Q: I went to buy some copper from an industrial supply house and they didn’t have the gauge I was looking for but instead had it listed by ounces. How do I determine what I need?

A: For industrial purposes, copper is often sold by weight rather than by gauge. The weight refers to ounces per square foot and does not always equal what we consider the gauge equivalent in other metals.

We are generally used to B&S (Browne & Sharpe) gauges, also referred to as AWG (American Wire Gauge) measurements which are the standard used in North America. There are other standards that we are not as familiar with in our work as metalsmiths, but there are numerous resources online to find equivalency charts. If you are working with steel, titanium, niobium, or any metal that you might question, a simple internet search of “(metal type) gauge chart” will give you more charts than you can imagine.

I am including a couple of handy gauge charts with this column. The first chart is of the B&S gauges which we use for precious metals and works for brass and aluminum. The other chart shows copper thickness gauges in both gauges and ounces which help if you’re dealing with an industrial metals vendor.

As always, stay safe and well, and don’t forget to send your questions to askmassc@gmail.com!