[IBC] Fwd: Re: [IBC] Copper Wire

Kitsune Miko

> You can buy bare copper wire at places like Home
> Depot
> and detemper it yourself. Copper does not need to
> be
> heated too high in temp to achieve this. My son the
> metal worker says to put it on the driveway and heat
> with a torch until it starts getting red. You can
> let
> it cool or you can quench. The jeweler friend says
> quench the son says not necessary. (quencing is
> quick
> cooling in water. I thnk it would excite the wire
> too
> much, excited copper wire gets hard quickly (did I
> really say THAT?))
>
> I have used the smaller gauge wires straight from
> the
> hardware store even though I have been told it is
> impossible to do. (I didn't know any better) I find
> the wire work hardens as I apply it to the tree.
> Not
> easy to change once it is on.
>
> I still prefer the aluminum on trees that one has to
> wire many times, like maples and elms. On stubborn
> trees like atlas cedar, I have used the copper.
>
> Kitsune Miko
>
> --- James Harris <jamesth@MED.UMICH.EDU> wrote:
> > Can anyone recommend a good source for copper wire
> > that I can order
> > on-line. All of my local bosai suppliers only
> carry
> > the annodized
> > aluminum.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Jim H.
> > Zone 6, S.E. Michigan
> >
> >
>
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>
>
> =====
> "I was born with a birth defect-- no herd instinct."
> Brenda Ueland
>


=====
"I was born with a birth defect-- no herd instinct."
Brenda Ueland

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Advertisement

dalecochoy

I certainly recommend getting your annealed copper wire from Julian Adams.
Excellent stuff at great prices that make it not worth doing yourself, but,
if you must.....
see below

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kitsune Miko" <kits@PACBELL.NET>
Subject: [IBC] Fwd: Re: [IBC] Copper Wire


> > You can buy bare copper wire at places like Home
> > Depot
> > and detemper it yourself. Copper does not need to
> > be
> > heated too high in temp to achieve this. My son the
> > metal worker says to put it on the driveway and heat
> > with a torch until it starts getting red.

No, don't do this. It takes forever and you can't get it even. Some places
annealed, some not and some melted!
Do it in your barbecue, at night, so you can see the color as it heats.

You can
> > let
> > it cool or you can quench. The jeweler friend says
> > quench the son says not necessary.

When I did my own I always quenched it. Had nothing to do with hardening,
tempering, etc, but it cleans the wire instantly when it hits the water so
you don't get black crud all over you when handling. Use tongs to drop in a
bucket and a quick "phsst!" and the dirt is gone!


(quencing is
> > quick
> > cooling in water. I thnk it would excite the wire
> > too
> > much, excited copper wire gets hard quickly (did I
> > really say THAT?))

No, this does not effect copper wire. It is not like heating and quenching
steel for tempering. It won't effect it, but it will be clean and still
annealed.


I find
> > the wire work hardens as I apply it to the tree.
> > Not
> > easy to change once it is on.

That is the point of using it!

Regards,
Dale

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++