Question: Fusewire?

Bill,

It's not copper but seems to have a bit of lead or tin in it, as it is greyish silver and thin (about 0.010-0.015") but stil holds bends and kinks. I use it for odd applications on armored vehicles.

Someone like Ace Hardware may carry it. Can't recall where I picked up a spool of it.

Cookie Sewell

in article snipped-for-privacy@starpower.net, William H. Shuey at snipped-for-privacy@starpower.net wrote on 6/25/04 3:40 PM:

I wonder if anyone has tried "bead" wire that is sold at arts/crafts shops for stringing beads. The wire is soft, some shiny, and seems to come in various gauges. I haven't seen "fuse-wire" in years. I do use some of the small diameters of solder and "non-lead" wire from fly-fishing shops.

MB

How thick, or thin, do you want? For something on the "thin" side, a nice wire to work with.....is Christmas Tree Ornament Hooks!! It is fairly soft, but does hold its shape pretty well.

I use Michael's Art stuff wire( they got a whole wall of it) at least here in Delaware, for all kinds of special looking effects. Some of it even carries electricty!! Be Care Full :)) Mike IPMS

In fact, Future is available over here but under different names in different countries (thanks to FSM for a Klear article on that point) so maybe like a lot of things, the name is just different from that which we use over this side of the Atlantic?

GO SMALLTALK

David Pennington - snipped-for-privacy@totallyobjects.com

Dave:

I don't think the European fusewire is available over here. I suspect the American electrical codes decided that replaceable fuse links are not "Idiot Proof" enough for the Insurance Company lawyers and we got away from them long ago. As a retired electrical engineer I have some experience in that arena. :-( As for Future, I understand one of the mail order hobby shops (Meteor Productions?) is now re-packaging it as a hobby product and making it available by mail order. The "Klear" and "Klar" products may not be quite the same thing. I understand there are some pretty stiff environmental regulations on chemical imports in parts of Europe that may impact Future, either through the packaging or the chemical content.

Bill Shuey

Beading wire works fine for the uses attributed to fuse wire. It bends easily, and doesn't seem to corrode or oxidize. Comes in a variety of thicknesses. I bought a coil at Woolworth's for a about a buck 15 years ago, and it's still going strong. You can also find coils of brass wire in the bead department. For thicker wire, you can get straight lengths of floral wire in any store that carries floral arranging supplies, which include craft stores and (in the US) Walmart. Several thicknesses are available. Very handy if you need straight metal rod, as straightening wire that was packaged as a coil can be awkward. It is usually finished in a green enamel, making a primer coat unnecessary. GPO

Yeah! Here it was plug in fuses-they look like the base of a lamp bulb and came in various amp ratings. Now it's breaker panels and fuses are only used in industrial equipment. I haven't seen a fuse with replaceable elements in years. It's called progress.

Bill Shuey

Quit picking on the Eskimos. ;-)

WmB

To reply, get the HECK out of there snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net

My house was new-built with circuit breakers, and when the installers aded air conditioning 18 months ago, they added another circuit to the board, but they also added a 15 amp plug-in fuse for the furnace power in the furnace enclosure--I guess it's a case of belt-and-suspenders, or maybe the command circuit takes a higher amperage and they're using the fuse to guarantee a stepped-down limit. Either way, the really persnickety code officer passed it (and I'm glad he was the picky sort, given that I don't want an electrical fire).

Mark Schynert

Cartridge type fuses are code required for most HVAC stuff. Check your AC/heatpump cutoff box, chances are there are two fuses in it (one for each leg of the 220/240 VAC circuit). IIRC the fuses near or in the "appliance" has something to do with the motor start loads......it's been 27 years since I knew that stuff.

Hi all, I don't think we hav the fuse wire here in The Netherlands, but I've been using the copper wire from electric motors for quite a while now and it is very bendable, you don't really have to anneal it. As you probably know different motors provide different diameters of wire. Try dismantling/breaking open old disc drives / floppy drives.

just a thought

Dennis Loep The Glueing Dutchman

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny ...'" Isaac Asimov

Excellent idea! Whenever something around here breaks I take it apart and scavenge any usefull bits.

hth

The Keeper (of too much crap)

I used to work in an industrial maintenace shop where we did all sorts of electrical wiring and repairs ,I collected lots of copper wire of all diamemters and stripped off the insulation. some of the computer cable wires ahve strands so fine thewy can be used for aerial wires on aircraft models . Talk to your friendly nieghbour hood electrician and scrounge his off cuts . Old computer monitors are a good source for really fine copper wire , just find the little relays and break them open and get the spools out of them , best thing is the wire comes on its own roll too . I also use electronics solder it comes in a variety of diameters ,but try to get the stuff with out the resin or acid flux . Fuse wire I buy from Tandy here in Australia .Its a tinned copper wire .

Bluey