Things You'll Need:
- Brown & Sharpe wire gauge (also called American wire gauge)
- non-ferrous sheet metal (sterling silver, fine silver, argentium silver, gold filled, copper, brass, 14kt gold, 18kt gold, 22kt gold sheet)
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Step 1
Gather your tools and materials. You will need a wire gauge. The Brown & Sharpe gauge (aka the American wire gauge) was developed in 1857 as a standardized system to measure the diameter of round, solid, nonferrous wire in order to ensure the electrical current-carrying capacity of wire. In the jewelry industry, the B&S standard is used to measure all shapes of wire and sheet stock (including sterling silver, fine silver, argentium silver, 14kt gold, 22kt gold, gold filled, brass, copper, nickel silver or other raw materials).
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Step 2
The tool is quite easy to use. Insert the sheet metal into the slot that is the size of the width of the sheet. The metal should slide in so that the it fits snug but not tight. In this picture, the mystery gold sheet is determined to be 21 gauge.
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Step 3
Check to be sure your have measured correctly. The tool will measure width ranging from 0 to 30 gauge. Although it is counter-intuitive, using the B&S scale, O is the largest, thickest sheet metal. 30 is the smallest, thinnest sheet metal.
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Step 4
Verify that the metal you measured is appropriate for your intended use. Most jewelry applications for sheet metal range between 24 gauge and 16 gauge. 22 and 24 gauge sheet metal is light and desirable for earrings. 18 and 16 gauge metal is heavier and suitable cuff bracelets and jewelry that needs to be more durable.
Comments
jenniferrealtor said
on 4/22/2009 excellent information, thanks