Jewelry Making: The Right Wire for You
August 30th, 2006 by MaryBeth
Recently I was asked by a reader what kind of wire to use in making a charm ring. I had forgotten how difficult choosing the right gauge of wire really is. Although there are few rules set in stone, I thought I would provide you with some basic wire information to help you on your way to jewelry making. Of course, the more comfortable you become with working with wire, the more you should feel free to experiment. Making jewelry is fun and creative, so have fun and get creative!
Wire Hardness
There are three different forms of wire hardness. These are dead soft, half-hard, and full-hard.
Dead soft wire is extremely soft and pliable. It can be bent with your hands. Dead soft wire is great for wire-sculpted jewelry but shouldn’t be used with large or heavy stones. Also, remember that dead soft wire is significantly more fragile than a harder wire.
Half-hard wire is slightly harder than dead soft wire. This is because it has been pulled through a draw plate. A draw plate is a tool. The draw plate has holes the same size and shape of the wire.
Full-hard wire is pulled through the draw plate more times than the half-hard wire making it stiffer and sturdier. The harder the wire, the more tools you will need to manipulate it.
Wire Shape
Wire comes in a variety of shapes. These include round, square, and half-round. Although round wire tends to be more versatile, square and half-round wire is wonderful too. Half round wire is often wrapped around other pieces of wire to connect them whereas square wire is great for wire-wrapping projects.
Wire Size
There are many different wire sizes. The higher the gauge number, the smaller the wire is in diameter. For example, a 20 gauge piece of wire thicker than a 24 gauge piece of wire. In the United States, wire is measured in gauge while wire size is measured in millimeters in most European countries. Below is just a basic list.
26 – 24 gauge (.40mm - .50mm)
This size wire is great for beads with tiny holes. An ounce of 26 gauge wire gives you about 76 feet of wire whereas an ounce of 24 gauge wire gives you about 48 feet of wire.
22 – 21 gauge (.65mm - .71mm)
22 and 21 gauge wire is a necessity to have around as they are pretty thick and can be used with most beads. One ounce of 22 gauge wire gives you about 31 feet whereas one ounce of 21 gauge wire is about 24 feet of wire.
20 gauge (.80mm)
This is a thick wire. 20 gauge wire is great for making clasps and other pieces of jewelry which need to be strong but still easy to work with. One ounce of 20 gauge wire gives you about 19 feet.
Try out different kinds of wire for different projects to get a sense of what you like. Make your own style and most of all, have a great time!
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