Source for flexible 3wire cables with braid covering?

[Paul Carmody]

Here’s Tony’s Westinghouse wire.Looks amazing and original.

[Thomas Newcity]

Just couldn't help myself.  First thing this morning I did a comparison on the OTR wire from Antique Fan Supply and another wire that I got someplace else.  Both are sheathed 3-conductor 18 gage.   Measured the wire gage and strand diameters.  

1.  From AFS:  7 Bundles w/24 strands each for 168 total.  Wire strand diameter .0025".

2.  From ? :  40 strands at .006" each.  

The old OTR wire from AFS is so much more flexible and suitable for oscillators.  

As always JMHO.

[Russ Huber]

2 hours ago, Thomas Newcity said:

Just couldn't help myself.  First thing this morning I did a comparison on the OTR wire from Antique Fan Supply and another wire that I got someplace else.  Both are sheathed 3-conductor 18 gage.   Measured the wire gage and strand diameters.  

1.  From AFS:  7 Bundles w/24 strands each for 168 total.  Wire strand diameter .0025".

2.  From ? :  40 strands at .006" each.  

The old OTR wire from AFS is so much more flexible and suitable for oscillators.  

As always JMHO.

Hey Tom,

Your right, OTR wire is good wire, and flexible for oscillators. I have used it for years, like you. The only supplier other than Tony I am aware of for black sheathed 3 wire is Sundial. I have heard their sheathed 3 strand head wire is stiff. Maybe your mystery 40 strand wire stated above? Maybe another company I am not aware of.

Tony makes claim his 18 AWG wire conductor has 150 strands. I took the time to count individual wires in one conductor of original OTR 3 wire head cord. I counted 169 fine strands. After getting done with the OTR example I had had enough of that BS to count the strands from a single conductor in Tony's 3 wire head cord. If in fact Tony's 18 AWG single conductor is roughly 150 strands, that is 19 fine strands less than I counted in OTR. I think 19 fine strands is not going to make that big of a difference, let me tell you as I had to use a tweezer that could pick a knat's butt to put them in order on the paper seen below. I had to make sure I took shallow breaths during this process.  I held both wires in my hands, both are flexible with quality sheathing.

If it is found Tony's claimed single conductor 18 AWG with 150 strands is less than his claim, shame on him. 

I am not doing this with favoritism or prejudice. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and preference. Just my 2 cents. What I do kind of like is I put Tony on the spot for a price in this post on his STANDARD black cloth sheathed 3 wire head cord and he stated $2.99 a foot. That is $149.50 per 50-foot spool. 

The good news is OTR wire is available on Antique Fan Parts for the loyal customers. 

[Tony Clayton]

STANDARD TOB (Twisted Over Braid)3 wire headwire $2.99 a foot.

Also available in many other colors.

[Thomas Newcity]

29 minutes ago, Russ Huber said:

Hey Tom,

Your right, OTR wire is good wire, and flexible for oscillators. I have used it for years, like you. The only supplier other than Tony I am aware of for black sheathed 3 wire is Sundial. I have heard their sheathed 3 strand head wire is stiff. Maybe your mystery 40 strand wire stated above? Maybe another company I am not aware of.

Tony makes claim his 18 AWG wire conductor has 150 strands. I took the time to count individual wires in one conductor of original OTR 3 wire head cord. I counted 169 fine strands. After getting done with the OTR example I had had enough of that BS to count the strands from a single conductor in Tony's 3 wire head cord. If in fact Tony's 18 AWG single conductor is roughly 150 strands, that is 19 fine strands less than I counted in OTR. I think 19 fine strands is not going to make that big of a difference, let me tell you as I had to use a tweezer that could pick a knat's butt to put them in order on the paper seen below. I had to make sure I took shallow breaths during this process.  I held both wires in my hands, both are flexible with quality sheathing.

If it is found Tony's claimed single conductor 18 AWG with 150 strands is less than his claim, shame on him. 

I am not doing this with favoritism or prejudice. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and preference. Just my 2 cents. What I do kind of like is I put Tony on the spot for a price in this post on his STANDARD black cloth sheathed 3 wire head cord and he stated $2.99 a foot. That is $149.50 per 50-foot spool. 

The good news is OTR wire is available on Antique Fan Parts for the loyal customers. 

Thanks for the info Russ.  Sounds like some very good head-wire.  

[Tony Clayton]

Tom,

if your open to the offer I will send you a headwire to test drive.

[Thomas Newcity]

1 hour ago, Tony Clayton said:

Tom,

if your open to the offer I will send you a headwire to test drive.

That would be terrific.  Thank you Tony.

[Tony Clayton]

9 minutes ago, Thomas Newcity said:

That would be terrific.  Thank you Tony.

Consider it done Tom.

[Russ Huber]

Tony, 

I am not calling you out on this, nor do I expect you to disclose your wire supplier(s).  Do you have anything on the packaging or documentation for your 18 AWG wire to validate your claim of 150 strands of fine wire per conductor? You know how it is, seeing is believing, and who can contest that. 

 

[Tony Clayton]

Russ I have nothing more than a spread sheet. When in doubt cut a section of Old School Wire apart and count it like you did OTR.  I will be first to admit I have never counted them. I just know its extremely flexible. 

Below are the specs I have.

18 AWG

8 amp 

600 volt 

392 fahrenheit 

150 strands of 0.00315 inch Oxygen free tinned copper with a silicone jacket. 

[Chris Campbell]

4 hours ago, Russ Huber said:

If it is found Tony's claimed single conductor 18 AWG with 150 strands is less than his claim, shame on him. 

Tony makes awesome wire. He has perfected weave patterns. Self taught. Dumped lots of money into the project and spent countless hours tracking down thread colors, material types, machinery and core wires which does not scratch the surface of what has been required to provide his wire. Time and talent is a sunk cost. He is not outsourcing to a factory in Sri Lanka. 
 

He has a passion and rewarded by peoples appreciation. He jumps through hoops for people to deliver what they want. 
 

Pressuring him to validate the 150 count is too much.  Time wasted for insignificant trivia. It is soft. I have it and used it. 
 

 

[Russ Huber]

1 minute ago, Chris Campbell said:

Tony makes awesome wire. He has perfected weave patterns. Self taught. Dumped lots of money into the project and spent countless hours tracking down thread colors, material types, machinery and core wires which does not scratch the surface of what has been required to provide his wire. Time and talent is a sunk cost. He is not outsourcing to a factory in Sri Lanka. 
 

He has a passion and rewarded by peoples appreciation. He jumps through hoops for people to deliver what they want. 
 

Pressuring him to validate the 150 count is too much.  Time wasted for insignificant trivia. It is soft. I have it and used it. 
 

 

Go easy, there is no pressure, Chris. I clearly stated I am not calling him out above. I have his wire samples here. I like them, and if you have read my previous posts here, I have been supportive of him, and his efforts.

There are people here WHO DON'T HAVE HIS SAMPLES, OR HIS WIRE.  This looks like a legit spread sheet to me below, Tony. I hope others see it that way to. Thanks for your efforts to bring a standard FLEXIBLE affordable cloth sheathed 3 strand head wire, and custom made wire. 🙂

18 AWG

8 amp 

600 volt 

392 fahrenheit 

150 strands of 0.00315 inch Oxygen free tinned copper with a silicone jacket. 

[Russ Huber]

1 hour ago, Tony Clayton said:

Russ I have nothing more than a spread sheet. When in doubt cut a section of Old School Wire apart and count it like you did OTR.  I will be first to admit I have never counted them. I just know its extremely flexible. 

Below are the specs I have.

18 AWG

8 amp 

600 volt 

392 fahrenheit 

150 strands of 0.00315 inch Oxygen free tinned copper with a silicone jacket. 

 

[Jim Kovar]

Hi, Russ.

Great pictorial comparison.

Thanks.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Jim Kovar

[Russ Huber]

17 minutes ago, Jim Kovar said:

Hi, Russ.

Great pictorial comparison.

Thanks.

Tony pays attention to details. His standard head cord diameter does not exceed the ability to pass through the Emerson grommet, it slips through, but you don't see daylight through it. 🙂

[Russ Huber]

• Due to the Silicone insulation and fine stranded core, the wire is very flexible easy to strip and solders. Well suited for applications where the wire will be flexed, like test cables. Could be terminated with pins and heat shrink sleeves for breadboard jumper wires.
• 18 Gauge silicone wire - super flexible 150 strands of Tinned copper wire - protecting them from corrosion and making it easier to solder. Highly efficient - Super low impedance .

 

18 AWG

8 amp 

600 volt 

392 fahrenheit 

150 strands of 0.00315 inch Oxygen free tinned copper with a silicone jacket. 

[Russ Huber]

The ticket to supple flexible wire is the silicon insulation, multiple fine strands of wire, and quality done cloth sheathing.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Russ Huber

[Jim Kovar]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:40 PM, Russ Huber said:

counted...  ... 169.

Why did "Rain Man"
        just come to mind?

[John Landstrom]

Tony,

may be a dumb question but I tried searching for an “old school wire” website and came up empty.

probably my error.   Do you have a website or somewhere I can look at your products?

[Tony Clayton]

Hi John.

No sir. No website no social media presence.  I struggle to keep up with word of mouth referrals. I could never keep up with a online offering. I still have a full time job with a co worker that has been out for 6 weeks.  Time off has been sparse.

I welcome your call or text with you interests.

[Chris Jacobsen]

I just received the sample from Tony, the quality of the braid is excellent and flexibility very good.  I would say it would suffise for most smaller fans, I would probably see of the next thickness wires up would be available for some of the higher power fans but yes I would certainly recommend these cables.  The look is spot on and materials are great.  Also an added bonus that he can make cables for my vintage car radio and other early radio and maybe speaker horn restorations.  Got my new source for vintage cables right here!

[Russ Huber]

On 6/6/2023 at 8:19 PM, Tony Clayton said:

Russ I have nothing more than a spread sheet. When in doubt cut a section of Old School Wire apart and count it like you did OTR.  I will be first to admit I have never counted them. I just know its extremely flexible. 

Below are the specs I have.

18 AWG

8 amp 

600 volt 

392 fahrenheit 

150 strands of 0.00315 inch Oxygen free tinned copper with a silicone jacket. 

Tony,

Once again, I am not calling you out.  You are a straight up kind of guy that just tells it like it is, no polish, and your heart is in it. The quality of your wire is on target. The ticket to matching OTR wire is SUPPLE MULTIPLE fine strands of copper wire in SUPPLE Silicon insulation with quality done cloth sheathing. Your GOOD intention to these goals has been met. 

I "painstakingly" counted the OTR copper strands of one conductor to get the facts of just what makes up OTR wire. I DON'T want to spend another part of my day doing it again, please. OTR wire is no ancient Chinese secret. The ticket to matching OTR wire is roughly 150+ fine strands of copper wire (18 gauge) bound by supple Silicon insulation, with a quality cloth sheathing. It is not rocket science. 

I did cut a small section of a single strand of your 3-wire head cord. YOUR GOOD INTENTION.... at the minimum match the comparable standards of the OTR 3-wire standard head cord. What I am "suspicious" of is your wire supplier MAY have not stood up to their 150-wire claim on the data sheet? This as you know would affect the actual gauge of the single strand of insulated wire. You take a look at the pictures and come to you own conclusion based on the remaining wires. This is being presented in a CONSTRUCTIVE MANNER.

Your cloth sheathing is tight and outstanding, Tony. You do beautiful conscientious work. I would not lose sleep using your standard 3 wire head cord with the 3 conductors from your present supplier. If in fact the strand count falls short of the 150-strand data sheet claim, I doubt it falls short of 22 gauge which would be ample for most desk fans. 

What I did see on the web is MULTIPLE suppliers of these 150 strands of 18-gauge wire with supple silicon insulation. The goal would be to find one that is credible to their claim IF in fact your wire strand count is short. 

Please take the time to check a strand of this supplier claimed 18-gauge wire for strand count. I COULD BE WRONG. I appreciate your efforts to supply us with custom done wire and affordable standard cloth sheathed head cord, sincerely.

If I am right, it is an easy fix. A new supplier.

 

[Tony Clayton]

Russ i will take a section and cut myself to count it. As i said I have never done it.

All I will say is if its off shame on the manufacturer not me.

And what if it off???? Its still super flexible high quality wire.

Im not forcing this down anyones throat. Either you hate it or like it. Buyers choice.

[Lane Shirey]

Much ado about nothing.  They’re both good headwires. Tony’s are more authentic to the original appearance and style. Period. 

[Tony Clayton]

On 6/6/2023 at 7:28 PM, Thomas Newcity said:

That would be terrific.  Thank you Tony.

Tom,

Your wire has been delivered as promised. 

I sent you 3 different types.

 

20/3 Westinghouse spring strain relief motors

 

18/3 Standard Twisted Overbraid 

 

18/3 Round Emerson 

 

I look forward to your feedback. 

 

Tony