Textile Cloth Wire Thoughts

[sarakisof]

Hello everyone, found a flea bargain sale the other day, bulk lot of nos common textile cloth lightning wire in spools with different colours and gauges for 5 bucks, hundrends of meters. Was wondering if they could used in any "audio" application, such as wiring tube amps, guitar pickups or anything else.
Any thoughts?

[PRR]

What, like this stuff?

("lighting", not "lightning")

It's just tinned stranded copper with line-voltage insulation.

Lamp wire is usually too fat stiff and expensive for most audio. Speaker wire is an obvious use. If you are sure the stuff is safe for your local wall voltage, use it for power cord. (For a long time there was no UL-approved cloth lamp wire.) It would be a tight stuffing in many amps and guitar cavities, but if the shoe fits, solder it.

[Phoenix]

If it's new old stock the cloth insulation may also be perished, depending on the original quality of the wire and its storage conditions. This is a fairly common failure in old equipment that feature it.
Have a feel and see if it is still supple. If it feels brittle at all, even if it's not crumbling yet I wouldn't put it into service.

Though at that price it'd probably be worth it just for scrap, even at grade 2 insulated wire value.

[sarakisof]

Yeap i see will grab it when pass again, won't go there just to buy it   
Thanks guys   

[PRR]

There's two types. Old-old stuff is just cloth. Or maybe worse, cloth over real rubber. This stuff rots over time.

Post WWII (different times in different places) there was a switch to PVC (plastic) insulation with a cloth covering. I have a house full of 2-conductor cable. The overall jacket is cloth and is rotting badly. The individual conductors are heavy PVC coated and in great shape.