The History of Chicken Wire
Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence in fowl, such as chickens, in a run or coop. It is made of thin, flexible, galvanized steel wire with hexagonal gaps. Available in 1 inch (about 2.5 cm) diameter, 2 inch (about 5 cm) and 1/2 inch (about 1.3 cm), chicken wire is available in various gauges--usually 19 gauge (about 1 mm wire) to 22 gauge (about 0.7 mm wire). Chicken wire is occasionally used to build inexpensive pens for small animals (or to protect plants and property from animals)
In construction, chicken wire or hardware cloth is used as a metal lath to hold cement or plaster, a process known as stuccoing. Concrete reinforced with chicken wire or hardware cloth yields ferrocement, a versatile construction material. It can also be used to make the armature for a papier-mâché sculpture, when relatively high strength is needed.
The History of Chicken Wire
Charles Barnard, a British ironmonger, built the world's first wire-netting machine in 1844. He based his design on cloth weaving machines. Soon the firm of Barnard, Bishop & Barnard, established in Norwich, was selling wire netting all over the world.
During World War II, the fine wire used to make chicken wire was used to make large wire ground mats for radar systems, evening out the random reflections from the uneven ground below. The installation of these systems caused a countrywide shortage of chicken wire in the United Kingdom.
During World war II it was also commonly put on helmets by German soldiers to cover the helmet and camouflage it with plants and branches.
FUN AND EDUCATIONAL!! HOW FENCING WIRE IS MADE!! YOU'LL ENJOY THIS VLOG! - YouTube
Step 1: Hook the wire onto a stool, then they are put through the raptors of the building through a pully system, once this is done the wire gets welded together.
Step 2: Then the welded wire gets put through a weaving machine that knot and tie the wire together forming into a bundle , afterwards the wire bundle comes of the machine to be hand cut and processed.
Step 3: The wire is then put into a machine that crimps the wire, in order to hold the wire tight.
Step 4: Next the wire is put into a machine that coats the wire in lubricant, before it gets put into another machine that ties the wire together. In order to do this the wire gets put into the machine and then is twisted around and cut
Step 5: After the wire has been tied, each individual piece is then hand woven to form the wire fencing, continuously twisting each piece together to form the shape.
I researched into how wire mesh is made because I wanted to see the construction process, and the machines that are used throughout the process. By learning about this I was able to see how the wire becomes flexible enough to form shapes but still strong enough to endure some damage. In addition to this I also realized that although I had originally thought that the majority of the wire mesh would be created by machinery, this was not the case as a large amount was done by hand. Such as entwining the wire piece’s individuals together to form the fencing.
Depending on the type of material used meshes are of the following types:
Plastic meshes are made from polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, PVC or PTFE.
Cloth meshes are made of loosely woven or knitted fabric with a large number of closely spaced holes. Knitted mesh is frequently used for modern sports jerseys and other clothing.
Skin graft meshes are skin patches cut systematically to create a mesh.
Fiberglass mesh is a neatly woven, crisscross pattern of fiberglass thread used to create products such as filtration components, reinforced adhesive tapes etc.
Metal meshes are made of various metals which each give their physical and chemical properties to the mesh, which are then widely used in various industries.
Meshes made of metal can be woven, knitted, welded, expanded, photo-chemically etched or electroformed. Some common metals used in making wire meshes are:
Stainless steel woven mesh has high resistance to rusting and corrosion and is widely used across many industries
Carbon steel woven and welded wire mesh is affordable, versatile, strong and magnetic. It can be galvanized or given a PVC coating or painted for corrosion resistance.
Copper mesh is ductile, malleable, durable and has high thermal and electrical conductivity. It is also resistant to atmospheric corrosion; although a green patina forms on exposure. It is attractive and used in many artistic and residential projects.
Brass woven wire mesh is soft and malleable, abrasion resistant and has high tensile strength. It has industrial applications but is also used for artistic applications.
Bronze mesh is malleable, durable and ductile as well as resistant to atmospheric corrosion.
Aluminium woven wire mesh is lightweight, corrosion resistant and affordable. It is used in many industries including aerospace, automotive, marine.
I wanted to look into the different types of wire mesh, and their properties because I felt that if I had more knowledge on what mesh to use for weaving into, I would be able to have more knowledge of what mesh would be appropriate for my practice. As well as this it also made me want to further develop my practice, by using other types of wire mesh that would be suitable for using outside to be able to experiment with different environment settings. Because of this it was useful to see what types of wire I would need for it to be able to function in all-weather without rusting.