<div dir="ltr">Sam,<div><br></div><div>You can get coiled wire at a cheaper cost, but pre-straightened wire is a great savings of time/effort. Pulling wire is possible, but challenging with thicker wire. In the past, I had used the following as a standard in mammal preparation. Feel free to connect me if you have additional questions.</div><div><br></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br>Ben</div><div><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in"></p><ul style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt"><li><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">Pre-straightened stainless steel wire (McMaster
Carr - </span><a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/127/4057/" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(5,99,193)" target="_blank">https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/127/4057/</a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">
)</span></li></ul><ul><li style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">Straight wire search - <a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/products/straight-wire/" target="_blank">https://www.mcmaster.com/products/straight-wire/</a> (select </li><ul style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:11pt"><li>1-ft.
Straight Length Wire (0.015 - 8908K87) <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11pt">
for small shrews</span></li><li>1-ft.
Straight Length Wire (0.026 - 8908K26) <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11pt">
for most small rodents</span></li><li>1-ft.
Straight Length Wire (0.045 - 8908K48) <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11pt">
for medium mammals</span></li><li>2-ft.
Straight Length Wire (0.045 - 8908K78) <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11pt">
this seems to not exist now, but I used this for all longer tails. </span><a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~24/" style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(5,99,193)" target="_blank">https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~24/</a></li><li>I
would recommend another thicker and longer wire for bigger items. Nickel Copper
Alloy (Monel) wire is also good as it is non-conductive and non-corrosive. <a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~3-ft-/" style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(5,99,193)" target="_blank">https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~3-ft-/</a></li></ul></ul><font face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px"><br></span></font><div><font face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px"><br></span></font></div><p></p></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM Samantha Getty <<a href="mailto:getty031@umn.edu" target="_blank">getty031@umn.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Hello all,</div><div><br></div><div>My name is Sam and I am the specimen preparator for the Bell Museum. We have been struggling to find suitable (modern) wire for our mammal specimens. Our wire stash is decades old and is running low. Everything I have purchased to try is too flexible and does not pull properly. Does anyone have any recommendations on what type or brand of wire to use and where to source it?</div><div><br></div><div>Thank you,</div><div>Sam Getty</div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Sam Getty (she/her)</div><div><br></div><div>Zoological Museum Curatorial Research Associate</div><div>Bell Museum</div><div>University of Minnesota</div><div><a href="https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/salvage-wildlife/" target="_blank">https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/salvage-wildlife/</a></div></div></div></div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Nhcoll-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br>
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br>
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br>
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br>
society. See <a href="http://www.spnhc.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.spnhc.org</a> for membership information.<br>
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.<br>
</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | </span></b><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13.3333px"><b>EEB Museums Safety Representative to the RMC </b></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">University of Michigan
| LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research Museums Center</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">3600 Varsity Drive,
Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a href="mailto:bmhess@umich.edu" target="_blank">bmhess@umich.edu</a> |
734-764-2432</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:107%"> </span></p></div></div></div></div>