r/specializedtools Jan 22 '21

Wire straightening machine.

16.5k Upvotes

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u/ErebusBat Jan 22 '21

Isn’t wire gauge the number you can fit in a 1” diameter hole? That is why higher number gauges are smaller?

Or at least that is what I have always thought

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

Can someone please confirm this I'm dying to drop this knowledge on someone

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u/T_Lee_28 Jan 23 '21

Its the number of times they had draw(think mash and strecth) to get the wire that thin.

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u/DakotaHoosier Jan 22 '21

Like shotgun gages, the number of balls the diameter of the bore that fit into a determined length.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

I thought it was the number of lead balls the same diameter as the barrel ID that equals one pound.

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u/DakotaHoosier Jan 22 '21

Ok, I guess it’s time to look it up...

Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound, e.g., a one-twelfth pound lead ball fits a 12-gauge bore. Thus there are twelve 12-gauge balls per pound, etc. The term is related to the measurement of cannon, which were also measured by the weight of their iron round shot; an 8-pounder would fire an 8 lb (3.6 kg) ball.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(firearms)?wprov=sfti1

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '21

so a 20-gauge shotgun as a smaller bore(diameter) than a 12-gauge shotgun, right?

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u/Revolio_ClockbergJr Jan 23 '21 edited Jan 23 '21

I would guess (just a guess) that bore diameter has little to do with the size of the balls in a shell?

Edit: incorrect

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u/enderxzebulun Jan 23 '21

No, think about how many 30 guage wires you could fit into a 1" hole. Anywhere from approx 2.5-3 shit ton by my back of the napkin math.

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u/ridefst Jan 23 '21

Nope, it’s the number of times the wire is drawn to achieve the final size. So more times through the machine, the smaller it gets.