits that cross over themselves or have ends that butt against another part of itself. For my digits this was 0, 4, 6, 8 (two tacks), and 9. If you can't get them welded, a product like JB-Weld will probably work instead.