DIY speaker: braid vs twist vs straight

Thanks for the help and link. I can get 600 ft) 18 gauge magnet wire for $15.45 from www.mcmaster.com. The 26 gauge is $15.52 for 3,000 ft.
Teflon tubing is .14/ft for .034 I.D. (AWG 22 is .028") and .09/ft for .022" I.D. (AWG 26 is .018"). So it will be a slightly loose fit. I guess this is okay.
I have heard wires should not be allowed to vibrate hence the heat shrink tube idea but if it's just a single run of wire then just sliding it through the teflon should be okay I hope.

Dekay, the magnet wire I found has a clear enamel coating. So you're saying I don't need ANY tubing to protection it?

* Would this wire configuration have any funky inductance or capacitance like the Goertz stuff? Probably not, but I want to make sure.
* Should I separate the runs by 1/4" or more? Or can the 4 bi-wire runs be bundled together?
* I found the Radio Shack wire. It too is enamel-covered copper and has 40 ft) 22 Ga / 75 ft) 26 Ga / 200 ft) 30 Ga. Not sure about enamel vs. lacquer coating.
I guess it couldn't hurt to try thinner stuff. I am bi-wiring and could do 26 for the top and 22 gauge on the bottom.
Southwire (800) 444-3600 sells round, rectangular, and square magnet wire with nomex, kapton, or paper insulation. MWS (888) 697-9473 sells MULTIFILAR parallel bonded magnet wire said to offer consistent capacitance and impedance. Phelps Dodge Magnet Wire co sells coaings to apply to magnet wire. I couldn't find Michael Percy.

Going to http://www.sundial.net/~rogerr/wire.htm they recommend:
Wire Size 2 ohm 4 ohm 6 ohm
22 ga 3 ft max 6 ft max 9 ft max
20 ga 5 ft max 10 ft max 15 ft max
18 ga 8 ft max 15 ft max 23 ft max

This site also says when resistance gets too high it makes the amplifier look like a current source. "This means the speaker frequency response will tend to follow the rise and fall of the speaker's impedance curve. The impedance of most speakers is not constant with frequency". This could cause frequency response inconsistencies.

So since my speakers are 4 ohm and the run is 12 feet I felt safe with 18 ga. However since I'm bi-wiring I guess the 22 ga may work.
==>I don't want to burn the house down from overheating some micro-thin copper wire! <== Hence the thought on using teflon tubing.
If people have been using 26 ga with50 watts or more, I would wonder how long a run they had.

This has been a very helpful thread.
Audioquest says "Simple evaluation of multiple sizes reveals that audible skin-effect induced anomalies begin with a strand (or conductor) larger than .8mm. A much smaller strand yields no benefits but encourages the problems discussed below....".
http://www.audioquest.com/theory/theory2.html

.8mm = .0315" dia = 20 gauge wire = maximum size wire to use

I don't know about the benefits of lacquer vs. enamel but since the magnet wire I found is enamel so I'll go with that. Enamel should be more durable and less prone to cracking than lacquer.

Dekay, large diameter teflon tubing is expensive. Here are prices for 3/8" i.d. x 1/32" wall teflon tubing from http://www.mscdirect.com. You may need to buy 100 feet at a time.
Part number.....type of teflon.....price per foot
48700090........PTFE teflon..........1.66
48702096.........FEP.................1.83
48701098.........PFA.................3.40
heavy wall - 1/16 thick
48702591..........FEP................3.99
48701593..........PFA................5.96

Dekay, do you have a link for Michael Percy magnet wire?

If you want heat shrink teflon tubing:
http://www.mcmaster.com has teflon moisture proof tubing for $10.00 for 4 foot length. .015" wall thickness. P/N 7960K31.
"The PTFE outer layer shrinks for a tight fit and the FEP inner layer melts to provide a moisture-proof seal."

You could build up a couple of layers and get a similar construction as the 47 Labs OTA stuff.

Any thoughts on silver or square magnet wire?
Naim uses square wire for some reason.
http://www.audiotweaks.com had people using 18 ga silver wire for $1.50/ft from http://www.tobackgold.com and putting 100% cotton shoe lace over it. Less resistance so can use a smaller guage wire for skin effect but less resistance than copper.