Does Wire Gauge matter?

[DarthRevanIsImmortal]

I've been looking into wires, and frankly, I don't know the differences between the gauges. Bigger gauge= more current? That's what i've thought. I'm thinking of going with 26 gauge.

[snilam]

Heavier gauge will carry more current however the length of wire is so short it kinda negates that fact. You do want a multistranded wire though for a better solder joint on your sound board. I think i used 28 gauge on the last two sabers. Wires can end up taking alot of space depending on what you are doing.

[brett]

Hello friend, I wired up my CF 6 using 28 gauge wire in the end. Also, just an aside, the larger the measurement (24, 26, 28 gauge) the thinner the wire. I had used thicker wire to begin with but, even though my saber had no extra leds, I could not fit everything. The amount of extra wire I needed, to allow for screwing together the MHS pieces, meant the thinner gauge was a godsend. It also allowed the wires to be woven? together more easily. Just my opinion of course.

[Viper138]

Where do y'all go to get your wire? I've been to several hardware stores and electronic stores and I'm not having any luck in finding the 28 gauge wire...-Viper

[DarthRevanIsImmortal]

At TCCS in the wire section, I believe I saw 22,24, and 26. Not 28 though.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

26 gauge would work fine. It's mainly what I use for my builds.

[Viper138]

Copy that! Thank you!-Viper

[IndustrialAction]

I always use 28AWG or 30AWG. 26 is useful but can lead to a wiring mess. I would never touch anything bigger. 32AWG and up would probably be too small and prone to breakage. I find 28 or 30 to hit the sweet spot

[Sevinzol]

I'm not sure what gauge they are offhand but if you are having problems finding thin wire you can try using an old hard drive ribbon cable or CAT5/5 Ethernet. I know you can buy CAT5/6 (whatever) at the big box stores

[KCheshire]

For my most recent build, I used 26 AWG. I looked for 28 AWG at the place I usually go for electronics stuff, but 26 was the thinnest they had. Depending on what you're doing, 28 may give you that extra bit of needed room you're looking for, or help you thread wire through some tight spots.

[Kun2112]

The wire gauge necessary depends on current, voltage, and operating temperature. I could go into much more detail, but like other have said, 26AWG to 28AWG is plenty for battery to soundboard/buckpuck to blade LED applications at common voltages (3.0v-7.4v). Now if you are getting fancy with surface mount accent LEDs located away from the board, 32AWG to even 36AWG should be fine as they draw so little current.
Sources: As Sevinzol said, CAT5, CAT5e, and CAT6 ethernet cables can be a good source, but I would only recommend them if you already have some on hand, gathering dust. They are expensive at most box stores for the amount of wire you get. an additional concern is that ethernet cable comes in solid core or twisted strands depending for the intended use. Installation cable for putting behind walls is almost always solid core, whereas patch cables are usually twisted strand.
A great source for quality small gauge wire is you local model railroad hobby shop. I picked up some 34AWG paired that looked like tiny speaker wires years ago for a small scale model's collision lights using SMD LEDs and they worked wonderfully.

[Hendy]

Where do y'all go to get your wire? I've been to several hardware stores and electronic stores and I'm not having any luck in finding the 28 gauge wire...-Viper

28 is very easy to find online...One particular place sells 100ft rolls for about $7, lots of colors to choose from. Make sure you search for stranded hookup wire.