Super Deal On Copper Wire for Making Polymer Clay Jewelry Findings

Don't bother with Menards. I went there yesterday, and they had some 24 gauge copper wire (100 feet for $8) but nothing else! I was surprised. Maybe it's just this store, but it's a pretty poor selection there. I'll try Lowe's the next time.

Unable to get to any stores this weekend. The roads have been shut down due to the storm which is supposed to last all weekend. Maybe I'll just stay in and try and play with my jewelry. Or renovate. Whatever.

In what department of Home Depot was this wire located? The store is so large I can get into a lot of trouble hanging out at Home Depot. LOL!

I found the wire in the small hardware area where they have picture wire. Right at the end of the row. You could probably ask customer service to look it up on the computer if you can't find it.

Wow aims, snowed in already! Sounds cozy to me!

Hubby works for HD and believe me I send him hunting all the times for deals to bring home for me !

Lowe's is another great place to get copper wire – they also carry coated copper wire which I've used for some wire art projects. If you ever need gold filled or sterling wire, I can direct you to my sources. Over the past several years as a wire artist I have researched and have found the best wires at the best prices. I'm working backwards from many of you. I started with wire – toot my horn: I've even won some awards for my work – and just now (since hubby died) I have started working with polymer clay and it is a natural with the wire work. I'm looking forward to learning more and more as I watch Cindy's great videos. Isn't she a fantastic teacher?!!!!

Wire, wire! Don't forget my earlier post where I told you about making friends with the "local" electrician. They have all kinds of wire they just throw away. They might be pieces 4-5" or several feet long. "Cuttings" from wiring a house or something! Offer to clean the job site for in exchange for keeping the wire! It works!

Thank you girls for the great comments!

@Tina: That sure would be nice to have your husband work there. Would be very handy!

@Carolyn: Thank you, you are so sweet! I would love to see some pictures of your polymer clay wire work sometime.

@Brenda: That is such an excellent idea! Wish I knew some electricians. My only source so far has been my parents, Doug's parents and my brother who have all done some small electrical jobs around the house. Would be great to get wire in a variety of sizes, but I am grateful for what they have given me!

Check out Brandywine Jewelry Supply online. Their prices are very reasonable and you can get different gauges as well as square, round, soft half-hard copper wire. They also have silver, aluminum & brass.

For color coated copper wire go to Paramount Wire on the web. They have great colors in all sizes. They are my #1 source for color coated copper wire. Besides using this wire to make wire wrapped jewelry, I also use it to make my own colored jump rings. I plan to use this colored wire to coordinate with the primary colors in my lentil beads to make pendants. I'm new to polymer clay but have been making wire jewelry and gift items for several years – even won some awards.

After my husband died in April, I thought my creativity died with him. Then I was introduced to polymer clay and I'm off and running again. Cindy's videos are helping me so much in learning this new art form. Thanks, Cindy, for your inspiration!

I"ve been using copper wire recently which I bought thru Rio Grande. My Lowes has a very limited supply, but I will check Home Depot. I love to oxidize my copper with liver of sulphur. You don't get the range of color with copper that you get with sterling silver, but with a light hand, it's very pretty.

Menards in Burlington, Iowa doesn't have any wire either. Nearest Home Depot 2 hrs away and I will be there this weekend YES.

Hey Cindy I wanted to tell you that I went to Home Depot to get some copper wire and they do not sell it any longer in the small spool (as you showed) , anymore. I will have to try Lowe's or Hobby Lobby now. Walmart did not even carry it, and this is the Super Walmart too! I can also try Ace Hardware they may carry it. Anywho I just thought I would tell you about that . Lynn Watts

Sorry about that Cindy, I live in Knoxville,Tennessee. The guy said they used to sell it but they stopped. I looked in the picture isle as well, then ask the employee and that is when I found out . They had the BIG spools of copper wire for houses and things of that nature, but not the small stuff. If I can not find it in my area, I will just look online. Thanks Lynn Watts

Rio Grande is an online jewelry supply company. I don't think their prices are unreasonable although probably more than a hardware store. I usually like to order enough to control shipping costs. I also bought some copper chain thru them. I live in Indianapolis, In & the only copper I found at my local Lowes in a heavier gauge was coated. I have weak, arthritic hands, so prefer to buy wire ready to use.

I went to the Home Depot in Rutland, VT. It's a bit smaller than other HD's I've been to, so they don't always have the same stock as the stores in more heavily-populated areas.

Anyway, I went looking for 14 gage copper wire and could only find it with the black plastic coating. It was so cheap (20 cents/foot) that I bought 3 feet to see how hard it would be to remove the plastic with hubby's wire stripper tool. It's a lot of work, which I wouldn't mind doing in front of the TV, but every time I use the tool to score the plastic I end up nicking the copper. I tried using a larger gage on the tool, but it wouldn't score the plastic. Does anyone have a tip for this?

I also got some uncovered, twisted copper wire at 32 cents/foot. I'm not sure of the size of the individual strands or how many there are, but the final product is 18 gage. It's really very pretty and it would make a nice bezel, but I think you'd have to bury the ends in the clay or they would untwist. I suppose if you wanted to use it for a clasp or other finding you could use crimp beads on it.

An excellent and very reasonable wire company on the web is parawire.com – they have tarnish resistant copper as well as every color of the rainbow in all sorts of sizes. I really think they are even cheaper than buying copper wire at a hardware type store. I'd highly recommend the coated wire – doesn't tarnish. I've used it for years with excellent results. I've made colored jump rings from their wire and have won a couple awards for my work with them – as well as these bracelets and necklaces being sold in a local jewelry store. I have also used various parawire wires for wrapping stones that I have found while out rock hunting – and for sand dollars that I found on the Pacific coast. Do check out this site. I am in no way connected with them except for being a satisfied customer. They also have tarnish resistant copper core sterling wire that is fabulous.

I've been pretty lucky finding wire in Home Depot, West Palm Beach, Fl. It looks like the wire Cindy is showing. Its in the solder dept. and the picture hanging wire dept. of the store. I bought 2 rolls of copper wire. One is very hard and strong and the other one is thicker but softer. The other one is silver colored. I had a beautiful blackish colored one but I had to bring it back because it kept breaking. I also like buying chains and I take the links apart to put in pendants. I have them in black, gold tone and silver. I wasn't so lucky with the O-rings or washers. for the extruder flower canes. I have every size I could find in the store but none of them worked. Too bad for the extruder flower cane. Hope this helps someone………Honey

@Lynn: Copper wire is easy to find online. You probably will have to get it there, if you can't find it in your local hardware store.

@Rose: Thanks for the resource. That is very helpful!

@Linda K: The problem with using wire strippers for removing the plastic from the wire, is that it is meant to help electricians who could care less if there were nicks in the wire. The better way to do it if you're using the wire for jewelry, is to use an Exacto knife. If you don't know how to do that, I have posted a free video on stripping wire in another post. Click the link by my name.

@carolyn: Thank you too for the resource! The more options for finding wire, the better!

@Helen: Thanks for the info. It does help! Too bad about the o-rings. If I find a source online, then I will let you know.

@Cindy: Thanks for the link to the video. I knew I had seen it somewhere, but couldn't remember where! I'll try that out today.

@Carolyn: Thank you for the website to the wire supplier. I've got it in my favorites and will use it when I'm ready to buy in bulk. How do their colored wires hold up to your tools? I've had some colored wire from the craft store that lost it's coating as soon as I touched it with a tool, even with the gentlest touch.

@Helen Sperring: Yes, I wanted to go to the picture hanging department, but I ran out of time that day. I'm going to town today, so I'll be sure to check it out. I lived just outside of Boston all my life and retired to Vermont four years ago–I'm still trying to get used to the challenges of trying to shop in a rural setting :)

@Linda K.: The only color that I have ever had to treat gently is blue. All the other colors (and I have the full spectrum) have held up to being wound on mandrels, cut with a jewelers saw, and being formed with pliers. I've used this wire for several years and have never had a complaint from anyone who purchased one of my pieces, be it a pendant, necklace or bracelet. I do have one silver link bracelet that I have worn day and night for about six years. Just recently I noticed that the silver is starting to wear off and the underlying copper is showing. But I'd say with six years of 24/7 wear it is very durable.

BTW: When using colored wires, 'paint' the cut ends with a matching colored marker, unless the ends will be hidden as they are with jump rings. You don't want that copper showing on the finished piece. This would work if there is an occasional mar on the wire, too.

If you are having trouble with working colored wire, use some of that fine sandpaper around the edges of your pliers. Make sure they are just slightly rounded on the edges. I have wonderful pliers (Lindstrom) and still I check and sand them periodically.

@Linda K. beadsandbeading.com/blog/super-deal-copper-wire-making-polymer-clay-jewelry-findings/7038/#comment-29046

Ooops! Sorry for my previous comment!

@carolyn: Thanks for the tool tips, but I am soooo jealous of your Lindstom pliers. I've had them in my "shopping cart" for over a year now at Fire Mountain. I'm on disability, so my dream tools are going to have to wait. I figure food & housing are more important. (But, oh, to have those pliers–especially a pair of the bent-chain nose…Okay, better stop, starting to drool.)

@Linda K.: (Jan. 5 comment), I also purchase that multiple-strand, twisted copper wire (18 gauge, or so.) I haven't used it yet, but thought it was very pretty. I had been searching my local Riverside, CA Home Depot–aisle by aisle, in the store-provided motorized cart. After over an hour with no luck, I was determined to buy SOMETHING! So, I bought the pretty, twisted copper…

I also ended up finding some steel wire in a couple of gauges (can always use,) and a few feet of their thinnest steel cable (about 16-18 gauge.) I haven't tried using the cable yet, either. But I think it would look great strung with a couple of masculine, (as in "non-dainty,") polymer clay beads.

Thanks everyone, for the great tips for buying wire online! Still, if anyone finds a place I can buy cheap in Riverside/Southern Calif., I would love to hear about it!

Thank you, Cindy, for this wonderful community you've built! I just love being able to access all of this fantastic information, not only from you but from other really helpful people, as well!

I guess no one has "come around" this page lately. I'm hoping to find some local anodized (black) steel wire — I was only able to find the galvanized kind at Home Depot. Anyone have any luck finding the "black" steel anywhere in the Inland Empire, or even Southern California? If not, I guess I'll have to just place another order online. (It's silly, but shipping charges REALLY bother me.) I'm also still looking for a good "local" deal on copper (like Cindy shows at the top of the page.)

Hi carolyn, I went to check out Parawire, and boy, do they have a lot of wire. That non-tarnish silver-coated sounds wonderful. The prices look really good, too. But I couldn't find pricing/ordering info on the "black" annealed steel wire; it's on a different part of the site. Am I overlooking something? Or do I just have to deal with them by email to get pricing? In your dealings with them, do they charge much for shipping? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me! You are awesome, Carolyn!

@Phaedrakat: I have dealt with them thru email and via phone. Nice guys! I guess I didn't think their shipping was unreasonable (considering the weight of wires I've bought) or I would not have done business with them. I, too, think twice – or three times – about the shipping costs before placing a web order. I also try to get everything I might need (want) from a web company all at one time – this does save on shipping costs. Then when I think I've got it all down, I wait a day or two and think about it before actually placing the order.

@carolyn: Smart strategy! I'm going to have to use it. I love the "safety wait" you do before ordering (helps to stay away from impulse buys.) Thanks for telling me about these guys & letting me know they're good to deal with. I'll email and get some pricing information and go from there! Thanks again!

Color coated copper wire tip: The cut ends always show the underlying copper. Dabbing the ends with a same color marker makes that copper disappear. I use Pentel Color Pens. This was brought back to my mind as I did the color coated copper wire wrapping on the calla lily set that I just posted (under What's New) on my website. It's also on my blog in case you might want to comment on it … dovedesigns.blogspot[dot]com.

@carolyn: Hi Carolyn, I took a look at your Calla Lily set – very beautiful! Great tip about using a color marker/paint pen, etc to hide the copper insides of colored wire. When you create something beautiful, it's important to make sure all the little details are completely finished. This is a very good way to do that! Thanks! BTW, I love all the pretty things cropping up over at your blog…

@Phaedrakat: Thanks! It is kind of like a Spring Garden on my Dove Designs blog, isn't it! And here I sit in mounds of snow. There's almost 2 feet of snow on my roof – sure hope some of that melts off before we get another storm. And the ice at the eaves is 6-8" thick. That's a lot of weight on the roof. No wonder I think of Spring Gardens – it is much more pleasant!