Stiff, straight wire similar to LED legs

Question

I'm planning on building another LED cube. I've built ones before using tinned 0.6mm copper wire which looked OK, however the wire bent easily and was never quite straight in the first place.

I spent a long time searching for some sort of stiff, straight wire to use for the structure of the cube, however couldn't find anything suitable (somewhere around 1mm in diameter and at least 250mm long). I realise this may be off topic, but is there a specific type of wire I can find that is pre-straightened and (shiny) silver in colour, that's solderable using conventional methods?

The type of wire I'm looking for is similar to LED leads like this (but stiffer):

enter image description here

The makers of the Hypnocube suggest using 22 AWG straightened galvanized soft steel wire in their build instructions, however long searches on the internet and eBay revealed nothing.

@Kaz paperclips are neither straight nor long enough (when bent out) for my purpose — Bojangles, Nov 02 '13 at 09:26
Ora garden store; gardeners and flower arrangers use this sort of wire to hold plants in position — , Nov 02 '13 at 12:39

jippie · Answer 1 · 2013-11-02T16:29:37.550

The other ones are answering about selecting wire, allow me to explain how to straighten a wire. It is very simple once you know how it is done.

Start of with a long piece of stiff wire, it is probably supplied from a roll;
Attach the wire to something solid near the ground, for example a central heating pipe. Make sure you can pull and turn it without the wire actually moving at that end. As near to the ground because you don't want to bend the wire once you're done by having to lay it down on the floor.
Take as much wire of the roll as you can possible straighten in the room, leave couple meters room to move yourself around;
Put the loose end of the wire in an electric drill, make sure it is tight enough so you can pull the drill backwards;
Run the electric drill low'ish rpm, while slightly pulling the wire, twisting the wire along its length;
You'll notice the wire will get somewhat longer and nice and straight;
Stop the electric drill once you are happy with the straightened wire;
Cut pieces at the required length from the straightened wire ...

I have no experience with steel wire, but it works wonders with 2.5mm² coppper (as in a home electric installation) and at work we used to do it up to 1 cm² for lightning rod installations, but we used a somewhat more powerful drill for that.

@IgnacioVazquez-Abrams Twisting the wire along its length. I've clarified my answer with your input. — jippie, Nov 02 '13 at 16:30

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 17 '14 at 13:37

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Have you considered silver wire? http://www.artbeads.com/wire-and-chain-sterling-wire.html 18 gauge is about 1mm. Straighten as @jippie says and cut to length. Silver solders better than steel and is stiffer than copper.

answered Sep 17 '14 at 13:37

JRE

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 01 '13 at 23:33

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Try picking up some galvanized steel wire at a hardware or craft store.

19 gauge galvanized steel wire

You can get it in different gauges (this is 19 gauge, somewhat thicker than LED leads).

19 gauge steel wire soldered

It's pliable enough to work without tools, but stiff enough to hold its shape. I use it for various projects, usually making tiny skeletons for small props, but it's conductive and works well for electrical uses, too.

It is somewhat more difficult to solder to, primarily because of the extra mass. A little flux helps, but rosin core solder is all you really need.

To match LED leads I'd probably get something between 22 and 26 gauge.

answered Nov 01 '13 at 23:33

JYelton

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26 gauge wire can be picked up in a craft store, in the jewelery section. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Nov 02 '13 at 01:32
I have found items like this on eBay, however in my question I explained that I needed straight wire (or rod, I guess) – Bojangles Nov 02 '13 at 09:28
@Bojangles: Anything thinner than a metal coat hanger will get bent in transit and require straightening regardless, since most metal is amorphous. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Nov 02 '13 at 15:52
... since most metal is malleable. :-) – Anindo Ghosh Nov 02 '13 at 19:26
@IgnacioVazquez-Abrams You can buy straight lengths of wire (stainless steel, Nitonol, Aluminum, spring steel)- they come in a tube so they stay straight, but AFAIK nothing commonly available is solderable, unfortunately. – Spehro Pefhany Sep 17 '14 at 14:19

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 17 '14 at 13:18

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Are tinned music wire shafts as used in lure making solderable? They should be if it's really tin. They sell them on eBay pre straightened in 0.045 inch by 13 inch. I think they are spring steel and will bounce back if they are ever bent.

answered Sep 17 '14 at 13:18

EternityForest

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Stiff, straight wire similar to LED legs

4 Answers4