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| Gauges and Tempers |
| When ordering your wire you will find that there are many different sizes as well as tempers of wire. The gauge will determine the circumference of the wire you are purcasing. The temper will determine the flexibility of the wire. which is very important and also has a large effect on the end results of your design. The smaller the gauge the larger the wire. When making delicate jewelry you should probably stay between 18 gauge, and 24 gauge. The more popular sizes are 20 gauge, and 22 gauge. The temper comes in three categories. * Dead soft Which is really to soft to make rings out of. * Half hard which is the popular wire, it is also very versatile. Can make almost anything. *Then there is Hard which is just what it says it is , to hard to form anything. From time to time you may find a company that says they sell 3/4 hard. You would like to stay away from that as well. It is also to hard to shape. |