[JoyceinNC]

There are 2 kinds of wire hangers available in my area - the plain wire ones from the dry cleaners, and the coated ones located in the closet supply area of stores like WalMart. It looks to me like the tutorial used the coated wire hangers. Would the bare wire ones from the dry cleaners rust?

This is great to know, thanks for sharing the link!

 

[JoyceinNC]

Steel rusts. Coatings to prevent rusting are fragile, as proven by the rust stain caused by a 'rust-resistant' T-pin used in my only blocking to date.

By all means make your own blocking wires, but be wise and buy stainless steel welding rods; they're not expensive if all you want is a handful. Going the super-cheap route could risk rust stains on your knits. I have never had any luck in removing rust stains.

Besides, wire hangers aren't nearly as flexible as fine gauge stainless steel welding rods!

Good luck!

I've done a few jewelry items with coated jewelry wire and have found the coatings to be very fragile when working with pliers and hammers. I wonder if this would be the case with coated wire hangers? Past attempts to straighten wire hangers haven't worked too well, maybe I just didn't use the right tools. (Or maybe I'm not strong enough to wrestle with the wire?)

Not sure what store around me would have the stainless steel welding rods, will have to check. I don't usually hang out at hardware or building supply stores, so it may take some time to find these. Sounds like it would be worth the trouble, though.

Question- many wire products are available in different gauges/thicknesses. Is this true of welding rods? If so, what size would be the best for blocking wires?

 

[JoyceinNC]

Wire hangers are hard to bend; machines bend them into their familiar shape.

I searched online for a welding shop, phoned up to make sure I could actually buy a handful of stainless steel welding rods, and went to get them. What they actually are is the material that's melted to join pieces of stainless steel - think commercial kitchen counters and such.

Yes, they come in various thicknesses. You want something thin and flexible; I just used a needle gauge to measure mine - they fit loosely in the US size zero/2 mm hole. Be aware that you'll need to clean them - soap and water - and you'll need to file and/or sand the ends; they'll be sharp and jagged when you get them. I took my handful of rods to the nearby hardware store where I bought a piece of white plumbing tube and two end-caps to use as a storage container for them. Should have seen the faces of the guys when I told them what I wanted and what for!! Priceless!!

Thanks Jessica-Jean- I'm going to make myself a note of this, along with your comment about being 40" long. I would have LOVED being in that hardware store when you bought the plastic storage tube! I got some strange looks when I bought silicone lubricant in a hardware store for my knitting machine, bet that was nothing compared to the reaction you got! And now, the steampunk fans are raiding hardware stores for their components. Poor hardware guys..... What is the world coming to?