Where to find fine-gauge wire? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: pcee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 03:35:49 pm
content: I’m looking for a little bit of solid core insulated wire in a variety of small sizes: 32 awg, 34 awg, maybe 30 and 36 as well. All the fine hookup wire I’ve found at digikey and mouser are 100ft spools at $90 each. I don’t really need that much of each, and I certainly don’t want to spend $300 just to have an assortment of small sizes on hand.Where could I find something cheaper? Is there any drawback to getting enameled magnet wire? That seems to be cheaper, and pretty widely available.Finally, am I asking for trouble getting things like this and 22 awg spools at Amazon?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 03:49:05 pm
content: Just an idea: go to a local wrecker yard and find an old-fashioned car ignition coil. The enameled wire on the secondary is really fine and relatively easy to unwind. Can't cost more than a dollar or two.

author: MarkF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 03:55:22 pm
content: I use solid 30AWG wire wrap wire in various colors.Looks like approx $15.00 for 100ft spool.Digikey has various gauges (24AWG, 26AWG, 28AWG 30AWG) at first glance.https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/wire-wrap/470?s=N4IgjCBcoOw1oDGUBmBDANgZwKYBoQB7KAbRADYYAmADgBYQBdAgBwBcoQBlNgJwEsAdgHMQAXwIBaCNBDJI6bPiKkQdAAxMJISVQRyofAK7LikMgFYtUq7PmLcBM2SoBOLdr3mQAd368cAAIfXjQWYP8cLSA

author: pcee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 04:19:12 pm
content: What’s the difference between wire-wrap wire and hookup wire? Is wire-wrap wire insulated?Edit: I’m also looking for finer than 30.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 04:33:06 pm
content: Search Google and Amazon and other places forKynarwire in various gauges.30 AWG is pretty small fine wire but it can be pretty useful. It doesn’t need to be / should’t be overly expensive.Generally everything except the the wrapped wire ends is insulated.Buying wire of almost any gauge on Amazon should be fine if you know what you are looking for. Hook up is a pretty generic term for wire that might be stranded or solid, and insulated or non insulated; wire wrap wire will generally refer to relatively fine solid insulated wire that properly installed with a wire wrap tool will be flexible enough and strong enough to be wrapped snuggly on a wire wrap pin. The tool that is used to make a wire wrap needs to be sized for the AWG of the wire that is being wrapped. These tools might range from AWG 20-30 or maybe somewhat beyond/outside this range. 30 AWG makes a pretty impressive wire wrap connection on a pin that is about the diameter of a leg on a 5mm LED.If you haven’t studied wire wrapping check it out; it’s an older but pretty interesting neat and sometimes useful technique for attaching wires to pins to make hard wired point to point connections and circuits. Watch YouTube about manual and gun wrapping tools and techniques. eBay can be a good source for some related tools and supplies.Once you get the wire, tools, and technique dialed in this can lead to a branch of TEA in which OCD can compel you to look for things that need to be or could potentially be wire wrapped.Edit: worth a look:https://jonard.com/search?keys=Kynarhttps://jonard.com/search?keys=Wire%20wrap

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 05:26:01 pm
content: Quote from: pcee on October 02, 2021, 04:19:12 pmWire-wrap wire is not insulated. I believe what you are looking for is "magnet wire." eBay has tons of them at very low prices. See the link below:https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=magnet+wire&_sacat=0

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 05:31:53 pm
content: There’s always room for interpretation and exceptions but…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrapWire wrap is an electronic component assembly technique that was invented to wire telephone crossbar switches, and later adapted to construct electronic circuit boards. Electronic components mounted on an insulating board are interconnected by lengths ofinsulated wirerun between their terminals, with the connections made by wrapping several turns of uninsulated sections of the wire around a component lead or a socket pin.Edit: In any event we probably need to hear more from pcee about the intended use of the wire....

author: MarkF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 07:46:10 pm
content: Quote from: andy3055 on October 02, 2021, 05:26:01 pmWire wrap wire IS insulated.What you liked to is magnetic wire, which has an enamel coating.The insulation on wire-wrap wire is very thin. Not near as thick as typical hookup wire.Here are some wire wrap examples:

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 08:21:40 pm
content: Quote from: pcee on October 02, 2021, 03:35:49 pmI've found a lot of old Centronics parallel printer cables at thrift stores (like Goodwill in the US) for cheap. That'll give you a couple of dozen different color schemes of 6 ft each to work with.

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 09:45:20 pm
content: I stand corrected. What I meant to say is that wire-wrap wire used in interconnecting, is stripped off the insulation to do the wrap. As mentioned by others, magnet wire has a very thin layer of insulation.So, it all depends on what you are trying to do. Either of them should be available on eBay in small quantities.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 10:35:25 pm
content: Kynar

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2021, 11:21:45 pm
content: Have you used parametric search on sites like Digi-Key? You should be able to order the listings by size. At some point though the wire is going to be expensive simply due to the lack of demand. Try different approaches to culling as sometime a vendors idea of what something is or is suitable for. I often run into this issue when searching for parts online.In otherwords don’t assume that everything a vendor has will come up in a search the way you expect it to. That is one reason why vendors often have a button to report database error and other issues. It is pretty easy to find error on even the big vendors sites. It can be in the simple description, technical specs or someplace else.

author: pcee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 12:40:10 am
content: I have tried parametric search, but they always forced me into choosing a category before gauge, so my searches kept turning up overpriced hookup wire.It sounds like wire-wrap or kynar is good down to about 30 awg, and magnet wire for anything finer.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 01:00:42 am
content: Amazon sells something called BNTECHGO Magnet Wire in various lengths with gauges as small as 38 AWG. Don't know about how it performs but it's reasonably priced and available in small quantities.Looking forward to hearing what wire you settle on and what you are building.

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 01:47:57 am
content: When you get to the hook up wire page on Digikey go down to the price tab and pick lowest to highest . There they have it sold by the metre . Unfortunately it's strandedhttps://www.remingtonindustries.com/They don't have the gauge your looking for in PTFE but they do in enamelled Magnet wire.https://www.micronmeters.com/category/miniature-wire-and-cable-32-34-36-awghas stranded hook up wire in the gauge your looking for .If your not opposed to over seas suppliershttps://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/cu_enam.htmlThese people are pretty good when you have a question.Honestly I have never seen solid hook up wire that small 32AWG and 34AWG . 30AWG is the smallest .

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 05:19:54 am
content: May be this?https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=Kynar+Wrapping+Wire&_sacat=0

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 07:30:50 am
content: Quote from: andy3055 on October 03, 2021, 05:19:54 amThat’s a lot of choices for Kynar wire.

author: Capernicus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2021, 04:47:43 pm
content: skinny wire is cheaper, and its better for your resistors to be skinnier, so win win there.But it gets fiddlier and fiddlier to use, thats the problem.