Push rods

[Dave Griffiths]

Been a fan of FliteTest for a while and just before everything shut down in the UK, I had a rush of blood to the head and bought five sheets of foam board and started building the Tiny Trainer. I’m a 56 year old private pilot but I fancy flying something I’m not sitting in and I’ve watched these foam board builds with great interest. And I’ve always fancied RC since I used to fly control-line in the 1970s!

Anyway, I’ve got most of the stuff I need but I’m struggling with push rods. I’ve bought a FT radial power pack A and I have no idea what diameter rods I need or where to get them in the UK. It’ll have to be on-line shopping but I’m at a loss at the moment. Any pointers?

 

[llamberll]

I've bought galvanized steel wire on my local hardware store. It's a bit soft, but it does the job.
I've bought a size that wouldn't fit on the Flight Test servos, so I had to drill bigger holes on the servo arms.
I'm also looking for a good option to buy, something a bit stiffer, but can't seem to find it online in my country. Maybe I just don't know what to look for.

 

[Piotrsko]

Some people use wire from home style spool welders about .05 mm (.025") S'cuz me, I am 'Murican and dont convert metric well. @The Hangar has a video on how to straighten. Lawn and garden centers have little flags for marking where the sprinkler heads are in your yard, some use bamboo sticks with a wire end spliced on, some use push pull systems with sewing thread, some people use straightened coat hangars from the cleaners. Some DIY hardware purveyors sell "music wire" in 1meter lengths. I can go on forever, but this should start you looking around for random pieces of metal stuff

 

[Indy durtdigger]

Don't forget welding supplies other than MIG wire. The filler rods for TIG and gas type welding can be had in a dizzying array of alloys and sizes and can be bought for cheap.

 

[The Hangar]

It was actually @DutchTerror who had the video on how to straighten them. Here it is:

Here's a quick video I just threw together showing how I straighten that music wire. This is 0.031", but I often prefer the 0.047" for most models.

 

[Piotrsko]

But I knew you knew where it was, and besides, it was in one of your threads

 

[Merv]

Any wire about the thickness of paperclip wire will work. With softer wires, keep the runs short or support the wire every few inches. I like the wire from marking flags, it's a bit thicker and is very stiff. Only needs support every 10-12 inches or so. You can get the flags at the big box store, something like Lowes, $10 or so for 100.

 

[messyhead]

I ordered some 1.5mm Piano wire from Amazon. It's due to arrive today, so I'll let you know if it's any good.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AKA9JIE

 

[messyhead]

I ordered some 1.5mm Piano wire from Amazon. It's due to arrive today, so I'll let you know if it's any good.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AKA9JIE

This actually just arrived, but it's a little thicker than the ones I got from the FT quick build kit. It's not too thick though. So probably 1.2mm would be enough for most push rods.

I used 1.5mm on the first build I did, and it's ok, just a little harder to bend.

 

[messyhead]

Now I looked properly, I wish I'd gone for this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingfisher-GSW103-Garden-Galvanised-1-2mm/dp/B004ORTBXM

 

[Dave Griffiths]

Thanks for your help. I have some 1mm wire which would seem to be ok in terms of rigidity but it’s too big for the micro servo horns and indeed the linkage stoppers supplied with the Power Pack A. I think if I drill the horns they’ll be too flimsy. Mmmm

 

[daxian]

i found the 1.2 mm to be perfect ,and bought off ebay ...use the wire heated to resize the holes on the servo and control horns...have had no problems so far ..!!! if using ply for the horns you will need to use a drill bit ...