determining wire size

[GailC]

So far I've been using cheap hardware store wire on my little trees but I'm ready now to order some proper wire and I'm not sure what sizes I should start with? and what is good for 3/4"- 1" pine branches?
I was looking at 6mm for the pine and a set of 1mm, 1.5mm and 2mm for everything else.

 

[Cypress187]

You should be able to 'push' the branch away with a piece of wire, if the wire bends instead of the branch it's too thin.

 

[GailC]

I know that already. I need help determining what sizes to buy right now. I can't afford to get all the sizes at once and I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of too small wire.

 

[music~maker]

I know that already. I need help determining what sizes to buy right now. I can't afford to get all the sizes at once and I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of too small wire.

1mm is really thin. I probably use that size for guy wires more than anything else.

I use everything in the 1.0-6.0mm range pretty commonly, but I'll say the 2.0-4.0mm range is probably my most-used range for general-purpose wiring. I seem to use 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5mm a lot. Maybe start with 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 and you'll get a good sense for where you could have used thicker or thinner wire. You can always double up wires if what you have isn't quite thick enough.

Eventually you'll definitely want a complete set of at least 1.0 - 6.0mm. It sucks having to use the wrong size wire for the job.

 

[petegreg]

If you're talking about aluminum wire, 1mm is good for wiring juniper foliage pads... but still good enough for young pine branches and new deci branches.

 

[GailC]

Thank you, this helps

 

[Adair M]

Gail,

If you are doing a pine, you should be using copper, not aluminum.

Copper is sold in gauges, not metric.

Julian Adams sells a nice starter set of copper at a reasonable price. A little bit of all sizes. And you will need all sizes.

Www.adamsbonsai.com

 

[0soyoung]

As I recall, @GailC, a rule of thumb is that:

• Copper wire thickness (sold by American wire gauge: AWG) should be about one-quarter to one-third the thickness of the branch thickness.
  • Copper wire for bonsai has been annealed, unlike hardware store stuff.
• Aluminum needs to be thicker (sold in millimeter thicknesses, but different from hardware store stuff only in the surface coloring), like one-third to one-half the branch thickness.

 

[jquast]

Gail,

If you are doing a pine, you should be using copper, not aluminum.

Copper is sold in gauges, not metric.

Julian Adams sells a nice starter set of copper at a reasonable price. A little bit of all sizes. And you will need all sizes.

Www.adamsbonsai.com

I bought from Julian a few years ago and was very happy with the wire, it was easy to bend and held its shape very well. Just put some on a Cali Juniper that I worked on with Peter Tea last month and it worked great.

 

[sorce]

That starter set sounds good.

Then just buy more of what you need more of.

Not to mention it is said to be great wire.

I wouldn't trust many other places...or people, for wire suggestions.

It is WAY too important!

Sorce

 

[Paradox]

I agree with everyone. Julian Adams' starter set is a great way to get started in wiring. Youll get to see and work with some different sizes and be able to learn what you need for what.

Just send him an email with what you want and ask how to arrange for payment.
His prices are reasonable. I have gotten wire from him in the past and it is very good stuff.

 

[Adair M]

If you haven't already seen this, you should;

Go to www.craftsy.com, and watch Colin Lewis's tutorial on wiring. It's free once you register. Search for bonsai.

He discusses wire sizes and copper vs aluminum.