Mugi Shop - Piano Wire / Music Wire

Piano Wire / Music Wire

Piano wire/music wire/spring steel wire in an extensive range of gauges from 9/32" thick down to 0.015" or 28SWG. All high carbon content steel, hardened by being drawn in straight lengths. Thinner wires need careful handling to avoid kinking. Use suitable tools for cutting and filing otherwise they will quickly blunt. Cut thicker gauges using a hacksaw with quality, special blades. File/grind a groove first to prevent the blade wandering. Avoid snapping otherwise the metal will stress at that point. Only work the wire cold, preferably round a mandrel rather than the vice jaws. Using a proper wire spring bending tool is the best way, with radius pulley, pegs and torque bar. Otherwise use a metal sacrificial block (an old spanner or chisel) and directly hammer that in stages - avoid  hammering the wire itself since this leads to local fatigue failure. If you must soften, then heat up with a blowlamp but bear in mind the temper is then lost. The wire won't soft solder, use high quality silver solder-see:http://www.wrcs.org.au/articles/31.htm

This hard drawn piano wire, music wire in the USA or sometimes called spring steel wire, can only be sent out to you by either of two postal options: 

1) WPS option in a 'Toblerone' triangular wrap of our black twinwall. The wires travel dead straight and full length at the normal Royal Mail Standard Parcel rate. Gauges thicker than 14SWG greatly resist bending so this option is mandatory. Please check the triangular package on delivery in case of transit damage. Preferably opening at the white banded end, being careful as often we place any thinner wires down inside the flutes to prevent flailing. If storing, use this useful trangular package, perhaps tape it in a wardrobe back corner out of the way until needed. To inhibit corrosion please draw the wire through an oiled cloth. Add a drop of oil at the wire top end and store, cellotaping the wrapping end to exclude air (and moisture). The triangular 'toblerone' package is pictured in the Twinwall section of the site.

2) WPC  'Wallet' packaged - The second and cheaper option, is to post wires in a wallet at  Packet postal rate. It works for all wire gauges <16SWG as these thinner wires bow easily. We pack the wires laid flat in  a sandwich 'Wallet' of our black twinwall. A postal maximum size of 600x400x7mm but frequently smaller. Thin wires will even coil satisfactorily, thus reducing the liklihood of postal bending. All the thinner wire gauges easily cope wrapped this way, springing back straight when unwrapped immediately after delivery. 

Please bear in mind that the steel wire will corrode in air so it has a thin oily film as sent. It may need degreasing for average use and will most certainly need protecting subsequently. Light and fine sanding will bring back the natural metal sheen; necessary before gluing, or painting perhaps.

SWG is Standard Wire Gauge  AWG is American Wire Gauge.

High quality brass collets for some of our wire gauges  are highlighted * below-please look further down this Piano Wire section of the Products List. Wheels thus held are elegantly secured. A range of white plastic wheel clamps for wire are in the Miscellaneous section.

Piano wire we currently stock is shown below; bold script shows the actual (ordering) size, listed thickest at the top, down to our thinnest. Ring or email should the stock show zero or numbers are insufficient for your needs. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

The inches gauge music wire shown above is similarly hard drawn and supplied by the famous K & S Engineering of Chicago, Illinois. Weight is in grams and it comes in yard (36") lengths (914mm) like our other wires.          

All wire is priced in the respective sizes above and per unit length.

When it comes to choosing your packaging type on the shipping page - either straight lengths (UK only) or gently coiled/curved (International), add other shop items if you wish, bearing in mind the shape and sizes. Obvious examples are carbon fibre rod (bowed) and control snakes. Clevises, adjusters, clamps etc. Carbon fibre tubing won't bend and can only travel in the straight wrapping style. Email or ring if uncertain.

Code Description Price Add to basket WPS YOU MUST SELECT EITHER...straight length option £0.75 WPC OR...Curved length option £0.95 9/32 Wire 9/32 in (0.282in) £6.19 1/4 Wire 1/4 in (0.25in) £4.15 4SWG Wire 4SWG (0.232in) £3.25 7/32 Wire 7/32in (0.219in) £3.55 6SWG Wire 6SWG (0.192in) * £2.75 3/16 Wire 3/16in (0.187in) £2.59 8SWG Wire 8SWG (0.16in) * £2.55 5/32 Wire 5/32nd (0.156in) £1.86 10SWG Wire 10SWG (0.128in) * £1.83 1/8 Wire 1/8th (0.125in) £1.31 12SWG Wire 12SWG (0.104in) * £0.97 3/32 Wire 3/32nd (0.094in) £1.16 14SWG Wire 14SWG (0.08in) * £0.81 0.078 Wire 12AWG (0.078in) £0.82 16SWG Wire 16SWG (0.064in) * £0.66 0.062 Wire 14AWG (0.062in)1/16 £0.72 0.055 Wire 17AWG (0.055in) £0.65 18SWG Wire 18SWG (0.048) £0.50 0.047 Wire (0.047in) £0.57 0.039 Wire 19SWG (0.039in) £0.52 20SWG Wire 20SWG (0.036)19AWG £0.50 1/32 Wire 20 AWG (0.032in)1/32 £0.46 22SWG Wire 22SWG (0.028in) £0.56 0.025 Wire 22AWG (0.025in) £0.64 24SWG Wire 24 SWG (0.023in) £0.60 0.020 Wire 25 SWG (0.020in) £0.40 0.015 Wire 28 SWG (0.015in) £0.34