Which wire to use in tutorials, dead-soft or half-hard?

I received the following question regarding the temper of wire to use in tutorials:

"I just downloaded and started reading through some of your tutorials. In Tutorial 019, Double Hook Clasp, as well as some of the others, you refer to 16 or 18 ga. wire. Is this dead soft or half hard?"

The answer:
Most of the wire I use is dead-soft, but here is the general rule to follow: if the wire is 24, 26 or 28 ga, it's NEEDS to be dead-soft, since it becomes brittle with manipulation. If the wire is 22 or thicker, then you can use either one. I always use dead-soft, but if you have half-hard at hand, then by all means, use it too.

Bead Cruise 2008

I'm going on a cruise!!! Yes, I've got the traveling bug in me -- I'll be joining the Bead Cruise as instructor on March 1 2008, leaving from Fort Lauderdale, FL.
I will teaching two classes:
Full day class: The classic coiled bangle.
Half day class: the netted pendant.
For more information on the cruise and to register, go here: BeadCruise 2008.

YOJ 2007 Week 29 - Goldfilled Necklace

As promised, the matching necklace to Week 28's bangle. Do you recognize the netted pendant? I just had to do something with it... This necklace uses jasper, gemstone-quality citrine, tiny carnelians, goldfilled beads and vermeil beads. All wrapped in miles and miles of goldfilled 28ga wire. To see more pictures, go the page Goldfilled Ctirine and Jasper Necklace.

YOJ 2007 Week 28 - Goldfilled bangle

Catching up with YOJ after my vacation: a good "old-fashioned" bangle for a change. I used goldfilled wire, carnelian, citrine, jasper and vermeil Bali beads. I also created a matching necklace which I will probably post tomorrow. To see more pictures, go to Goldfilled Citrine & Carnelian Bangle.

YOJ 2007 Week 27 - Lavender Nest Ring

This ring is a modified version of the Nest Bezel ring, the only differences being that I used a flat faceted oval bead and much thinner wire than I normally would. The 26 gauge was wrapped almost thirty times for the shank and many, many more for the bezel. Since the stone is flat, the bezel sits underneath it and not around the stone. The result is that you can see the threads of wire through the stone from the top (look at the last picture you can see some of it). Pretty neat effect. It didn't take long to make, but boy did it take a load of wire!