Just so anyone else doesn't have to go sifting through hundreds of posts and trials and errors like I did, here's the down and dirty on stainless steel mesh - the holy grail of wicking (IMHO).
Ditch the silica, the fiberglass, the what-ever-fiber you have going on in your atty/tank/etc . SS mesh is clean, it doesn't burn/crumble/give off little dangerous fibers that you then inhale, and it's easy to clean and easy to replace.
With ALL credit going to ScubabatDan (o Scuba, how your tutorials have saved me much cursing...
) for this info, here's the clear cut, all-in-one post:
Get 325 or 400 stainless steel mesh. I got mine from McMasterCarr. (I'm using the 325, but the 400 is a little more flexible and would probably be more versatile.) Here are the "specs" on 400, in case you want to get it elsewhere:
Material TypeStainless SteelFormWoven Wire ClothShapeSheetsMesh Size RangeFine MeshMesh Size (Fine)400 x 400Square/Rectangle Size.0015"Wire Diameter.001"Percentage of Open Area Range30 - 39Percentage of Open Area36
Now, cut a strip about 1/2" wide, give or take, by a couple inches long - you're either going to cut off teeny pieces for a regular atty coil, or have "tails" for your tank/whatever else.
Straighten a regular sized paperclip all the way out, or find some other tiny, rigid item as such (heh).
Now start rolling the paperclip up in the SS mesh. It's easier if you make a tiny fold on one edge, then squeeze and roll as you go - like rolling up a newspaper, only tiny - and the paperclip keeps the mesh roll straight. Slide the paperclip out when you're done.
Now you're gonna make that sucker non-conductive, so it's not going "pop" in a neat little tiny flash the 1st time you fire it up, and ruin all your delicate work of winding the nichrome, etc.
To do that, have a dish of water handy, a pair of needlenose pliers, and a small butane torch (or lighter - but the torch makes it go faster). Hold one end of your tidy little roll of mesh with a pair of pliers (unless you like burnt fingers), dip the roll in TAP water, then torch it until it turns red. Dip it again in the water (flash cooling), then torch it again till it's red, then do it a 3rd time. I do it 4 times just to make myself happy.
You can wind your nichrome around the longer piece, then snip it off to length - that way you're not trying to wind nichrome around a tube of ss mesh that's less than 1/4" long.
Just make sure your coils don't touch the edges - if there's any exposed unoxidized mesh touching your coil (where you snipped it), you're gonna have a problem.
IF YOU'RE USING A LONGER PIECE FOR A TANK/CLEAROMIZER SETUP, you only have to "oxidize" the part that will touch the coil. Doing the whole piece is unnecessary and makes the mesh more brittle and difficult to bend without kinking (thus destroying any wicking ability).
Every last atty I have will be undergoing minor "wick replacement surgery" later - ss mesh gives MUCH cleaner taste, more vapor, and I'm not worrying about how much fiberglass or silica is going into my lungs, either.
The only reason why I made this post is because all this info had to come from roughly 5 or 6 other posts, mostly buried deep within older threads. Just figured this would make it easier for folks to find all the info in one spot.
(y'all can thank Scuba for this info...all I'm doing is consolidating it.)
Ditch the silica, the fiberglass, the what-ever-fiber you have going on in your atty/tank/etc . SS mesh is clean, it doesn't burn/crumble/give off little dangerous fibers that you then inhale, and it's easy to clean and easy to replace.
With ALL credit going to ScubabatDan (o Scuba, how your tutorials have saved me much cursing...
) for this info, here's the clear cut, all-in-one post:Get 325 or 400 stainless steel mesh. I got mine from McMasterCarr. (I'm using the 325, but the 400 is a little more flexible and would probably be more versatile.) Here are the "specs" on 400, in case you want to get it elsewhere:
Material TypeStainless SteelFormWoven Wire ClothShapeSheetsMesh Size RangeFine MeshMesh Size (Fine)400 x 400Square/Rectangle Size.0015"Wire Diameter.001"Percentage of Open Area Range30 - 39Percentage of Open Area36
Now, cut a strip about 1/2" wide, give or take, by a couple inches long - you're either going to cut off teeny pieces for a regular atty coil, or have "tails" for your tank/whatever else.
Straighten a regular sized paperclip all the way out, or find some other tiny, rigid item as such (heh).
Now start rolling the paperclip up in the SS mesh. It's easier if you make a tiny fold on one edge, then squeeze and roll as you go - like rolling up a newspaper, only tiny - and the paperclip keeps the mesh roll straight. Slide the paperclip out when you're done.
Now you're gonna make that sucker non-conductive, so it's not going "pop" in a neat little tiny flash the 1st time you fire it up, and ruin all your delicate work of winding the nichrome, etc.
To do that, have a dish of water handy, a pair of needlenose pliers, and a small butane torch (or lighter - but the torch makes it go faster). Hold one end of your tidy little roll of mesh with a pair of pliers (unless you like burnt fingers), dip the roll in TAP water, then torch it until it turns red. Dip it again in the water (flash cooling), then torch it again till it's red, then do it a 3rd time. I do it 4 times just to make myself happy.
You can wind your nichrome around the longer piece, then snip it off to length - that way you're not trying to wind nichrome around a tube of ss mesh that's less than 1/4" long.
Just make sure your coils don't touch the edges - if there's any exposed unoxidized mesh touching your coil (where you snipped it), you're gonna have a problem.IF YOU'RE USING A LONGER PIECE FOR A TANK/CLEAROMIZER SETUP, you only have to "oxidize" the part that will touch the coil. Doing the whole piece is unnecessary and makes the mesh more brittle and difficult to bend without kinking (thus destroying any wicking ability).
Every last atty I have will be undergoing minor "wick replacement surgery" later - ss mesh gives MUCH cleaner taste, more vapor, and I'm not worrying about how much fiberglass or silica is going into my lungs, either.
The only reason why I made this post is because all this info had to come from roughly 5 or 6 other posts, mostly buried deep within older threads. Just figured this would make it easier for folks to find all the info in one spot.
(y'all can thank Scuba for this info...all I'm doing is consolidating it.)
Defer to asdaq, below...LOL...(the only alloy number I'm familiar with is sterling silver so imma shutmahmouf, haha!! 
)
....I have no less than 6-7 different kinds of lead-free solder laying around (I tinker a lot...ahem) and the one that's worked the best is the simple lil' tube of "fine electrical" stuff from Harbor Freight. Was 2.99, I think. When you're done, the tube can be re-purposed for other shtuff too 
