MESteel
Steel wire · Size & tolerance table

Wire gauges: SWG and BWG to millimetres, with mass per metre

Standard: Imperial Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) · Birmingham Wire Gauge (BWG)

Steel wire is ordered in millimetres under every current standard, but gauge numbers are still common in trade — especially for binding, fencing and galvanized wire in the Middle East and South Asia. The two gauges are not the same: BWG 16 is 1.65 mm while SWG 16 is 1.63 mm, and the gap is larger at other sizes, so always confirm the gauge system or, better, the diameter in mm.

Mass and length are for bare steel wire at 7,850 kg/m³. A zinc coating adds a few per cent to the mass of a thin wire (for example 1.6 mm wire with 250 g/m² of zinc is about 2.5% heavier); a PVC coating is ordered by its own thickness.

SWG — Imperial Standard Wire Gauge

Gauge Diameter in Diameter mm Area mm² Mass g/m Length m/kg
0 0.324 8.23 53.19 418 2.4
1 0.300 7.62 45.60 358 2.8
2 0.276 7.01 38.60 303 3.3
3 0.252 6.40 32.18 253 4.0
4 0.232 5.89 27.27 214 4.7
5 0.212 5.38 22.77 179 5.6
6 0.192 4.88 18.68 147 6.8
7 0.176 4.47 15.70 123 8.1
8 0.160 4.06 12.97 102 9.8
9 0.144 3.66 10.51 82.5 12.1
10 0.128 3.25 8.30 65.2 15.3
11 0.116 2.95 6.82 53.5 18.7
12 0.104 2.64 5.48 43.0 23.2
13 0.092 2.34 4.29 33.7 29.7
14 0.080 2.03 3.24 25.5 39.3
15 0.072 1.83 2.63 20.6 48.5
16 0.064 1.63 2.08 16.3 61.4
17 0.056 1.42 1.59 12.5 80.2
18 0.048 1.22 1.17 9.16 109.1
19 0.040 1.02 0.811 6.36 157.1
20 0.036 0.914 0.657 5.16 194.0
21 0.032 0.813 0.519 4.07 245.5
22 0.028 0.711 0.397 3.12 320.7
23 0.024 0.610 0.292 2.29 436.5
24 0.022 0.559 0.245 1.93 519.4
25 0.020 0.508 0.203 1.59 628.5
26 0.0180 0.457 0.164 1.29 775.9
27 0.0164 0.417 0.136 1.07 934.7
28 0.0148 0.376 0.111 0.871 1147.8
29 0.0136 0.345 0.094 0.736 1359.2
30 0.0124 0.315 0.078 0.612 1635.0

BWG — Birmingham (Stubs iron) Wire Gauge

Gauge Diameter in Diameter mm Area mm² Mass g/m Length m/kg
0 0.340 8.64 58.58 460 2.2
1 0.300 7.62 45.60 358 2.8
2 0.284 7.21 40.87 321 3.1
3 0.259 6.58 33.99 267 3.7
4 0.238 6.05 28.70 225 4.4
5 0.220 5.59 24.52 193 5.2
6 0.203 5.16 20.88 164 6.1
7 0.180 4.57 16.42 129 7.8
8 0.165 4.19 13.80 108 9.2
9 0.148 3.76 11.10 87.1 11.5
10 0.134 3.40 9.10 71.4 14.0
11 0.120 3.05 7.30 57.3 17.5
12 0.109 2.77 6.02 47.3 21.2
13 0.095 2.41 4.57 35.9 27.9
14 0.083 2.11 3.49 27.4 36.5
15 0.072 1.83 2.63 20.6 48.5
16 0.065 1.65 2.14 16.8 59.5
17 0.058 1.47 1.70 13.4 74.7
18 0.049 1.24 1.22 9.55 104.7
19 0.042 1.07 0.894 7.02 142.5
20 0.035 0.889 0.621 4.87 205.2
21 0.032 0.813 0.519 4.07 245.5
22 0.028 0.711 0.397 3.12 320.7
23 0.025 0.635 0.317 2.49 402.2
24 0.022 0.559 0.245 1.93 519.4
25 0.020 0.508 0.203 1.59 628.5
26 0.0180 0.457 0.164 1.29 775.9
27 0.0160 0.406 0.130 1.02 982.0
28 0.0140 0.356 0.099 0.780 1282.7
29 0.0130 0.330 0.086 0.672 1487.6
30 0.0120 0.305 0.073 0.573 1745.9

Notes

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