Jewelry Wire Sizes
For Chain Maille
A jewelry wire table covering the main sizes used in chain maille weaving.
Gold, platinum, sterling silver, argentium silver, brass, bronze jewelry wire is now available for turning into rings.
Aluminium and titanium, copper and niobium (non allergenic) are also available in a wide range of anodized or colored rings.
Wire comes in different shapes and sizes (gauges), ranging from round to triangular, square to half round.
Traditionally
round wire has been used to produce the rings for chain maille;
however, there are now rings on the market using square, diamond,
twisted and half round shapes to great effect.
Non round wire requires the use of special mandrels and cutting jigs.
The chart below sets out the wire gauges used in the US and UK including
metric measurements, the higher the gauge the thinner the wire.
| AWG
in. |
AWG
mm |
Gauge |
SWG
in. |
SWG
mm |
| 0.102 |
2.59 |
10 |
0.128 |
3.25 |
| 0.091 |
2.31 |
11 |
0.116 |
2.95 |
| 0.081 |
2.06 |
12 |
0.104 |
2.64 |
| 0.072 |
1.83 |
13 |
0.092 |
2.34 |
| 0.064 |
1.63 |
14 |
0.080 |
2.03 |
| 0.057 |
1.45 |
15 |
0.072 |
1.83 |
| 0.051 |
1.30 |
16 |
0.064 |
1.63 |
| 0.045 |
1.14 |
17 |
0.056 |
1.42 |
| 0.040 |
1.02 |
18 |
0.048 |
1.22 |
| 0.036 |
0.914 |
19 |
0.040 |
1.02 |
| 0.032 |
0.813 |
20 |
0.036 |
0.914 |
| 0.029 |
0.737 |
21 |
0.032 |
0.813 |
| 0.025 |
0.635 |
22 |
0.028 |
0.711 |
| 0.023 |
0.584 |
23 |
0.024 |
0.610 |
| 0.020 |
0.508 |
24 |
0.022 |
0.559 |
| 0.018 |
0.457 |
25 |
0.020 |
0.508 |
| 0.016 |
0.406 |
26 |
0.018 |
0.457 |
Dead soft, soft, half-hard and hard are the four types of wire available for gold, silver and copper wire.
Half-hard wire is preferred when making rings as it
hardens nicely during tumbling and holds its shape when worked.
Soft wire is not really suitable for coiling and cutting as it will not retain its shape.
Fourteen gauge wire and below is thick enough to be used soft and hardened in the tumbler when cut.
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