I purchased this roll of wire yesterday for $5.00. As you can see by the tag it is 20 gauge, solid copper wire and 500' long. Sounds perfect for wiring bonsai to me, and the cost was certainly right. Maybe someone has had experience with this type of situation. I know I will have to get rid of the plastic framework and the rubber used to enclose the wire. I think I can carefully cut/remove the plastic frame from the wire, but then we have the rubber on the wire. Suggestions appreciated.
NEED HELP WITH COPPER WIRE PLS
- Thread starter August44
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Colorado
Masterpiece
20 gauge is very small. I don’t use it much, personally.
Looks like it’s going to be a ton of work to get the plastic off, so just wanted to raise that issue before you go to all that work!
I’ve never tried annealing my own wire, so can’t offer any help on the substance of your post.
Looks like it’s going to be a ton of work to get the plastic off, so just wanted to raise that issue before you go to all that work!
I’ve never tried annealing my own wire, so can’t offer any help on the substance of your post.
Casey Clancy
Seedling
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I’m extremely curious to know how this turns out, although, traditional annealed copper wire does have its benefits. Please give an update 
Nybonsai12
Masterpiece
you running an outlet into one of your trees? 
gonna be a bitch stripping that wire off long lengths. prob not so bad for shorter lengths. but it's still not annealed, curious if it will matter much.
gonna be a bitch stripping that wire off long lengths. prob not so bad for shorter lengths. but it's still not annealed, curious if it will matter much.
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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This. 20 gauge wire is the smallest gauge that I use and fairly infrequently at that. Couple that with all the extra work involved makes it much less of an appealing bargain purchase in my eyes. I suppose you could use it for wiring out smaller branches on deciduous trees, and the outer sheathing will help protect the bark from being damaged… Just a thought.
Maiden69
Masterpiece
I concur with the above. 20 awg is very small. If you are short on your budget, the only wire I would buy like that would be aluminum wire kits in Amazon. I used to buy raw wire and I repurpose a big propane burner to anneal it. In the end because of the minimum quantities I bought the price and time I had to invest wasn't worth it.
Also, @Colorado hit a very important point with removing the jacket of that wire, if this is not telephone wire the jacket is probably not going to come off easily.
I bought the Mirai starter pack, which includes all the gauges they sell from 6-18. I did a comparison with a few other sellers and Mirai's price for the entire kit was the cheapest option. You could find a few gauges that were cheaper elsewhere, but not as a kit.
Also, @Colorado hit a very important point with removing the jacket of that wire, if this is not telephone wire the jacket is probably not going to come off easily.
I bought the Mirai starter pack, which includes all the gauges they sell from 6-18. I did a comparison with a few other sellers and Mirai's price for the entire kit was the cheapest option. You could find a few gauges that were cheaper elsewhere, but not as a kit.
Copper Wire
Wiring is one of the most essential techniques a bonsai artist can perfect, and the quality of the wire itself is tantamount to success. At Mirai, we've spent years developing and honing a wire product we're proud to offer to our students and practitioners looking to elevate their practice. In...
goods.bonsaimirai.com
roberthu
Chumono
Don't you still have to anneal it before use so it holds shape better? Stripping the wire, then annealing it is probably going to cost you much more than just buy something ready to use...
Maiden69
Masterpiece
no, the annealing makes it softer to work with. It will still work hardens as it is manipulated.
roberthu
Chumono
But won't the stripping process work harden the wire? Maybe I am over thinking this...
crab apple
Shohin
Just use it as is. Its just for the little easy stuff anyways.
shimbrypaku
Shohin
I use small gauge wire for guy wires to the box or Anderson flat. And a small fish tank air line to prevent cutting into the branch.
But as others have stated, 20 gage is small.
My go to is 16 gage wire for small trees tie down and guy wires.
Thanks
But as others have stated, 20 gage is small.
My go to is 16 gage wire for small trees tie down and guy wires.
Thanks
Apex37
Chumono
Maybe a vinegar or alcohol soak to get some of the excess rubber/stickiness off? Either way, it’ll have to be annealed afterwards. Time is money.
There might be cheaper options out there, but I’ve looked around and the cheapest place I could find to get annealed copper wire for us in the hobby is from Jeremiah McKinney, who took over making copper wire from Julian Adams. I felt the intro special was a great deal.
There might be cheaper options out there, but I’ve looked around and the cheapest place I could find to get annealed copper wire for us in the hobby is from Jeremiah McKinney, who took over making copper wire from Julian Adams. I felt the intro special was a great deal.
Shogun610
Masterpiece
There are other wire sources than Mirai.I concur with the above. 20 awg is very small. If you are short on your budget, the only wire I would buy like that would be aluminum wire kits in Amazon. I used to buy raw wire and I repurpose a big propane burner to anneal it. In the end because of the minimum quantities I bought the price and time I had to invest wasn't worth it.
Also, @Colorado hit a very important point with removing the jacket of that wire, if this is not telephone wire the jacket is probably not going to come off easily.
I bought the Mirai starter pack, which includes all the gauges they sell from 6-18. I did a comparison with a few other sellers and Mirai's price for the entire kit was the cheapest option. You could find a few gauges that were cheaper elsewhere, but not as a kit.
Copper Wire
Wiring is one of the most essential techniques a bonsai artist can perfect, and the quality of the wire itself is tantamount to success. At Mirai, we've spent years developing and honing a wire product we're proud to offer to our students and practitioners looking to elevate their practice. In...goods.bonsaimirai.com
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Yes, you are overthinking it. Stripping won't work harden it to the point it is useless... it is super thin to begin with. I wouldn't even bother removing the coating, just use as is.
Shogun610
Masterpiece
Maiden69
Masterpiece
Yes, like I said above I research the price of Adam-McKinney, Julian, Jim Gretel to name a few. There were certain sizes that were cheaper than Mirai, but when put together at the same length that Mirai sells, their kit was cheaper. Talking around $10-15, but to me enough to make the choice.
$235 for Mirai
6 Gauge - 35'
8 Gauge - 50'
10 Gauge - 83'
12 Gauge - 125'
14 Gauge- 125'
16 Gauge - 125'
18 Gauge - 125'
$102 for Adams-McKinney
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Up date...plastic frame removed pretty easy, and I have made several rolls of the wire with rubber on and will see if it burns off easily. If it doesn't, trash can it will be. Why was I thinking that 20 Gu was one size bigger than 18 Gu?
NateDyk47
Shohin
I've bought Mirai wire, and haven't noticed a difference in quality vs. other sources (grain of salt: I'm not very experienced, I may be missing something).I bought the Mirai starter pack, which includes all the gauges they sell from 6-18. I did a comparison with a few other sellers and Mirai's price for the entire kit was the cheapest option. You could find a few gauges that were cheaper elsewhere, but not as a kit.
Copper Wire
Wiring is one of the most essential techniques a bonsai artist can perfect, and the quality of the wire itself is tantamount to success. At Mirai, we've spent years developing and honing a wire product we're proud to offer to our students and practitioners looking to elevate their practice. In...goods.bonsaimirai.com
Adams Bonsai also has a starter kit for only $80. The rolls are different lengths and it's 8-20 gauge instead of 6-18, but if you really want 6 you can get a roll for another $25. The Adans price per foot is cheaper for all gauges than Mirai; some are close but Mirai is over double for a couple gauges.
pandacular
Masterpiece
I’ve heard that the work hardening makes it more challenging to apply copper as if you mess it up, it’s challenging to redo. At what point should a beginner step up to copper for their conifers?
shimbrypaku
Shohin
Properly annealed copper wire is very easy to apply.
