What is it? Spool of 'Nil-Stain' wire.

middle.road

Granite Stoopid...
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
3,589
Digging around looking for something and this is laying in a box from 'who knows when....'
I don't think this is your regular run of the mill baling wire. . .
Cool spool, metal encased wood.

Date on it is May 1955.
Wilbur B. Driver Company.

Here's a link to a scanned PDF of a book that the company put out that a search returned...:
http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/lit/wbd/wbd_nopic_pub.pdf
Page 69 has some info on Nil-Stain, it's greek to me though.

1543280086850.png
 
I could be entirely wrong but that is likely insulated wire used in the manufacture of electromagnetic coil components, commonly known today as Magnet Wire. If the surface has a very high resistance it is likely insulated and was intended for such a purpose.

Also ni is the periodic chart symbol for nickle so it could also be a nickle alloy wire of unknown use, also the "NIL STAIN" trademark may imply that it leaves few or no stains on the finished product.
What does the text under the NIL STAIN logo say?

Found it, metal alloy wire manufacturer. http://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6gn6dng
 
Last edited:
A quick look at the publication says it is a stainless steel alloy wire. Hard to tell but it might be like 304 stainless as that is the only one they call out specifically in the table early on in the book.

Not so good for magnet coils because conductivity is not great. Cool find.
 
In the reference that you linked, you will see the chemical and physical properties of Nilstain 310.
 
i use wire very similar to that in the food packaging industry.
Vacuum packaging machines use a Nickle/Chrome impulse sealing wire to seal packages under vacuum.
the circuit works like this,
you have a transformer, that for all intent and purpose,
has the Resistance wire coupled to the secondary circuit of the transformer, effectively short circuiting the transformer secondary output when power is applied to the primary circuit. usually the seal time (short circuit time) is less than 10 seconds
the short circuit heats the wire and the wire is held in indirect contact to the vacuum bag or tube
the heat fuses the bag halves together while the product is under vacuum.
the vacuum stays in the bag and the higher atmospheric pressure acts on the outside of the bag,
giving the vacuum pack.

cool find!
 
What do we do with it now? I was thinking high-end hooks for Christmas ornaments... :grin:

Couldn't have been a spool of silver solder for brazing now could it? :grin big:
 
Looks to be lead coated 310 stainless spring wire, according to the documentation.
 
I am thinking ovens and other high temperature uses as noted above in the food industry.
1/8" diameter wire is large and you will find it difficult to form in a home shop.
It would make excellent large format paperclips I suspect (-:
 
It's actually ribbon. I tried to twist it in the picture so that it would show.
Haven't mic it yet but I believe from that label it is .010".

Oh great - lead?!
 
Back
Top