Daily Wire Tip Jan. 17: Wire Gauges Explained
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
January 17, 2010
I’m not sure what thickness to use. I have a 22 gauge craft wire that is too thin. I want a thicker wire. Do I go higher in number or lower. I thought that the higher numbers are thicker but on this website (Wire-Sculpture.com) the higher numbers (say 26 gauge) are cheaper than the lower numbers (22 gauge). So I am confused. Shouldn’t the thicker wire be more expensive since it has more silver in it? Am I incorrect in thinking that the higher numbers are thicker.
Wire sizes get smaller as their gauge number gets larger. For example, a 12 gauge wire is 2.88mm or 0.11 inch across, whereas a 24 gauge wire is only 0.511mm or 0.02 inch across. Round wire will appear smaller than square wire because the distance that determines the gauge/size is measured across the center of the wire. Wire-Sculpture does have a chart that shows wire gauge conversions: http://wire-sculpture.com/pages/All_About_Wire.html
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
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