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Hi Sam,</div>
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<br>
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If you are short on time, I head down to our local hardware store (ACE here) and ask for the piano wire for crafts. You won't be able to bend the wire at all, but it comes straight, has lots of sizes, and works really well for mammal legs and tails. I really
like it for our mid-size to larger mammals (minks, raccoons, badgers, etc), but I have used it for mice just fine too. <br>
It is generally more expensive though, so I don't get a ton of it.<br>
<br>
All of my metal coat hangers go for hanging mammal skeletons on our drying line. PC is right that they have not rusted yet. Just gotten messy.</div>
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<br>
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cheers,</div>
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Beth</div>
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Elizabeth Wommack, PhD</div>
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Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates<br>
University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates</div>
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Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center</div>
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University of Wyoming,<br>
Laramie, WY 82071<br>
<a target="_blank" href="mailto:ewommack@berkeley.edu">ewommack@</a><a target="_blank" href="http://uwyo.edu/">uwyo.edu</a></div>
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pronouns: she, her, herself</div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Callomon,Paul <prc44@drexel.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 16, 2025 11:40<br>
<b>To:</b> Benjamin Hess <bmhess@umich.edu>; Samantha Getty <getty031@umn.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mammal Specimen Preparation - Wire Recommendations</font>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal">This will sound a bit home-made, but among the highest-quality bendable steel wire I’ve found is that used to make coat hangers. I’ve used it in many ways, and it’s a great balance of strength, whip and formability. It’s usually coated
against rust, too. </p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal">PC</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif; color:black">Paul Callomon</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif; color:black"><br>
<i>Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates</i></span><span style=""></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif; color:black">Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif; color:black"><br>
<i><a href="mailto:callomon@ansp.org">callomon@ansp.org</a> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170</i></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif; color:#45B0E1">President of the American Malacological Society for 2027</span></b><b><span style="color:#45B0E1"></span></b></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Benjamin Hess<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 16, 2025 1:34 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Samantha Getty <getty031@umn.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mammal Specimen Preparation - Wire Recommendations</span></p>
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<p><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; font-variant:small-caps; color:black">External.</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; font-variant:small-caps"></span></b></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Sam, </p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">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.</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Sincerely,</p>
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Ben</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in; text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Pre-straightened stainless steel wire (McMaster Carr -
<a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/127/4057/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/127/4057/</span></a> )</span></p>
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</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Straight wire search - <a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/products/straight-wire/" target="_blank">https://www.mcmaster.com/products/straight-wire/</a> (select </span></p>
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</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">1-ft. Straight Length Wire (0.015 - 8908K87)
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> for small shrews</span></p>
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</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">1-ft. Straight Length Wire (0.026 - 8908K26)
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> for most small rodents</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in; text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Courier New""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">o<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">1-ft. Straight Length Wire (0.045 - 8908K48)
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> for medium mammals</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in; text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Courier New""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">o<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">2-ft. Straight Length Wire (0.045 - 8908K78)
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Wingdings">à</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> this seems to not exist now, but I used this for all longer tails.
<a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~24/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~24/</span></a></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in; text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Courier New""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">o<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">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-/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://www.mcmaster.com/straight-wire/length~3-ft-/</span></a></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 12:55<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span>PM Samantha Getty <<a href="mailto:getty031@umn.edu" target="_blank">getty031@umn.edu</a>> wrote:</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Hello all,</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">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?</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Thank you,</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Sam Getty</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Sam Getty (she/her)</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Zoological Museum Curatorial Research Associate</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Bell Museum</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">University of Minnesota</p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><a href="https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/salvage-wildlife/" target="_blank">https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/salvage-wildlife/</a></p>
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<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | EEB Museums Safety Representative to the RMC </span></b></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">University of Michigan | LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research Museums Center</span></p>
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