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klynnnn

Wire & Copper Art - Where to find the wire

klynnnn
11 years ago

{{gwi:2110276}}Image by: Ruth2
Ruth2's wire art
Wire Art Danglers & Suncatchers ~ Where to find wire

Where to obtain the wire - Most of the members are purchasing their wire in rolls at a do-it-yourself "super store". You can also try the electrical and plumbing supply stores, or your local corner hardware store.

The wire may come on a roll - a "normal" size roll being 25 feet which is enough for several wire art projects. The wire sold in most DIY super stores may be encased in plastic that needs to be stripped off. You are more likely to find 'plain' (not covered in plastic) wire at the specialty electric supply stores.

Notes from our members:

Yukon Gold suggests: Use Romex 12/2 electrical wire which has 3 copper wires inside. Use a box cutter to strip plastic covering off.

sonicsink says: I found mine at the hardware store, it was a bunch of wire twisted to make like a cable rope. It was i think about 60 cents a foot so I bought 3 feet and after uncoiling it all I ended up with 8 strands of 3 foot long wire. I'm thinking the hardware store is way cheaper than craft stores!

Dig_Deeper adds: The copper wire is electrical wire that you can purchase in rolls. You can buy 25-foot rolls that will come as 2-wire, 3 wire, or 4 wire combinations. The wire is encased in plastic that will have to be stripped off. The bundle of wires (2, 3, 4) is also encased in plastic that can be easily stripped off. The ground wire in the 3-wire bundle is wrapped in paper that can easily be stripped off, the black and white coated wire, take a little more effort. With a 25-foot roll, you should have more
effort. With a 25-foot roll, you should have enough wire for many, many projects.

Morganwolf tells us: One of the electrical guys at our DIY super store told me that this wire is available w/out the plastic coating at electrical supply stores. I'm tempted to try it, because I'm not having much luck stripping the plastic

From Ruth2: 14 gauge copper wire (had to strip it) found at thrift store. We have been searching for wire but I did not want to use too light a gauge. We found some at an electrical store - you can ask for it by "magnet wire", used for motor windings (?). It's not bare wire, has a clear or colored coating, but I'm going to try it. Also, you don't have to use just one piece of wire, you can form several and put them together.

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TIP: To polish copper: stir a teaspoon or two of regular table salt into a cup of white vinegar. (Use a clean plastic container with a lid that seals tight and you can reuse the solution for some time.) Dip in your copper piece, swish, remove and rinse well. Finish off by buffing with a clean soft cloth. Allow more corroded wire to soak for a bit. Badly discolored wire can be polished with fine (#000 or #0000) steel wool.

TIP: Remove ink markings from copper pipe with rubbing alcohol on #000 steel wool.

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