I’m looking for strong, pliable metal wires (about .01 inch thick). Guitar strings are strong but not very pliable. Copper wires from thick electric wires are very pliable but not so strong. Any suggestions?
You could try annealing guitar wire,but you won’t find it in .01. .08 is about the thinnest I know of
You can buy soft iron wire at many craft stores. I find it is a fair compromise between pliability and strength. I keep both iron and copper wire on hand. So called copper “magnet” wire is handy, because it is varnished, which acts as a primer if I have to paint it.
I play guitar and have strings of the .010 gauge.
Yep, my mistake. Was thinking .008
Magnet wire used to be available in a wide range of small sizes. The decline of hobbyist electronics has made fine copper magnet wire hard to find these days, though. Used to be Radio Shack and various mail order places had lots of fine sizes, down to about 34 or 36 gauge. Now, when I throw out any old piece of electronics I go through and look for coils, chokes and transformers with fine wire. This has been my source of magnet wire in fine sizes for about ten years now.
I do find Michaels craft stores to have an increasing selection of fine wire in their “beading” section. Not even sure what material these wires are except the obvious brass stuff.
One thing you could try is going to hobby lobby or you local HS. I was at hobby lobby the other day and in the model section by the putty and glue they had packs of various size metal wires and tubes. I believe they had the size you wanted as well. Its worth a look. I forgot the brand but you will easily be able to spot it.
Model railroad hand rail wire.
It comes in 3’ lengths and is very strong, once you make a bend it will stay. Its hard on side cutters and to save tools best cut with a high speed cut-off disc.
I bought a few lengths and found it very useful for modeling applications, even the smallest bits were valued for small details.
Great. I’ll visit HL. Cutting metal wires is no problem for me. I play guitar and bass. So I have a super powerful wire cutter to cut massive bass guitar strings made of steel.
Hi,
I’m not sure of the exact diameter, but in fly tying I use Ultra wire, comes in brassie, small, medium and large. An array of colors also.
Mike
I echo magnet wire. Its available at radio shack. 0.015" is the thinnest I’ve found so far.
This site has a nice chart for converting between diameter and wire gauge;
Magnet wires are made of copper. They are thin, which I like, and should be very pliable. But are they strong like brass and iron wires?
Well, how strong do you need a .01" wire to be? Is this for general scratch building or do you need to make a support pin out of the wire? There is always mechanic’s stainless safety wire. Smallest size is .020". I can’t see that stuff being much stronger though, just harder to cut.
As long as a metal wire is stronger than a nylon thread, it should work. I guess I’ll visit HL & RS, buy a few different wires, try them and stick to the one that works for me. Thanks for many suggestions.
Nathan,
I’ve got a can of .015 safety wire out at the shop but can’t remember exactly remember where I got it. And being stainless steel, it’s pretty strong for it’s size.
I’ve looked at some metal wires at Hobby Lobby. They are either too soft or way too thick.
I’ve done some research on safety wires and they look like exactly what I’m looking for! Hard to beat stainless steel when it comes to strength. I don’t know where to get them locally but I see lots of them on eBay and Amazon.
You won’t get stainless wire locally. I’ve always ordered my safety wire from an online aviation supplier.
You want lead wire.
One more option to consider,if you want to use guitar string is to invest in a set of wire bending pliers .I bought a set from micro mark years ago and use them much more often than I thought I would.