# Ideas for straightening coiled .006" Stainless Music wire ???



## gunsmither (Oct 18, 2021)

Anybody have an idea how to straighten out coiled up fine stainless music wire? I've seen a lot of wire straightening devices on UTube, but nothing for very fine wire.

I want to make the wire straight for some small gun cleaning brushes I want to make once again. I've made them in the past, but the wire was always a bit crooked do to it being coiled up. I'd like to straighten it out in 6' to 10' lengths, 50 pcs. in a bundle. Each brush uses about 4" of bristle inside a 5/32" brass tube, and the bristles are renewable by pulling out some new bristles when buggered up to renew them after cutting off the frizzled ends. Each 4" piece has one end soldered to go into the tube, then the tube is crimped to form the brush end, and finished off on a fine belt sander to deburr.

Must be a way to do it. Any ideas most appreciated. Joe


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## francist (Oct 18, 2021)

I’m thinking (or possibly just imagining) that wire is straightened by drawing through dies. Okay, but 0.006” is a pretty small die so that won’t work. But then I wondered about two blocks of Delrin or similar lightly clamped together. The wire might or should cut its own groove in short order but still provide enough drag to straighten the wire? If you have lots it’d be cheap enough to give it a try…

-frank


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## woodchucker (Oct 18, 2021)

I wonder if you can just make your own jig.
create a sleeve with a fine groove to go over 3 ball bearings..
put the ball bearings on a plate 2 low 1 high, to draw it through.. maybe that would straighten it.
or maybe more, make it like this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...1252644160024&utm_content=GSAPI+5ba2978eae099


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## KyleG (Oct 19, 2021)

I’m not sure if it works on music wire, but we used to straighten steel wire by clamping one end in a vise and twisting it with a drill.


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## Aukai (Oct 19, 2021)

Try a section, and rolling it between 2 hard surfaces, if you can get it straight enough for that. See if you can reverse the curve a little first by pulling it across a ledge.


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## Lo-Fi (Oct 19, 2021)

Put one end in the vise, grab the other solidly with vise locks and give it many short, sharp tugs, the harder the better. It'll be straight after that.


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## Liljoebrshooter (Oct 19, 2021)

You are going to run stainless steel wire down a rifle barrel?
Joe


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## T Bredehoft (Oct 19, 2021)

Lo-Fi said:


> Put one end in the vise, grab the other solidly with vise locks and give it many short, sharp tugs, the harder the better. It'll be straight after that.


I had to straighten some .047 wire, (not music wire), I'd take an 8' length, clamp one end in a vise fixed to a bench, and tighten a free (unattached vice to the other and yank the two vises apart. It worked a charm.

I subsequently made a five roll straightener, it's the devil to adjust, wants to put a different curve in the wire.  But now wire that had a 24 in diameter coil now has about a 6 foot coil. I can't seem to adjust it beyond that.


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## Asm109 (Oct 19, 2021)

you need a wire straightener.  https://www.durantco.com/quick-adjust-e-serieswire-straighteners.php


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## dbb-the-bruce (Oct 19, 2021)

Rolling between two plates is the classic simple way to accomplish this. Works great as long as you can get the wire to roll and not slide. Also may not work so well on really springy wire. I've done with run of the mill stainless and it worked fine. Could be tedious if you have a lot of wire. If you need long straight pieces would also be a pain.


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## RJSakowski (Oct 19, 2021)

Music wire is hardened.  In order to straighten it, it has to be bent past its elastic limit in the opposite direction of the curve.  In the videos that I have seen for straightening spring steel wire, it is drawn through a series of rollers which gradually work the bends out. Here is an example. 




Simply stretching or twisting wire to straighten it works wit h annealed wire but not spring tempered wire


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## Bob Korves (Oct 19, 2021)

Like RJ said above, you have to bend the hardened wire in the opposite direction of the existing curve.  Start with bending it in the opposite direction to a curve equal to the current bend, and see what happens.  Good luck with it, I have tried it and the wire wants to move in sideways directions and it turns into a spiral strand.  If it could be contained between two parallel steel plates so that it barely clears the gap before bending it, I think that may be the correct way to reverse the bend.  I have no experience in containing it between plates while reverse bending it.  If you try it, let us know how it works for you...


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## markba633csi (Oct 19, 2021)

String it up on a guitar, strum for a while then take it off- that might work
-Mark


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## pontiac428 (Oct 19, 2021)

Pull it through a series of alternating rollers made from cheap v-grooved cartridge bearings.  A piece of angle iron would make a good frame that you can fix in a vise.  The final roller should be height adjustable via a slot or a screw to dial it in so the wire comes off straight.  See also conduit straightener; tubing straightener.


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## C-Bag (Oct 19, 2021)

I know this is going to sound weird, but that wire will stretch, and when it does it will be straight. If I was going to do that I’d make an adjustable frame with a screw adjuster(about 2’ at a time) pull it until it makes a tone. Let it loose and see if that was enough, if not a little tighter and recheck. Once you find that tone it stretches and set straight just rinse and repeat. You can get an electronic tuner for you phone so you can just tune to that frequency it straightened at and you’re good to go.

Id not try really long lengths with that thin of wire as it might break before it hits the proper tone from the extra weight.


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## gunsmither (Oct 20, 2021)

Liljoebrshooter said:


> You are going to run stainless steel wire down a rifle barrel?
> Joe


No, these are for cleaning gunk off the inside of receivers, frames, bolts. The fine wire loosens crud with a little solvent. One end of the tool I used to make was a small wire brush, and the other end was a scraper, with different style scraping edges. They worked great, but I quit making them due to the curvy wire.


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## gunsmither (Oct 20, 2021)

Asm109 said:


> you need a wire straightener.  https://www.durantco.com/quick-adjust-e-serieswire-straighteners.php


Thanks for that link Asm109. Their small unit says it go from .052" dia. down. Thought of making a unit like that after watching Utube vids,
but it seems like a lot of work.

Thanks to all you fellows for the ideas, much appreciated! Joe


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## jmkasunich (Oct 20, 2021)

Lo-Fi said:


> Put one end in the vise, grab the other solidly with vise locks and give it many short, sharp tugs, the harder the better. It'll be straight after that.


This.  The key is to pull it just to the point that it yields.  When it does, it will lose all memory of the previous bend.  The trick might be hitting the narrow zone between "yield" and "break".  For more ductile metals like copper and mild steel wire the stretch method works perfectly - you can usually feel it yield, and when you let go it just drops to the floor with no trace of twist.

In my experience, it isn't the number of tugs that matters.  One pull that just reaches the yield strength of the wire will do it.  With 0.006" wire the yield strength is only a few pounds.  But holding onto the wire at the ends without forming a weak spot where it breaks before the rest yields is the trick.


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## Bi11Hudson (Oct 22, 2021)

As a rule, I usually work with larger wire, .015-.025. But it is music wire. When I need a piece straightened, I clamp it up between two clamps, under tension, and rub it with a dowel. Tighten it up and do it again. The idea is to put it under tension and do a reverse bend. I usually do it until satisfactory for what I'm doing. It may or may not get sufficient for using where you have in mind. Models have a little give in dimensions, guns not so much so.

.


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