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Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 07:55
by Edward Po
Hi all:
I am in the process of building the Tom Boy Senior.
The bent piano wire undercarriage need to be sew to the plywood former. As I have never done it before, I like to seek advice for the following: -
1) What type of thread should I use to bind the piano wire? Can I use copper wire from electrical cable?
2) If I am using copper wire to bind it to the former, can I use soft solder to solder the wire together?
3) What type of adhesive should I use if other thread material is used for binding?
Thanks
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 09:21
by Shaun
Strong carpet thread is fine; after sewing to former smear thread with epoxy ( 20 -30) min cure time or even aliphatic on a smaller model.
Cheers,
Shaun
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 10:50
by Phil_G
Its not at all critical, I often used copper transformer wire, I would cover the area in epoxy rather than soldering.
Or sewing thread, or any heavy thread that isnt waxed. Drill first, staggered, thread & pull as tight as you can, a spot of cyano holds it together whilst you apply the epoxy, rubbed well in

or...
you can buy plastic saddles that bolt in place

or...
make a ply box on the former face that the U/C plugs into, so its removeable?
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 15:13
by Edward Po
Shaun wrote: 24 Sep 2024, 09:21
Strong carpet thread is fine; after sewing to former smear thread with epoxy ( 20 -30) min cure time or even aliphatic on a smaller model.
Cheers,
Shaun
Hi Shaun
Thank you for your reply!
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 15:16
by Edward Po
Phil_G wrote: 24 Sep 2024, 10:50
Its not at all critical, I often used copper transformer wire, I would cover the area in epoxy rather than soldering.
Or sewing thread, or any heavy thread that isnt waxed. Drill first, staggered, thread & pull as tight as you can, a spot of cyano holds it together whilst you apply the epoxy, rubbed well in

or...
you can buy plastic saddles that bolt in place

or...
make a ply box on the former face that the U/C plugs into, so its removeable?
Hi Phil
I like the idea of plastic saddle and ply box but there is not enough room to do it.
As I have a lot of copper wires from my work place, I will bind it with copper wire and covered it with epoxy.
Regards
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 24 Sep 2024, 15:31
by Phil_G
Heres mine, looking from under the prop (note the noseweight!)
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 25 Sep 2024, 08:25
by Wayne_H
Phil_G wrote: 24 Sep 2024, 15:31
Heres mine, looking from under the prop (note the noseweight!)
Gotta love that connector Phil

Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 25 Sep 2024, 09:55
by Shaun
It's a 240v 3 phase motor he uses.

Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 25 Sep 2024, 20:08
by Tobe
....I thought it was a 400v 3 phase to be sure to get enough power
Re: Sewing piano wire undercarriage to fuselage former
Posted: 26 Sep 2024, 00:35
by Wayne_H
Shaun wrote: 25 Sep 2024, 09:55
It's a 240v 3 phase motor he uses.
All achieved with a
long power lead? If so, it would be circular flight patterns I presume, all done Round The Phil - RTP?!?
