I made a set of guide forming tools and they turned out pretty well but the wire was 1/16 dia. Iwould like to find a source for wire smaller in dia. welding shops have rolls of stainless wire but way more than I will ever use.

Most tackle shops that cater to offshore fisherman should stainless leader wire up to .050 if that helps at all, welding supply house's should have TIG welding wire as small as 1/32" and that comes in 3' lengths. hope that helps

Check out McMaster-Carr.

Here is a sample of SS wire. They have coils and straight rod. The prices seem reasonable. Check out the different wire they have , one should meet your needs.



Spring-back wire (spring temper)
Meets ASTM A313 and A555
Tensile Strength: 205,000 psi

Maximum temperature is 570° F.

Temperature ratings are not guaranteed and are intended only as a basis for comparison.

1/4-lb. Coils

1-lb. Coils

1-ft. Lengths
Wire
Dia. Dia.
Tolerance Ft./Coil Each Ft./Coil Each Pkg.
Qty. Pkg.
0.005" ±0.0005" 3,710 9495K112 $15.35 14,840 9495K114 $51.16 __ ______ __
0.008" ±0.0005" 1,445 9495K113 15.94 5,795 9495K115 53.13 __ ______ __
0.009" ±0.0005" 1,145 9495K51 17.46 4,595 9495K11 50.64 __ ______ __
0.010" ±0.0005" 930 9495K52 15.04 3,720 9495K12 49.21 100 8908K86 $11.67
0.012" ±0.0005" 645 9495K55 14.59 2,585 9495K14 48.72 __ ______ __
0.014" ±0.0005" 470 9495K57 12.87 1,895 9495K16 43.51 __ ______ __
0.015" ±0.0005" 410 89085K11 21.43 1,655 89085K42 40.49 100 8908K87 12.25
0.016" ±0.0005" 360 9495K59 11.59 1,450 9495K17 39.83 __ ______ __
0.018" ±0.0005" 285 9495K62 10.80 1,145 9495K18 36.33 __ ______ __
0.020" ±0.0005" 230 9495K64 9.60 930 9495K19 32.80 100 8908K21 12.81
0.022" ±0.0005" 190 9495K66 9.04 765 9495K21 30.41 100 8908K22 12.12
0.024" ±0.0005" 160 9495K68 8.40 645 9495K22 28.66 100 8908K24 12.39
0.025" ±0.0005" 145 89085K13 20.78 595 89085K44 42.31 50 89085K82 7.50
0.026" ±0.0005" 135 9495K72 8.44 550 9495K23 28.31 50 8908K26 6.53
0.029" ±0.0005" 110 9495K74 9.23 440 9495K24 27.05 50 8908K28 7.40
0.032" ±0.0005" 91 89085K14 20.53 360 89085K46 39.56 __ ______ __
0.040" ±0.001" 58 89085K15 22.36 230 89085K19 39.47 25 89085K83 8.16
0.051" ±0.001" 35 89085K16 22.38 140 89085K21 36.19 25 89085K84 6.94
0.063" ±0.001" 23 89085K17 19.89 94 89085K54 37.73 25 89085K85 6.91
0.080" ±0.001" __ ______ __ 58 89085K22 33.92 25 89085K86 7.10


John

Robert,
I agree with John, McMaster Carr is awesome! Great products, good prices, outstanding shipping and customer service.Their Santa Fe Springs, CA location is only 20 minutes from my house and I visit their will call at least twice a week. However the list he showed you is for 302 / 304 SS (known as 18-8 in the fastener / screw industry) which is not as corrosion resistant as 316 (spring back) or 316L (bend and stay) wire. The 316 series is the most corrosion resistant of all the easily obtainable SS alloys. I would prefer 1ft straight lengths vs coils but the 316 / 316L only comes in coils whereas the 302 / 304 is available both ways. I would still use the 316, though.
I am also in need of making 0.040 wire replacement guides to match the others on a few vintage FG rods. The smallest quantity McM offers is a 1/4lb spool / 58ft length, 0.040 dia is $14.35 part #89045K35 with other diameters available as well.
Good luck.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

This is what I use.

[store.grayhacklerods.net]

Ron Weber

thanks guys. I just have this need to do as much of the build as I can. I'm having such a great time building fly rods that it doesn't bother much not to fish. So far the rods that I have sold everyone is well satisfied. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn something new .