Aluminum wire

I have a friend who is allergic to most metals. She asked me if
I could wire wrap a stone using aluminum wire. Are many people
allergic to aluminum? How does it hold up, as far as strength,
etc.? What about copper? Are allergies to copper common? Thanks!
Elena

Instead of aluminum, have your friend try niobium. I have had
friends with fierce metal allergies, and niobium was okay. It
also comes in many colors. I think Rio Grande carries it; also,
try metallurgica.

How does it hold up, as far as strength,
etc.? What about copper? Are allergies to copper common? Thanks!
Elena

Elena, Have you concidered wraping with an 18ga niobium?
Niobium is very hypoalergenic, and should be workable for wire
wraping. Niobium is Avalable from: Reactive Metals Studio,Inc.
P.O. box 890 Clarkdale, Az 86324 Phone# 1-800-876-3434. 18ga
niobium costs about $1.08 per foot. If Im not mistaken, a lot of
aluminum products are alloys, and your friend could have a
reactiion to the other metals in the alloy. I don’t know a lot
about copper allergies, but It has a tendency to turn green when
exposed to moisture, and swet. I do know that it breakes down to
quickly and should never be used as an earing post, or body
jewlery.

Isaac

Good idea! Niobium is an interesting looking metal. Thanks, Elena

A very good suggestion- and it is available from Bill Seeley at
Reactive Metal Studio in AZ. He sells earwires and hoops in
various colors as well.

Rick Hamilton
Richard D Hamilton, Jr.
@rick_hamilton

In a message dated 97-02-14 13:05:11 EST, you write:

<< How does it hold up, as far as strength,

etc.? What about copper? Are allergies to copper common? Thanks!
Elena

Elena, Have you concidered wraping with an 18ga niobium? Niobium
is very hypoalergenic, and should be workable for wire wraping.
Niobium is Avalable from: Reactive Metals Studio,Inc. P.O. box
890 Clarkdale, Az 86324 Phone# 1-800-876-3434. 18ga niobium
costs about $1.08 per foot. If Im not mistaken, a lot of
aluminum products are alloys, and your friend could have a
reactiion to the other metals in the alloy. I don’t know a lot
about copper allergies, but It has a tendency to turn green
when exposed to moisture, and swet. I do know that it breakes
down to quickly and should never be used as an earing post, or
body jewlery.

Isaac

" not allergic to trillium . . ."

Could your friend be talking about titanium? Titanium is
another hypoalergenic metal like niobium, and is also avalable
from reactive metal studios. Neither metal can be soldered, but
thier are still lots of potental usess for them. R.M.S. sells
ear wires in both niobium and titanium with a wide range of color
choices that are very good for people with metal allergeys. They
also sell a wide variety of findings that I have found usfull.

Isaac

Isaac, thank you for the Since, I don’t wire-wrap,
I don’t see this metal to be very useful. But, at least I know
what to say when I’m told about it! <G!>

Once again, Thank you for the info!!!

WEll, Al wire is brittle and breaks easily. For color and
fexibilty, use magnet wire, also known as colored copper wire.
All the advantages of copper, but coated so the wearer won’t
react. I wire wrap with this stuff all the time. The wire is
coated for engineering purposes and is strong, usually doesn’t
crack off unless the coating job was done poorly (and you would
notice this very quickly.)

-ieva swanson

Hanuman
The Ganoksin Project

This material sounds interesting, do you know where I can
purchase it? Thanks! Elena

IS> WEll, Al wire is brittle and breaks easily.
IS> -ieva swanson

G’day Ieva; Aluminium wire breaks easily because, like any
other metal, it has been work-hardened by having been drawn into
wire and has not then been annealed. If one were to heat the
wire (you’d have to be very careful about it, and use a small
kiln, not a torch) to a temperature about 100C below it’s melting
point and hold it there for a short while, the wire would become
very soft and very bendable after cooling. In about 1948 I
needed aluminium wire for a certain piece of scientific
equipment, and just after the war everything was hard to get. So
I cut a very narrow strip from aluminium sheet, and drew it into
wire using a die I made for the purpose, then re-annealed by
heating it and it was very soft indeed. So soft I made it into a
fine coil by wrapping it around a 26gauge steel wire held in a
lathe. Cheers, –

        /\
       / /    John Burgess, 
      / /
     / //\    @John_Burgess2
    / / \ \
   / (___) \
  (_________)