To those of you who strip and anneal your own copper wire: where do you get your 16 gauge from? Is there a stranded speaker cable/ etc. that uses only 16 gauge strands, or a specific cable from X store that uses 16 gauge in there electrical wire? I have easily found all the other gauges except for this one (unfortunately I find myself using this gauge more than others). I once had a good source for it but now do not. Thank you.
you dont want any stranded 16 awg. The strands in a 16g “stranded” would be very very tiny. If anything you need solid 16awg.
16awg wire is rarely used in commercial/residential construction. The smallest size that is generally used is 14 awg, and thats just for 15a circuits only really used in residential.
there are certain conditions with controls and instrumentation, lighting, etc. that may use #16 solid but not enough for it to be sold commonly around (or end up as scrap)
any “big” cable where the actual individual strands are 16g is going to be a #2 (i think) or bigger and FAR FAR more expensive than just buying annealed #16.
That being said almost any supply house (that supplies electrical/plumbing contractors) should sell 500’ rolls of #16 solid in multiple colors.
edit: I dont anneal my own wire, but I am an electrician.