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Sewing string that looks like metal wire/cable


Venom

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Big John said:

Thanks guys, great cable look.  I have also found that guitar strings, the wrapped metal ones make great throttle cable lines like the cable release lines for emergency breaks and trunk/hood, and parachute releases.

Awesome! Glad to hear of people liking it.

Yes, the guitar string is something I’ve heard others mention here, though I’ve never tried it myself yet.

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I am looking forward to trying the thread for my Bugatti tp35 brake cables it looks about right.  Here is one use by 89AKurt on his Auto Union build.  The neat thing about the guitar strings is that they come in many different sizes.

 

Gutar String Cable.jpg

Edited by Big John
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50 minutes ago, Big John said:

I am looking forward to trying the thread for my Bugatti tp35 brake cables it looks about right.  Here is one use by 89AKurt on his Auto Union build.  The neat thing about the guitar strings is that they come in many different sizes.

 

Gutar String Cable.jpg

Guitar string is good for representing stiff pipes or lines, but it is too stiff to represent cable.  Cables need to show sag or have to be wound around pulleys or spooled.  The appearance of a string is also wrong for stranded cables.

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1 hour ago, peteski said:

Guitar string is good for representing stiff pipes or lines, but it is too stiff to represent cable.  Cables need to show sag or have to be wound around pulleys or spooled.  The appearance of a string is also wrong for stranded cables.

I think guitar string would work well for replicating steel brake line armor, like so:

armoredbrakeline.jpg.65df47ed966b3620163f92007317253d.jpg

 

Less ideal for replicating the sheathing for parking brake cables, which has a flatter profile:

armoredbrakeline.png.c317c66be89ba82be7c5f0bede52b916.png

 

The key is finding the correct O.D. for the scale you are working in. Much like spark plug wires and, well, any other tubing, line, or cable, getting the size correct and in scale makes a big difference. Using the 3rd string as an example, /025" x 25 = .625", or 5/8" outside diameter...probably too thick for 1/25 scale, but closer to correct at .400" in 1/16 scale.

Here are some Martin & Co. guitar strings I happened upon at my local Habitat for Humanity store, with the outside diameter for each listed on the package. the 1st and 2nd strings are smooth stainless wires, so not really braided nor spiral wrapped wires like the 3rd through 6th strings are:

GuitarStrings00.jpg.533091adaf20cfb337b365887610cb7e.jpg

 

 

GuitarStrings0.jpg.674308a87207c8852b0a06acba82d4a1.jpg

 

Below, the 3rd string, radially wound with brass wire:

GuitarStrings2.jpg.2470b45d871a6f8ad3585229cd672177.jpg

 

Below, the 2nd wire, which is unwound, bare wire:

GuitarStrings4.jpg.18fd0c49f43e1eefadf73a68b0ec51a2.jpg

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7 hours ago, Big John said:

I am looking forward to trying the thread for my Bugatti tp35 brake cables it looks about right.  Here is one use by 89AKurt on his Auto Union build.  The neat thing about the guitar strings is that they come in many different sizes.

 

 

Yeah the guitar string deffinately has a great look for certain things... I saw the under glass pics of that car and it is really well done!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Quick update... I did an annealing test on a section of guitar string and found it quite flexible afterward.  Heat the metal to a light orange color and cool it slowly and it will have the flexibility of copper wire.  If you don't cool it slowly it gets very brittle.  Spring steel does that if it cools rapidly.  These are pretty tight bends so the coils open up if you're not careful.

Guitar Strin Anneal.jpg

Edited by Big John
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