Flat Wire Basics

There is more to flat wire than meets the eye. There are many parameters to understand, and if you don't know them all, you may not get your wire!

I assumed (always a risky thing to do) that I would have to make do with some stock wire size that was within a few thousandths of the desired size. What I didn't know was that there are very few stock sizes, none of which suited my needs; this is because it would be absurd for a manufacturer to have thousands of different kinds of wire sitting around. Most flat wire is made to order.

For starters, there are many different materials used for flat wire: steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, nickel, phosphor bronze and more, plus multiple alloys of each. There are different hardnesses one can specify for each metal as well, resulting in countless combinations.

		Square
		Rounded
		Full Rounded
		Natural

Then there's the matter of the wire's edges. Flat wire can be made with four different edge shapes as the application demands: square, rounded, full rounded or natural. The different edge styles affect the cost because of the different manufacturing techniques used to make them.

For me, the easiest parameter was the dimension. I knew in advance I wanted it to be 0.015 by 0.025. Next, I had to specify the metal. Commercial model track is universally described as "nickel-silver," but this is a misnomer, as there is usually no silver in it. So I knew I wanted nickel, but I then had to choose the hardness. I took a wild guess and chose half-hard. As it happens, I probably should have gone with hard, as the wire I have now is too easily bent, and it can be quickly worn down with an abrasive track cleaner.

The edge spec I selected was "natural," mostly because of cost. It's the most economical shape because it doesn't require any further work after the round wire is rolled. Fortunately it also provides an advantage for track: railheads that are slightly rounded tend to provide better electrical continuity than flat railheads, as counterintuitive as this sounds. Anyway, if square worked better, some firm rubbing with an abrasive block after it's laid would do the trick.

So, how did I come to choose Radcliff Wire? Out of about a dozen custom wire manufacturers I contacted, they were the only ones willing to fill a small order for an individual. An unfortunate fact of life is that most manufacturers prefer formal POs from businesses that know exactly what they need and are looking to spend thousands of dollars; they are disinclined or ill-equipped to hand-hold a novice through the selection and ordering process, because we are often deer in the headlights when it comes to specifying what we need, and we usually need so little that it's not worth the extra cost of helping us.

It was an interesting experience, in retrospect. I thought for a while I wasn't going to be able to get my Code 25 rail stock. But thanks to the patience of the staff at Radcliff wire, I have something that I believe is unique in the modeling world.

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