Kinky wire woes

I have heard that if you roll the wire between two hard surfaces, like pieces of glass, you can straighten it.

Try taking two sets of pliers and *pulling* the wire apart (like a tug-o-war) before you install it on the model. If you sorta 'jerk' the pliers and pull hard, it will straighten the wire right out. Then, cut to size and install.

M.

JCarlberg is correct, you can straighten out your wire by rolling it on a hard surface. I use a 5" x 7" sheet of glass and roll a smooth X-Acto knife blade (without the blade inserted) along the length of the wire. You may have to turn the wire a couple of times in order to get it straight. I've been using this method for years on various gauges of wire; believe I read about it in FSM.
Dick McC

I bought a package of 50 pieces of straight floral wire (18" length) for only
$1.19 at a craft store. You might want to consider that.

unfortunately they still kink when cut.

Guitar string works great!

thread, and when u take appart answering machines, theres some sppools of wire. thats the stuff.

Here's a couple of things that have worked for me.

Find something heavy (but not too heavy!) that the wire can easily be tied to. Tie it up and tie the other end around something else, like a nail driven into a joist in the basement or something similar, and let it drop a small distance a few times. (make sure you've tied both ends securely! LOL) Then let it hang freely.

Most wires will straighten out after awhile, some may not. Depends on the type of wire, but that floral stuff is tuff, if it's the same as what my Mom uses.

For a really tuff kink, you can do the roller method someone mentioned above and you can try straightening it out with needle-nosed pliers. Put one end in a vise and tighten it down real good-like. (wrap something around the wire so it's not flattened) Then bend the kink out with a needle-noser. Using a combination of things may work if only one method does not. Again, depends on what kind of wire it is. Steel wire can be a pup, most others are usually agreeable.

Hope you get "straightened out".

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