Dead Soft Copper Wire

[BuckeyeOne]

Has anyone tried this?

Amazon.com: Solid Bare Copper Round Wire 5 Oz Spool Dead Soft 12 to 30 Ga (16 Ga / 43 Ft)

Shop Copper Wire USA (TM) at the Amazon Arts, Crafts & Sewing store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Save on everyday low prices.

www.amazon.com

I've annealed my own wire, but was thinking this might work.
Wondering if it will "work harden" like the annealed wire

Pricing is not too bad either.

Buck

 

[parhamr]

This wire is intended for jewelry making, which isn’t mutually exclusive to bonsai wire. It is, however, small in gauge, so it might not be very useful for bonsai.

Their 14-gauge wire nets out to about $32 a pound, which is quite expensive for copper. Right now the scrap price of bare copper is almost $2.50 a pound.

From American Bonsai you can get 0.62 lb of 14-gauge wire for $20, so if my math is right that’s around $28 a pound. That’s still expensive but less than the Amazon seller.

Jewelry wire is wound tighter and provided in shorter lengths. Both of those attributes are less useful for bonsai purposes.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

Thanks.
I didn't do the math as to the price per lb.
I do need some of the thinner gauges as I'm working on some juvenile Shimp's and Procumbens.

I did find this on a jewelry site.

"Some ways to ‘work harden’ your metal include tumbling it with steel shot, hammering or pounding it with a rubber mallet against a steel bench block, twisting the wire, pulling it through a drawing plate or even pulling it through a polishing cloth. In fact, simply working with the wire and the process of wrapping or coiling it will tend to harden it up a bit as well."

Buck

 

[Adair M]

The only way to determine if it’s “dead soft” is to buy some and try it. But, seeing as it’s shiny, I bet it’s not. And, the coils are tight. Just unwinding the wire off the spook will begin to work harden it. On the really small gauges, 18, 20, and 22, that doesn’t matter as much. (18 it does!)

I hardly ever use anything smaller than 18.

The gauges you NEED range from 8 to 18. It’s nice to have some 4 and 6 around, but again, I usually don’t need anything that heavy.

When I order wire, I order twice as much 14, 16, and 18 as I do 8, 10, and 12. I actually use more 16 than anything.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

I ordered a roll of 14, 16 & 18. Don't see any need for anything finer. (I forgot to check American Bonsai first!!)

I strip and anneal my own 6, 8 & 12. (Only need to strip the 12) I get the 6 from an electrician buddy.

I'll let you know if it is a true "dead soft" when I get it. If it is, the unrolling my be a benefit as it may start the hardening.

When I anneal my own, it doesn't get as soft as I would like. (I'll wait for the comments from the peanut gallery on that one!!)

Buck

 

[Adair M]

I ordered a roll of 14, 16 & 18. Don't see any need for anything finer. (I forgot to check American Bonsai first!!)

I strip and anneal my own 6, 8 & 12. (Only need to strip the 12) I get the 6 from an electrician buddy.

I'll let you know if it is a true "dead soft" when I get it. If it is, the unrolling my be a benefit as it may start the hardening.

When I anneal my own, it doesn't get as soft as I would like. (I'll wait for the comments from the peanut gallery on that one!!)

Buck

Having it start to work harden as you unroll it is NOT a benefit! Just the opposite! Have wire as soft as possible as you apply it is best.

Spiraling it on the branch work hardens it enough to hold. Any minor adjustments you make after you apply it hardens it a bit more.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

But don't we already start the hardening process as we uncoil the wire?

I understand that the spools I ordered are smaller that the large coils we get elsewhere, but with minimal handling it should minimize the hardening.

Buck

 

[Adair M]

But don't we already start the hardening process as we uncoil the wire?

I understand that the spools I ordered are smaller that the large coils we get elsewhere, but with minimal handling it should minimize the hardening.

Buck

Yes, but when I remove wire from the coil, I try to manipulate it as little as possible. It’s still an arc of wire when I put it into the tree to start to coil the branches.

Many people will straighten the wire out as the first thing they do when they cut a piece off the coil. I don’t.





I wouldn’t be able to wire like this with anything other than the softest wire possible.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

Understood.
If remember, you mentioned in the a previous post, you said that many people will straighten the wire prior to appilcation. That's a no-no, as you've begun the hardening process.
I've watched numerous videos where the poster straightens the wire before wiring and I try to minimize that!
Thanks for the input!
Buck

 

[Adair M]

Understood.
If remember, you mentioned in the a previous post, you said that many people will straighten the wire prior to appilcation. That's a no-no, as you've begun the hardening process.
I've watched numerous videos where the poster straightens the wire before wiring and I try to minimize that!
Thanks for the input!
Buck

I’ve watched many people do it. They do it unconsciously. When I’ve pointed it out to them they say, oops! You’re right!

My actual procedure is when I’m measuring get out the wire, I’ll measure from the anchor point out to where I’ll end the wire. Add a bit to the length, then bend the wire over in half. Then Cr it off the roll about where the end intersects the roll. I always wire two branches together, so the bend is put right at the anchor point, and then I wire one end a couple turns, then do the other all the way out to the end, then go back and finish the first branch. Hardly any waste, minimal measuring, minimal manipulating the wire prior to application.

 

[sparklemotion]

When I anneal my own, it doesn't get as soft as I would like. (I'll wait for the comments from the peanut gallery on that one!!)

What's your process for annealing? $10 says you're not getting all of the wire hot enough for long enough. I think I posted a rant at some point about how annealing wire is really not all that difficult....

As an (amateur) jeweler, I can say with confidence that what jewelers consider to be "dead soft" copper is significantly stiffer than bonsai folks appreciate.

 

[sparklemotion]

I think I posted a rant at some point about how annealing wire is really not all that difficult....

LOL... Found it: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/copper-wire.29955/post-499653

That post even involved a spreadsheet to manage my background research.