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#1
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
If a wire is a certain gage is that size constant across different
types of metal? I used my disc cutter with 22 gage sheet copper and 18 gage copper wire to make discs and jump rings until I had a design that I liked for a necklace. I then attempted to make the same design with Argentium silver. The Arg sheet behaved in ways similar to the copper. When I went to make the jump rings, the 18 gage Arg silver seemed to be not as robust. I can lay the silver and copper side by side on the table and feel that the copper is larger in diameter. I know that the copper is stiffer, but it also was bigger. Is this just a fluke? Did I get mislabeled wire, or are they supposed to be different? I would not use 18 gage wire again to hold the washer shapes together. My design has redundency, 3 jump rings hold each pair of discs. I have tried to keep everything labeled and separate when I buy new supplies. My wire still has the original tag on it from the supplier. This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. Linda |
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#2
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
gloflyer wrote:
This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. You don't say! -- Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
#3
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
gloflyer wrote:
This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. You don't say! -- Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
#4
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
gloflyer wrote:
If a wire is a certain gage is that size constant across different types of metal? I used my disc cutter with 22 gage sheet copper and 18 gage copper wire to make discs and jump rings until I had a design that I liked for a necklace. I then attempted to make the same design with Argentium silver. The Arg sheet behaved in ways similar to the copper. When I went to make the jump rings, the 18 gage Arg silver seemed to be not as robust. I can lay the silver and copper side by side on the table and feel that the copper is larger in diameter. I know that the copper is stiffer, but it also was bigger. Is this just a fluke? Did I get mislabeled wire, or are they supposed to be different? I would not use 18 gage wire again to hold the washer shapes together. My design has redundency, 3 jump rings hold each pair of discs. I have tried to keep everything labeled and separate when I buy new supplies. My wire still has the original tag on it from the supplier. This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. Linda Metal for making things, not only jewellery, come in different hardnesses even tho they measure the same size. Take copper for example, it can be dead soft when it has been fully annealed , or half hard or hard depending on how it has been cold worked. do you followthis? If you dont, come back and say what you dont understand and well explain further. as to getting a wire or sheet thickness gauge, you best bet is to get a vernier gauge, this can be either a non digital or digital one. Used by most engineering folk to take simple measurements of all sorts of things, from wire sheet rounds etc. Usually from zero up to 6 in , in either metric or imperial in 100ths of a mm or 1000 of an inch. Will do all youll ever need. A cheap chinese will do you just fine. No need for a fancy Mitutoyo or similar. Most engineering suppy places stock them. Dont buy till you try tho. |
#5
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
Ted Frater wrote:
...snip as to getting a wire or sheet thickness gauge, you best bet is to get a vernier gauge, this can be either a non digital or digital one. Used by most engineering folk to take simple measurements of all sorts of things, from wire sheet rounds etc. Usually from zero up to 6 in , in either metric or imperial in 100ths of a mm or 1000 of an inch. Will do all youll ever need. A cheap chinese will do you just fine. No need for a fancy Mitutoyo or similar. Most engineering suppy places stock them. Dont buy till you try tho. I'll second that. I never use "standard" wire gauges, there are just too many different ones. There is no confusion when you use proper values like inches or millimetres. The "good" thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. -- Regards, Gary Wooding (To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address) |
#6
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
Ok - my basic question still remains.
Is 18 gage wire the same size in different metals? - I think so but am not sure. I know the difference in hardness. That is not the problem. One is physically thicker than the other. The copper I bought in a hardware store. The silver from a reputable supplier. I am not sure where to find an engineering supply store. I recently tried to buy a compass. That was a disaster. They are so worried about school kids stabbing each other that most of them come with a little nub instead of a good point. I went to an office supply store and bought what I thought I wanted. It was so packaged that I couldn't try it. It has no mechanism for tightening it once it is set to the width I want. A size gage is $28. So I think that I will try the calipers. |
#7
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
"gloflyer" wrote in message ... If a wire is a certain gage is that size constant across different types of metal? I used my disc cutter with 22 gage sheet copper and 18 gage copper wire to make discs and jump rings until I had a design that I liked for a necklace. I then attempted to make the same design with Argentium silver. The Arg sheet behaved in ways similar to the copper. When I went to make the jump rings, the 18 gage Arg silver seemed to be not as robust. I can lay the silver and copper side by side on the table and feel that the copper is larger in diameter. I know that the copper is stiffer, but it also was bigger. Is this just a fluke? Did I get mislabeled wire, or are they supposed to be different? I would not use 18 gage wire again to hold the washer shapes together. My design has redundency, 3 jump rings hold each pair of discs. I have tried to keep everything labeled and separate when I buy new supplies. My wire still has the original tag on it from the supplier. This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. Linda L: For this application even a very inexpensive plastic vernier caliper with a direct scaled read will be fine. You could go with a more sophisticated version that reads out on a dial but I would avoid an electronic model as superfluous to your purpose and because you must keep them in batteries. Vernier calipers are also nice because most models allow you to take both inside and outside dimensions. If you care-or think you might care in the future--about the finest precision measurement of outside dimensions you can spring for a mechanical micrometer in the smallest reading range. Information on all of these instruments is ubiquitous. Look under "dimensional metrology" or simply the last word within those quotations for more. Wire and sheet gauges are handy shortcuts for mensuration to dedicated standards. However, if you ever want to stray from those in fixing sizes, the aforementioned calipers or a micrometer are your better bets. Regards, Edward Hennessey |
#8
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
Is 18 gage wire the same size in different metals? - I think so but am not sure. 18 gauge in non ferrous metals is not the same as 18 gauge in iron or steel. The use of gauges to measure metal thickness can cause confussion. These are some of the available gauges used in the world. S.W.G British Imperial Standard Wire Gage J.de.P. Paris Wire Gage B.W.G Birmingham Wire Gage W.G. Westphalia Wire Gage B. & S. Brown and Sharp Wire Gage B.G. Standard Birmingham Sheet and Hoop A.S.W.G. American Standard Wire Gage. U.S.S U.S. Standard for Sheet and Plate Iron and Steel W. & M. Washburn and Moen Gage Only the ASWG and M&W use the same gauge number to designate the same thickness. All the others are different. None ferrous metals such as silver, gold, brass, copper are measured with a Brown and Sharp Gauge (B&S). The gauge will usually say "For use with non ferrous metals". I know the difference in hardness. That is not the problem. One is physically thicker than the other. The copper I bought in a hardware store. The silver from a reputable supplier. You are correct that the thickness may vary from different suppliers. Since silver is measured by weight and not length the silver supplier is not concerned whether the gauge is exact to industry standards. I am not sure where to find an engineering supply store. I recently tried to buy a compass. That was a disaster. They are so worried about school kids stabbing each other that most of them come with a little nub instead of a good point. I went to an office supply store and bought what I thought I wanted. It was so packaged that I couldn't try it. It has no mechanism for tightening it once it is set to the width I want. A size gage is $28. So I think that I will try the calipers. Some hardware stores may carry B&S gauges and even vernier calipers. Your silver supplier probably has an inexpensive brass slide caliper that will do the same basic job as the more expensive vernier calipers. Hope this helps, Fred |
#9
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Gage sizes of silver and copper wire
The gage scale is a standard measure scale, regardless of the material
being measured. See for example the conversion tool at http://www.Pasternakfindings.com/converter.asp (select the gage conversion on top). I suspect that your original copper and silver wires differ in diameter. To verify this, use a caliper. If you don't own one,cut a piece of the same length from both wires, weight and divide by (pi x length x weight density). The square root of the result would be the radius of your wire. Sarit. http://sarit-jewelry.com gloflyer wrote: If a wire is a certain gage is that size constant across different types of metal? I used my disc cutter with 22 gage sheet copper and 18 gage copper wire to make discs and jump rings until I had a design that I liked for a necklace. I then attempted to make the same design with Argentium silver. The Arg sheet behaved in ways similar to the copper. When I went to make the jump rings, the 18 gage Arg silver seemed to be not as robust. I can lay the silver and copper side by side on the table and feel that the copper is larger in diameter. I know that the copper is stiffer, but it also was bigger. Is this just a fluke? Did I get mislabeled wire, or are they supposed to be different? I would not use 18 gage wire again to hold the washer shapes together. My design has redundency, 3 jump rings hold each pair of discs. I have tried to keep everything labeled and separate when I buy new supplies. My wire still has the original tag on it from the supplier. This makes me think that I should get a wire and sheet gage. Linda |
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