[Coopdevil]

Title says it all really. I have the front and rear halves of a Parma Womp that I want to extend to fit under a dragster with a very long w/b and want to run piano wire between the two as the method of lengthening it as I've seen on some old scratchbuilt brass-and-wire chassis. What's the best gauge to use for this?

Cheers,

Coop

 

[Larry LS]

Depends, on a couple things. Do you want any flex in the chassis to get some traction effect or just make it rigid?

I would try 1/16 inch (.062)diameter to start, depending on length of chassis over all. For a stiff long one I would go with 3/32nd (.093)of an inch diameter.

Have some fun!

 

[GRAH1]

for a dragster Id use 1/16th piano wire as you wont need it to be really flexible Id also put a centre pivot rail to act as a spine and stop any up down movement .
For a circuit racer 18 swg is what I always use on a flexy board .

 

[Fergy]

Okay, dumb Canadian here, who always goes by ancient SAE (inch) measurements. (Grah just confused me by using 1/16" and 18 swg in the same post!

)

Is there any site that offers SAE/metric/SWG conversions? I have no idea what 18 swg is.....

 

[MAF]

Have a look here

 

[Fergy]

Thanks, MAF!

I think.....

So.... I assume Grah's ref to 18swg is really 'Wire # 18'? Might make sense to me..... I suppose..... except that 'Wire number (gauge) 18' is shown as .0480" (SWG) and also .0403" (AWG)..... when did inches become different?

Just as confused as ever.... and it doesn't get better with age....

 

[MAF]

Yes is it confusing. For swg conversion you only need to look at the first two columns.

For example 2nd column Wire no. (gauge) this is also the SWG no. we would refer to in the UK

so for Wire No./swg 18,

1st column states the actual size in inches 0.0480"

for metric obviously x 25.4 = 1.219mm

Hope this helps

Don't know about AWG or AWG metric.

best regards,
Marlon.

 

[Coopdevil]

Arrgh.... head hurts!

Length of w/b is about an inch longer than a Scalextric NASCAR so it isn't an excessively long Top Fuel-type car. So 1/16" (Larry's suggestion) is 0.625" which doesn't appear on that chart but 0.640" does which is known as 16 Gauge. Which is about 1.3mm. I think....

So I'll have to write down all three measurements on a scrap of paper to take to the model shop tomorrow! You know, I see this ending up being a "eh... that looks about right" sort of thing!

Coop

 

[Phil Kalbfell]

We used to run womps under our Nascars with home sets as a class. everyone hod their own ideas but I used either .047 or .055 diameter wire to give the chassis some flex.

I always find that using measurements for wire saves a lot of confusion.

Phil

 

[cheater]

QUOTE (Phil Kalbfell @ 19 Nov 2004, 05:38)I always find that using measurements for wire saves a lot of confusion.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And in US hobby shops, inch measurement is how the product is labeled. The most common supplier into the hobby trade is K&S Engineering, and their music wire, in their commonly-seen assortment racks, is sized as .062, .055, .047, .032, etc.

K&S Tube and Wire Center

Is the situation in the UK and Europe different?

 

[Coopdevil]

QUOTE (cheater @ 19 Nov 2004, 15:52)Is the situation in the UK and Europe different?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Difficult to say because when I went to the local model shop today their piano wire and brass sheet stand was supplied by.... K&S Tube and Wire Center!

Small world

Coop

 

[howmet tx]

That's the expensive way to do it, ain't it Coop?
Go to a smal engineering shop/supply and get some 18swg piano wire. It costs pennies, and that's the stuff for building chassis with. Well, it always was in my day. It's compatible with the 1/16th" (here we go again) brass rod that most people use for chassis also (K&S supplied...), so you can build a brass frame with piano wire stiffening rails or vice versa.
When things got really hot, ca. 1970, we used 18swg, and ground a flat on top and bottom to lower the CofG and overall weight without compromising strength. I wouldn't have the strength to do that these days.
Smaller gauge wire is for F1 suspension details and hinges!
Go for it Coop. It's fun. Piano wire takes more effort in bending and soldering (I use Baker's Fluid flux, but I bet there are all sorts of different ones), but it polishes up nicely.

Howmet is currently;

Playing; hooky from work
Reading; The Hungry Caterpillar
Scratchbuilding; too much
Driving; the wife and kids crazy

 

[Fergy]

Coop, you really must drag Grah and Howmet to that shop!

I know what 16 gauge wire is - it's the stranded stuff that connects my speakers to my amp, and my power supply to my modular track. 14 gauge is my controller wiring. 18 gauge is for sissies. 12 gauge is a shotgun spec, or wire for guys who like hot 16Ds. 23 gauge and higher, in solid form, is for winding arms.

But.... .093", .078", .062", .055", .047", .040", .032", .025", .020", .015", and .010"... now THAT's the terminology for scratchbuilding stuff!

Playing; a bunch of Pink Floyd MP3s at the moment
Reading; my monitor
Scratchbuilding; no time for building, but scratching, yes
Driving; a hard bargain with my house builder