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Source for Vintage/Antique Cloth Covered Wire

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39zep

Wore out three sets of tires already!
Looking for a source. I need antique/vintage cloth covered wire.
20g Stranded. White/ off White/ sometimes called putty colored,
sometimes has black, blue or gold colored tracers through the sides of the wire. Any help, greatly appreciated.
Please be safe. Many thanks!
Jeff G
 
These guys have a nice selection of cloth covered stranded wire, but the only bummer is, that it’s 22awg, so it’s a little thinner that what we need.
It would be great, if some kind of arrangement could be made to get some 20 gauge made.
1168346


I’ve used this wire before, and though not ideal, it works well.
The one thing I did like about it, is that it’s easier to get into tight spaces, and the sheath pulls back for soldering, then slides back up when your done, for a nice clean look.
The problem with the automotive suppliers, is that 18g is the smallest they typically have, and it’s still just a tad too thick for our needs.
The vintage guitar and radio circuit is where you’ll most likely find what we’re looking for.
I bought some from Fender awhile back, but I’m out of that now.
 
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Rhode Island Wiring has it. Any gauge, every color. Cloth outside with pvc inside.

I'll have to check RI website again but I ordered a few years ago and while the selection was great the smallest I could get was 18ga. which is a little thicker than stock but looks pretty good. V/r Shawn
 
Yeah, there’s lots of cloth wire available, but you find it in 20 gauge, and you get the cigar.
18g don’t cut it!
 
Thanks everyone. I appreciate your time. I went to the Rhode island website. Looked like smallest size was 18g. I did pick up some 20g white with orange tracers from a electronic salvage guy on ebay. My next search is antique radio repair sites. I'll let you know what I find.
Be Safe, Be Healthy and please find my 12 tooth New Departure rear sprocket.
THANKS!!
 
Thanks everyone. I appreciate your time. I went to the Rhode island website. Looked like smallest size was 18g. I did pick up some 20g white with orange tracers from a electronic salvage guy on ebay. My next search is antique radio repair sites. I'll let you know what I find.
Be Safe, Be Healthy and please find my 12 tooth New Departure rear sprocket.
THANKS!!

I've gotten lucky on ebay in the past buying old spools ...but be careful, there's quite a bit of single strand
out there and some of the sellers don't know the difference to specify in a listing... or get the gauge right for that matter...
 
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A great question! Like many of us, I have done a lot of research on where to find it, and as Bob has said previously, many sellers, whether they be an individual or a company that sells cloth-covered wire don't know what they have, or they don't have a provision on their website to make a choice. I had made several purchases in vain and then finally found a source where you could choose, in several colors. Some I bought after waiting for an answer on what the size is for weeks, only to find out it was solid core, too big, or both.

Picture below show different sizes for comparison. Fender wire, for wiring vintage guitar amps, is usually 22ga and a tad too small, but is available from many sources, and 18ga is a little too large. Never did find 20ga! Until you can find a vintage roll of fresh wire you can get some here. I was able to purchase 18ga stranded wire there.

https://www.grandbrass.com/search/cloth wire/

IMG_0576.jpg

IMG_0577.jpg

IMG_0579.jpg
 
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