Solved Need a common source for pushrod wire!

bracesport

Legendary member
I have used some welding wire, and engineering workshops will have some at hand. There are different types and sizes.
 
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makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
If you don't want/ have available, straws for push did guides, you can use some well placed zip ties pulled into a tight loop and pushed into the foam as guides. Maybe two or three for really long rods. Also, to avoid long push rods, maybe consider moving servos with servo extensions to locate them closer to the control surface.
 

Paracodespoder

Elite member
I got the flags! They look like the thick pushrods I like to use anyways, which I just drill for with a regular bit. They are thinner than the ones our utility company uses, which are really thick.

Now to find a coffee stirrer guide for them. Canadian coffee stirrers are not tubes, they are flat. Usually I just make straight runs with my rods, I don't bend them. Maybe I'll just guide them with slotted or drilled foamboard.
The(at least the ones I have) don’t need guides, they are plenty stiff without, if you want guides though, regular straws will work.
 

Hondo76251

Legendary member
.023, .030, .035, .045 MIG welding wire... I use it all the time. Cheap and plentiful.

If you don't have a source, go to a local shop (probably someone who does exhaust) and they'd give you as much as you need for next to nothing I'm sure... The heavier stuff (.045) should go a long way without needing support... and if all you have is smaller stuff it can be double stranded (twisted tightly together) and it becomes quite stiff plus you can make a sort of "safety pin" locking hook over your servo horn with the second strand of wire...
 
I use piano wire, which is sold on a coil. This coiled nature is certainly not conducive to nice, straight pushrods. Take a length of up to 24" of this wire, bend a 90° of about 1/2" on each end. Clamp one end in a bench vise. Clamp the other end in a drill, with the tag end sticking out of the drill chuck. Run the drill slowly, and I use the tag end to count revolutions. I put about 15 turns in per foot of wire, so 30 turns on a 24" length. When you've hit 30, put the drill in reverse for about 8-10 revolutions. This takes the pre-tension out of the wire that will whack you on the finger otherwise. I then proceed to turn the remainder of that original 90° bend into a Z bend.

This would probably work for coiled welding wire as well, though I've not tried it.
 

sundown57

Legendary member
.023, .030, .035, .045 MIG welding wire... I use it all the time. Cheap and plentiful.

If you don't have a source, go to a local shop (probably someone who does exhaust) and they'd give you as much as you need for next to nothing I'm sure... The heavier stuff (.045) should go a long way without needing support... and if all you have is smaller stuff it can be double stranded (twisted tightly together) and it becomes quite stiff plus you can make a sort of "safety pin" locking hook over your servo horn with the second strand of wire...
that's the best bet, I bought like 2 pounds of .030 tig wire for 6 bucks they are 2 feet long. with that, you don't even have to drill out the servo horns but if you are making long pushrods you do have to support it like ever 4 inches or so. Larger ones are ok but heavier.
 

sundown57

Legendary member
I previously shopped around for some straight wire for pushrods. I wanted something similar/the same as the Flite Test pushrod wire.

I present you: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H5RYXE/?tag=lstir-20

36" long, straight, seems like the exact same diameter to FT pushrods, and can be easily cut to a desired size.
do you know if music wire is any different from this wire? I know the .035 will fit the servos without drilling out the holes and these are a lot cheaper. Like 50 rods for 10 bucks.

https://www.arc-zone.com/tig-weldin...aaFMDZ7T1opWSI1JtN2hbpiX_RDwEjLEaAulcEALw_wcB
 

FroProHD

Member
@sundown57 The wire I listed is 0.039", thicker than the 0.035" wire you linked, which I'd guess would require more bracing in order to avoid bending issues. The wires I posted also don't require drilling to fit.

Other than thickness, there isn't much difference I don't think.
 

sundown57

Legendary member
i wasn't sure if one type might be stiffer than another. I know I went to a craft store a while back looking for some when I ran out and what they had bent super easy. That's when I remembered I had a ton of tig wire at home. and since then I've been using that. never tried music wire.
 

FroProHD

Member
i wasn't sure if one type might be stiffer than another. I know I went to a craft store a while back looking for some when I ran out and what they had bent super easy. That's when I remembered I had a ton of tig wire at home. and since then I've been using that. never tried music wire.
Maybe the tig wire IS stiffer, I havent used it personally.