Wire Gauge Guide
A Cheat Sheet for Jewelry Makers
If you find the whole wire gauge thing confusing, you're not alone. I almost pulled my hair out about it when I was starting out with making jewelry.
Here's my cheat sheet:
Wire Size |
Diameter in Millimeters |
What It's Good For Making: |
14 ga |
1.65 mm |
|
16 ga |
1.3 mm |
|
18 ga |
1.0 mm |
|
20 ga |
0.8 mm |
|
21 ga |
0.75 mm |
|
22 ga |
0.65 mm |
|
24 ga |
0.5 mm |
|
26 ga |
0.4 mm |
|
28 ga |
0.32 mm |
|
Wire Sizing Systems
Important: Give this a quick read before you shop for wire
Just to confuse us, the wire gods have created two similar but different wire sizing systems. They are the AWG (American Wire Gauge) system, and the SWG (Standard Wire Gauge) system. Both are in regular use, though in North America, AWG is more common.
So now I have to figure out not one, but TWO systems?
Take my advice - don't stress about the different systems, just know that there are two, and that you need to check out diameters. Any supplier worth his salt will list the wire both by gauge and by diameter in millimeters.
Tip: Before you buy, double-check the wire diameter in millimeters.
Did you enjoy this article? Please give it a "like" to let us know ~Christine
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