zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 15, 2010 1:37:19 GMT -5
I'm just about to take my cabs & wrap them. I just bought Jim McIntosh's book. I'm going to start out with less than precious metal wire, so stainless steel or nickel. Do these metals come in dead soft or is that just a designation of silver? I may get some brass/bronze or copper half round for the wraps too.
I thought I'd go to Fire Mountain Gems or Rio Grande, but they have no or limited shapes & guages of non-precious metal wire. Any recommendations for a good place to buy wire? I'm into spending less rather than more $.
Lynn
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Oct 15, 2010 9:26:40 GMT -5
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Oct 27, 2010 17:34:24 GMT -5
Hey Lynn, don't know how I missed this one.
The cheapest wire that works well for practicing wire wrapping is the square copper and brass wire sold at brandywine supply. it comes in 25ft coils for around $5 a pop.
I had some nickel wire, but I didn't like working with it as much, and it's hard to find in 22ga.
Dead soft, half hard, hard and spring hard are describing different levels of tempering of the metal wire. Dead soft is easiest to work with but cannot be used for some applications where strength and rigidity is needed. In those cases, half hard or full hard is better.
Jim's book is a good one, its the one that got me started. There's some good tutorials here too. I should do a class for the club but finding the time to do it is a problem for me right now. it would be great if we could get Rafael to stock the brass and copper practice wire at his shop.
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jilly
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2010
Posts: 17
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Post by jilly on Nov 10, 2010 14:50:55 GMT -5
I buy from Parawire all the time. Their Vintaj Natural Bronze and the new antique copper come in 21 gauge square and half round and are purely gorgeous. They also have gold, non-tarnish silver, and non-tarnish copper in the same sizes. Some of them also come in 18 gauge square and half round but I've found those a little hard to wrap with. I've been lobbying them to come out with some rose gold in those shapes but no success, though it's available in round. www.parawire.com/craftstore.html
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