To measure wire cloth(woven wire cloth, stainless steel wire cloth, wire cloth screen, wire cloth strainer, industrial wire cloth, metal cloth, wire cloth) properly, the mesh count should be taken in both directions. On coarse meshes (mesh wire, woven wire mesh, wire mesh basket), this can be accomplished by counting the number of openings per linear inch measuring from wire center to wire center. After taking the first count, a second count should be taken at a 90 degree angle to the original measurement. The mesh count of the cloth shown is 10x10.

A mesh counter is used to measure finer meshes of wire cloth (woven wire cloth, stainless steel wire cloth, wire cloth screen, wire cloth strainer, industrial wire cloth, metal cloth, wire cloth) accurately. The fine mesh count is taken the same way the coarse mesh is computed by counting the number of openings per linear inch in one direction and taking another count at right angles to the original measurement.

Wire diameter is always checked with a micrometer caliper as shown. Diameters of wires in both directions should be checked. The illustration shows .025 diameter wire.