AWG vs. Music Wire Size

[Don Gilmore]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Hi Julia:

Wire gauges can be confusing as hell.  Most wire in industry is =
designated with AWG (American Wire Gauge, also known as Brown & Sharpe =
Gauge).  This is used for electrical wire as well as steel wire.  =
Different sources will tell you that the American steel industry is =
switching, or has switched, to the "U.S. Steel Wire Gauge" system and =
electrical wire is switching to decimal diameter, but when you order =
wire, all you seem to ever see is AWG.  There are also obsolete gauge =
systems like Birmingham Gauge and Stub's Gauge, but you rarely encounter =
them.  In the UK, they have other systems.

Music wire has its own gauge system (don't ask me why) and it always =
has.  McMaster-Carr is just dumbing it down for your average boob by =
calling it out in AWG.  It is a common engineering material and is not =
used only for piano strings.  It is basically an extremely high tensile =
strength, high carbon steel wire.  It is used extensively in the =
manufacture of springs.  In fact, most ordinary springs are available =
only in music wire or stainless steel.=20

The only thing that I can guess that might be different between music =
wire from Schaff and music wire from McMaster-Carr is the finish.  Wire =
is produced by drawing (pulling it through a hole) and different =
finishes can be accomplished by how this is done and by treatment after =
drawing.  There are "bright" finishes, "matte" finishes, "soap drawn" =
finishes, etc.  I'm not sure if these finishes would have any effect on =
the sound of the string...it doesn't seem like they would.  And for all =
I know they have the same finish anyway.  The biggest problem I can see =
with using the industrial wire is that it isn't usually available in =
half-gauges.=20

Don A. Gilmore
Mechanical Engineer
Kansas City



----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Alpha88x@aol.com=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 8:41 AM
  Subject: AWG vs. Music Wire Size


  greetings,

                When I look in a McMaster Carr catalog I see that .031 =
diameter wire (ASTM A228 spring carbon steel wire which the catalog =
refers to as music wire) is 20AWG. However, in the Schaff catalog .031 =
diameter is size 13. Why are music wire sizes different from AWG?

                 Is it just that Piano supply houses want to confuse us =
tuners into purchasing their wire at nearly three times the price or =
what? Has anyone ever ordered wire from another (cheaper) source than =
the piano supply houses?


  rookie,
  Julia Gottchall,
  Reading, PA 
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/ce/21/ed/42/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--