Eli the Bearded wrote:

Is there an easy way to take wire off a spool and get it straight?
I'm working with 12ga galvinized steel here, in lengths of about
two feet.

I know the jewelry people use nylon tipped pliers (squeeze tight
and pull through, repeat as needed), which seems fine for very small
soft wire, but I don't think that's going to work on this heavy stuff.
My trick is to put it between two 2x4's and roll the wire between them.
This gets them pretty straight. If you have a lot of this to do, you
can build a wire straightener with pegs or rollers made from cheap
ball bearings. You bend it first against the original curve, then
back the other way, but less bend, then back the first way, again
less bend. You can pull many feet through the straightener at one time,
then cut to she shorter lengths. I think they actually make commercial
machines that do this, so you may be able to see photos of how they
work.

Jon