"Eli the Bearded" wrote in message
...
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.

Elijah
------
has been trying to bend it straight by hand

Some time back, an RCMer from the golden years wrote this about this very
subject.

We routinely straighten music wire of all diameters at work. We use it
for hinge pins on aircraft. Our music wire comes in large rolls. The
way we do it, is to take a piece of tubing and bend it in sort of a
relaxed z shape as below.

---------\
\
\-------------

Clamp this in a vise. Cut the wire to length, and insert one end into
an air or electric drill. Insert the other end into the opening of
the bent tube, and turn on drill, and force wire through the bent
tube. Once its through a bit on the other end, then place the ch=uck
on this end, and then just run drill and pull the wire through the
bent tube.. Push it back and forth a few times, and when it comes out
it will be straight. A little oil may make it easier. We have
straightened music wire up to .185 this way.
foxeye



It works pretty well.



Paul K. Dickman