Wire Gauge (Gage) Basics - measure nonferrous wire with an AWG gauge.
The basics of measuring the gauge of non-ferrous (copper, aluminum, etc) wires with a standard AWG wire gage (sometimes, confusingly, called a "wire gauge"). Ensuring you're using the right size wire for the job is important, and this tool makes that easy.
While this video is from an electrical wire perspective, this same scale is also used for the wire in jewelry making.
A follow-up to this video is here: • Wire Gauges pt 2 - Dif...
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Affiliate product links:
General Tools AWG Wire Gage: amzn.to/32LpgBv
Starrett #281 AWG Wire Gage: amzn.to/32GKmkn
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:01 Demo
01:54 Anatomy
02:40 Some caveats
05:20 Measuring stranded wire
07:55 "Aught"
08:28 Even number gauges
09:30 Materials
10:00 Another caveat about making sure you get the right scale gauge tool
11:30 Outro
Wow, would not have guessed you could get a 10 minute video out of a wire gauge! But I had no clue that wire gauge number came from how many times it had been drawn, very cool!
bought the GT. thx for this vid!!
Thanks for the upload this video really sent me down the wire sizing rabbit hole. The only complication I had with your method was on larger wires like 500 kcmil 1/0 or 3/0 the individual strands are made up of different size strands and this gives you funky math when trying to multiply them together it doesn’t match up with correct chart size. Man I actually found a very quick easy method of using a caliper that reads in mils/thousandth of an inch. Measure the COPPER O.D. not the insulation and take that measurement and compare it to NEC chapter 9 table 8 go down the OVERALL/Diameter column and find your measurement from caliper. I’ve tried it on multiple wires and it’s perfect every time.
Thank you. Very informative. I'm here because I'm trying to make a 3 prong 6 gauge extension cord for my generator.
Thanks for the explanation.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Great video / explanation!
Really helpful. Thanks very much!
Great video! Not too pleased with the look of the quality of the ones linked to Amazon. Do you have a link to the really nice General gauge you used in the video?
Hi! I'm from Brazil. I need to learn about awg sizes of conductors of power lines. How can i identify conductors of 4/0, 3/0, 2/0 and 1/0 sizes? How to measure
Why is it measured going into the center as opposed to through the round part which is perpendicular?
I have a 10 gauge or something close to there extension cord for an ac in my living room. Looking at this video, that’s a thin lookin wire but mine is over a cm thick WITH the insulation over it. There’s that much rubber protecting it? Or is there a different form or rating of gauges?
It would be the same gauge rating. The wire I'm showing in the video is the kind of wire that would be contained in a housing or in conduit or other "static" sheathing, so the insulation around the conductor doesn't need to be as robust. Extension cords are generally more insulated in order to be abrasion resistant since they're out and touched/stepped on/flailed around. There's no easy way to know the gauge of the wire through the outer jacket/insulation/sheathing (unless the gauge is printed on there).
Thanks for the great video but if I am up, under the dash in my car and want to tap into a wire I can't tell if the wiretap I need is 18 or 20 AWG gauge. Bummer
I would just buy some 18ga and compare.
Thanks for the video. I may have missed some of the comments but what is the math to get 6 gouge from 7 strands of 14 gauge?
I didn't go into it in the video, but the equation is the "Circular MIL Area" (CMA) formula, which is diameter (in mils) squared then multiplied by number of strands...and then you look it up on a conversion chart because there's no straightforward math to work out the corresponding AWG. Seriously, look at this research paper about it: pdhonline.com/courses/e275/e275content.pdf So, honestly, I'd just start and end with using a chart like www.calmont.com/wp-content/uploads/calmont-eng-wire-gauge.pdf
Thanks!
I’m a welder I use that tool for steel plate all the time
Could have done with adding a quick explanation of why this is only for non-ferrous wire and what one for ferrous would be like and the differences etc
I made another video about other gauge standards here: kzhead.info/sun/lsmhp5eLmax9n6c/bejne.html
Watched the vid to see stranded wire explained but you talked about it and didn’t explain anything…. Was hoping to see how to do the math to figure stranded wire gauge. But super cool to learn where the awg numbers originated from!
I replied to another comment about this -- I didn't go into it in the video, but the equation is the "Circular MIL Area" (CMA) formula, which is diameter (in mils) squared then multiplied by number of strands...and then you look it up on a conversion chart because there's no straightforward math to work out the corresponding AWG. Seriously, look at this research paper about it: pdhonline.com/courses/e275/e275content.pdf So, honestly, I'd just start and end with using a chart like www.calmont.com/wp-content/uploads/calmont-eng-wire-gauge.pdf
3:48 Reason for Top Down Measuring System
do you have to strip the wire to measure the wire?
Yes! The gauge is what determines the capacity of the wire, and the insulation thickness isn’t part of that calculation. If the insulation was a consistent thicknesses, perhaps we could just have some “round down” math, but the insulation thickness can vary widely. (And if you can measure the insulation thickness, it’s just as easy to measure the conductor)
Good day sir. Your general gauge is accurate?
It's accurate to within a few thousandths -- there's certainly no chance of confusing gauges or anything like that. As a "field grade" gauge, it's great. If you need extreme precision (like within 0.0001"), something like a certified Starrett is probably a better idea, but I don't know why you'd need that :)
Awg means what?
couldn't we just use a caliper...since I already own one, would be nice if a thickness chart existed
You certainly can, but it's not as convenient as a wire gauge (especially if you're, say, up a ladder or wedged into a crawlspace) - a caliper is bulkier (and more fragile), and you either need that reference table or a very good memory. There are reference tables, though -- www.rembar.com/resources/american-wire-gauge-awg/ is a particularly comprehensive one (60ga to 7/0) that goes well beyond what a circular wire gauge could possibly cover (outside of 30ga - 0ga, you'll need a caliper or something, anyway).
I thought that. The higher the number, the thicker the wire. Lol 😂
Great vid. I think at 11:22 you misspoke because 10's of thousands is smaller than 10's of hundredths. But overall very informative, thx.
Measuring unlabelled stranded wire seems like a total PITA. I have lots of tiny wires I wanted to know the gauge of. I guess what happens is that people just eyeball it and size up because it's cheaper than buying a micrometer and counting strands.
It is definitely a PITA. For me, for non-critical situations where I don't have to use an exact size, I generally go with "this is at least [whatever] gauge" and go a size or two larger. So far, nothing's caught on fire.
@@JustToolBasics I'll do the same - but as a newb to electrical work I sort of resent that there is no friendly way to be sure. I might have to dial down the perfectionism.
The reason that some wires are stranded is due to the skin effect
12 min video dude? I would suggest working on your script writing a little bit.
Go change your tampon