Will this wire work for inlay?

Fine silver will be easier to work with and I recall reading somewhere that it is less likely to tarnish/discolor because the copper content in sterling is the prime cause of that. Rio Grande is one of the two or three places were most guys get their wire.
 
The above advice on using fine silver (.999%) is good advice.

The link is for 20 gauge square wire, which won't work for inlay. You want ribbon wire (flat wire). Normally, you get wire about 2-4 times as wide as thick. 24 gauge (.5mm) by 2mm works well. For thicker lines, us 22 gauge by 2mm.

Here are two threads where I gave some info on doing inlay. I have a tutorial I wrote somewhere. If I find it I'll post that later.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1067356-Silver-Wire-Inlays

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/619330-gold-inlay-in-wood
 
for metal inlay you want round wire. the channel in the metal is cut into a dove tail cross section 2/3 rds as deep as the wire is in diameter and the same width. the wire is then pounded into the groove.
 
Son of a biscuit guys. Thanks round for metal inlay. Seems odd though like the metal would have to expand less into the undercut if the site is square. Well live and learn.

Now I need to know what the heck square wire is for then?
 
It has to do with the geometry of the void being filled. A properly cut dovetailed slot has just about the same volume as a round wire with the diameter matching the top of the slot. When pounding on the round, all the force gets translated into side movement of the meta into the dovetailsl...quickly and firmly locking the wire in place. The wire should stop at just about flush when it is fully seated. A square wire would try and distort both above and below the slot surface, causing it to try and push itself out of the slot. This will make for a rounded mush of metal above the surface, and a dubious amount of spreading in the dovetails. It would also require much harder hammering.
 
Huh that makes sense. I can see the top of the square mushrooming.

Thanks!
 
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