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| For Example: A 12 gauge wire can also be called a 2.05 millimeter thick wire or a 0.0808 inch thick wire. |
Higher Gauge Number = Thinner Wire
Remember this if using wire gauge is new to you... the wire becomes thinner the higher the gauge number.
| For Example: 12 ga = 2.05 mm = 0.0808" and 24 ga = 0.511mm = 0.0201" |
The USA and some other countries use AWG (American wire gauge). This system is also called the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge.
Millimeters
The metric system is used by the rest of world. The diameter of wire is measured in millimeters. You can of course talk about centimeters which are the same value divided by ten. It just makes more sense to use millimeters when working with small distances like wire diameter.
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters = 25.4 millimeters |
So why do we need to "translate" gauges and millimeters?
You may never need to do this, or you may need to translate millimeters to gauges all the time... all depending on what you do and where you live.
Some examples where you may need it...
- Tutorials from the internet or in books.
- Understanding jewelry descriptions or telling your customers on your web-shop about your jewelry.
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