Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n

"jkn" wrote in message
...
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n

How about craft wire;
http://www.wires.co.uk/?gclid=CILBgP...FQ4i3godvRMKkA

Don.

On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 02:56:47 -0800 (PST), jkn wrote:

Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Alec Tiranti. They stock sculptors' supply. The link is for aluminium
armature wire. They also do mail order.

http://spedr.com/3vd18

--
The Wanderer

I want to die how my Grandad died, peacefully, in his sleep,
Not like his passengers, who were screaming and shouting!

jkn wrote:
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n
iron garden wire is good.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
jkn wrote:
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n
iron garden wire is good.
aint that ferrous though????

--
Kevin R
Reply address works

Kevin wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
jkn wrote:
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n
iron garden wire is good.
aint that ferrous though????

Sorry. read that as 'ferrous'
Not 'non ferrous', since he mentioned he had tried piano wire..

Some form of brass wire would seem to be optimal..

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Kevin wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
jkn wrote:
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n
iron garden wire is good.
aint that ferrous though????

Sorry. read that as 'ferrous'
Not 'non ferrous', since he mentioned he had tried piano wire..

Some form of brass wire would seem to be optimal..

There are also 2 commonish types of resistance wire, nichrome and
constantan. Whether they suit you I've no idea. Both non ferrous, and
available from electronic component suppliers.


NT

On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 17:15:05 -0800 (PST), wrote:

There are also 2 commonish types of resistance wire, nichrome and
constantan. Whether they suit you I've no idea.

2 or 3 mm in dia?

I think the street vendors use an aliuminium wire. Craft or maybe flower
arranging suppliers is the place to look but expect a 500%+ markup over
the price from an industrial supplier.

Brass I think would work harden very quickly and fracture. The OP has
ruled out copper as "too weak", 2 or 3mm dia single copper (3mm dia is
more or less 7mm^2) is quite tough stuff, easy to anneal to bend and work
hardens nicely. Ali wire is softer and weaker than copper.

I think we need to know more about the application if copper is too weak.

--
Cheers
Dave.

wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Kevin wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
jkn wrote:
Hi all
I'm after short lengths (a few metres) of non-ferrous, malleable
wire - say 2-3mm dia. Copper would be too weak, piano wire not
malleable enough (as well as rusting). Have you seen those 'street
traders' that bend some sort of alloy wire into people's names,
ornamental patterns, and so on? That sort of stuff. Any idea where to
get hold of some from?

Thanks
J^n
iron garden wire is good.
aint that ferrous though????

Sorry. read that as 'ferrous'
Not 'non ferrous', since he mentioned he had tried piano wire..

Some form of brass wire would seem to be optimal..

There are also 2 commonish types of resistance wire, nichrome and
constantan. Whether they suit you I've no idea. Both non ferrous, and
available from electronic component suppliers.



Expensive and very springy. Not malleable.

Whats wrong with coat hangars?

galvanised..

BTW model shops do brass rod, often.

Esp. model railway shops.
NT

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 17:15:05 -0800 (PST), wrote:

There are also 2 commonish types of resistance wire, nichrome and
constantan. Whether they suit you I've no idea.

2 or 3 mm in dia?

I think the street vendors use an aliuminium wire. Craft or maybe flower
arranging suppliers is the place to look but expect a 500%+ markup over
the price from an industrial supplier.

Brass I think would work harden very quickly and fracture.

blowlamp.

The OP has
ruled out copper as "too weak", 2 or 3mm dia single copper (3mm dia is
more or less 7mm^2) is quite tough stuff, easy to anneal to bend and work
hardens nicely. Ali wire is softer and weaker than copper.

I think we need to know more about the application if copper is too weak.

Hi All
Thanks for the suggestions...

Craft shops are clearly worth a look. There is plenty of 'craft wire'
on eBay, but I'm not sure of the strength/malleability. I'll see what
I can learn from poking around a shop.

Flower shop wire tends to be ferrous, I think.

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

Is there an easy source of 'coat-hanger wire' which isn't pre-bent
into the shape of a coat hanger? Strength-wise it would be fine, but I
need to start off with a decent length of straight.

The sculptor's supply link is a great resource anyway - thanks!

J^n

PS:
Just remembered that my dad (ex-British Leyland, man & boy) used
to make *everything* out of welding wire of the appropriate
diameter ...

J

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:18:04 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Brass I think would work harden very quickly and fracture.

blowlamp.

If the OP can make the form he wants with it hot in the flame... I got the
impression that he wanted to cold from what ever it is but that could be a
bad assumption.

--
Cheers
Dave.

jkn wrote:
Hi All
Thanks for the suggestions...

Craft shops are clearly worth a look. There is plenty of 'craft wire'
on eBay, but I'm not sure of the strength/malleability. I'll see what
I can learn from poking around a shop.

Flower shop wire tends to be ferrous, I think.

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

Is there an easy source of 'coat-hanger wire' which isn't pre-bent
into the shape of a coat hanger? Strength-wise it would be fine, but I
need to start off with a decent length of straight.


OK. that would be something agricultural. Used in fencing. Galvanised
iron wire.

The easiest way to straighten it is to get a length and put one end in a
vice or some sort of rigid clamp, and then wind the other round a pole
and pull bloody hard. It stretches, work hardens and straightens.

It takes many years for fence wire to rust. You should be ok with
galvanised. And a spray coat of clear lacquer will help as well.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:18:04 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Brass I think would work harden very quickly and fracture.
blowlamp.

If the OP can make the form he wants with it hot in the flame... I got the
impression that he wanted to cold from what ever it is but that could be a
bad assumption.

annealing is not hot working. Its heating and slow cooling.

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:18:31 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

annealing is not hot working. Its heating and slow cooling.

True, but I think brass would work harden very quickly after annealling,
much faster than copper say.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 02:44:41 -0800 (PST), jkn wrote:

Hi All
Thanks for the suggestions...

Craft shops are clearly worth a look. There is plenty of 'craft wire'
on eBay, but I'm not sure of the strength/malleability. I'll see what
I can learn from poking around a shop.

Flower shop wire tends to be ferrous, I think.

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

Is there an easy source of 'coat-hanger wire' which isn't pre-bent
into the shape of a coat hanger? Strength-wise it would be fine, but I
need to start off with a decent length of straight.

Yes, but that ain't gonna be particularly maleable, which was in your
original spec.

The sculptor's supply link is a great resource anyway - thanks!

I use aluminium wire frequently, as an armature for soft-bodied porcelain
dolls. It's easily set into shape and is strong enough not to fracture with
use.

--
The Wanderer

Better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool
Than to open it and remove all doubt (Mark Twain)

On 7 Dec, 09:09, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

Brass I think would work harden very quickly and fracture.

Brass wire is available as hard, semi-hard and soft. I'd have though
that semi-hard would be about right in this case. Last time I bought
some was from a place in Biggleswade.

Ian

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:17:33 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:


Whats wrong with coat hangars?

Again - they're ferrous :-)

--
Frank Erskine

In article
,
jkn wrote:
Is there an easy source of 'coat-hanger wire' which isn't pre-bent
into the shape of a coat hanger? Strength-wise it would be fine, but I
need to start off with a decent length of straight.

Fencing wire?

--
*Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
jkn wrote:


Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

This sounds like the infamous "Run your engine for 2 months on one teaspoon
of Sodium Bicarbonate" that is doing the rounds at the moment.

Their theory goes that you have two non ferrous springs, one inside the
other, with terminals. You put them into a close fitting jar and fill with
weak Sodium Bicarb solution. Add some volts and hey presto, instant hydrogen
for ever.

:-)



--
AJL Electronics (G6FGO) Ltd : Satellite and TV aerial systems
http://www.classicmicrocars.co.uk : http://www.ajlelectronics.co.uk

Hi Andy

This sounds like the infamous "Run your engine for 2 months on one teaspoon
of Sodium Bicarbonate" that is doing the rounds at the moment.

Their theory goes that you have two non ferrous springs, one inside the
other, with terminals. You put them into a close fitting jar and fill with
weak Sodium Bicarb solution. Add some volts and hey presto, instant hydrogen
for ever.

or is that Cold Fusion? ;-/

Interesting, but I'd not heard this story. It's actually just that I'm
making something christmassy and a bit silly.

Cheers
Jon N

On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:09:57 UTC, "Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)"
wrote:

I think my opinion is that if such a thing was possible, the tree huggers
would have brought it to market double quick, despite the pressure of the
oil companies.

I doubt it. It would be convenient, and the central plank of the tree
huggers' thesis is that we must be uncomfortable. Hence wanting us to
live in semi-darkness, although a lot of the blame for that can be laid
at the door of Philips and their pressure on the EU.
--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics) wrote:
In article ,
jkn wrote:

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

This sounds like the infamous "Run your engine for 2 months on one teaspoon
of Sodium Bicarbonate" that is doing the rounds at the moment.

Their theory goes that you have two non ferrous springs, one inside the
other, with terminals. You put them into a close fitting jar and fill with
weak Sodium Bicarb solution. Add some volts and hey presto, instant hydrogen
for ever.

:-)



Of course. so what??

Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics) wrote:
In article ,
jkn wrote:

Interesting, but I'd not heard this story. It's actually just that I'm
making something christmassy and a bit silly.


Ah OK, I was sort of assuming you might have been the nutter that went into
a friend of mine's metal emporium yesterday asking for stainless wire. It
seems there is a publically available 167 page document on the net that
explains the "technique". Said nutter claims to have 3 engines running on
it.

The "technology" was invented 40 years ago, but the inventor was paid
megamoney to forget all about it and move to the Carribean.

I think my opinion is that if such a thing was possible, the tree huggers
would have brought it to market double quick, despite the pressure of the
oil companies. Could be the perpetual motion machine we have all been
looking for?

electrolysis is older than that. The key being that the energy in the
hydrogen is less than the volts and amps you put in..


To non scientists like green****, it All Makes Sense. Any physicist will
immediately say it can't be done, or, if it can, its Nobel Prize territory.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics) wrote:
In article
,
jkn wrote:

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

This sounds like the infamous "Run your engine for 2 months on one
teaspoon
of Sodium Bicarbonate" that is doing the rounds at the moment.

Their theory goes that you have two non ferrous springs, one inside the
other, with terminals. You put them into a close fitting jar and fill
with
weak Sodium Bicarb solution. Add some volts and hey presto, instant
hydrogen
for ever.
:-)



Of course. so what??



http://www.otherlandtoys.co.uk/hydro...et-p-1620.html

--
Kevin R
Reply address works

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 02:44:41 -0800 (PST), jkn
wrote:

Hi All
Thanks for the suggestions...

Craft shops are clearly worth a look. There is plenty of 'craft wire'
on eBay, but I'm not sure of the strength/malleability. I'll see what
I can learn from poking around a shop.

Flower shop wire tends to be ferrous, I think.

Something with the strength of brass, but 'Aluminium' in colour, would
be good. I want to bend something useful out of it, a bit like the
street-seller stuff but more functional, he said coyly.

Is there an easy source of 'coat-hanger wire' which isn't pre-bent
into the shape of a coat hanger? Strength-wise it would be fine, but I
need to start off with a decent length of straight.

The sculptor's supply link is a great resource anyway - thanks!

How about stainless wire? I have loads of it if you'd like me to send
you a sample to try. Its about 1mm diameter and bendable, though I
have never tried to get a pretty finish, I use it for supporting
plaster in places where it will never be seen

Anna
--
Anna Kettle
Lime plaster repair and conservation
Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
Tel: (+44) 01359 230642
Mob: (+44) 07976 649862
Please look at my website for examples of my work at:
www.kettlenet.co.uk

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics) wrote:
In article
,
jkn wrote:

Interesting, but I'd not heard this story. It's actually just that I'm
making something christmassy and a bit silly.


Ah OK, I was sort of assuming you might have been the nutter that went
into
a friend of mine's metal emporium yesterday asking for stainless wire. It
seems there is a publically available 167 page document on the net that
explains the "technique". Said nutter claims to have 3 engines running on
it.

The "technology" was invented 40 years ago, but the inventor was paid
megamoney to forget all about it and move to the Carribean.

I think my opinion is that if such a thing was possible, the tree huggers
would have brought it to market double quick, despite the pressure of the
oil companies. Could be the perpetual motion machine we have all been
looking for?

electrolysis is older than that. The key being that the energy in the
hydrogen is less than the volts and amps you put in..


To non scientists like green****, it All Makes Sense. Any physicist will
immediately say it can't be done, or, if it can, its Nobel Prize territory.


--
Kevin R
Reply address works