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Building exhaust headers from copper


NOBLNG

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There are a number of threads on here about building headers, but I have not seen anyone using copper. I got the idea for using a drilled piece of hardwood for a jig from a thread on here. I used the solid copper from some #14AWG house wiring which scales out to 1-9/16” tube in 1/25. It bends nearly as easy as the solder that some have used, but unlike solder….it can be soldered!🙂 Careful bending can avoid most toolmarks on the copper, and minor ones can be sanded off. I think I will head to Michaels and pick up a set of round-nosed jewelry pliers before building my next set.

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I used a piece of soft wire looped down through another hole and twisted like a tourniquet to get the copper to sit tight together. A slight tapping with a small metal bar or hammer “sets” them and does away with any gaps.

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Once they are all soldered together, they can be bent up to adjust the angle needed. Then they can be filed to accept a 1/8” O.D. collector.

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Edited by NOBLNG
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Excellent idea! Not sure why I (or others) have not thought if it.

Regular 14 or 12AWG wire is still fairly stiff.  You can make it more like solder (softer) by annealing it.  I believe that to anneal copper  you have to heat it up until it glows, then quench it in cold water (yes opposite than what is done to steel).

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I made two or three sets from copper wire around seventeen years ago. Also made some exhausts with it. The only drawback I had with it was the weight it adds to a model. Especially long tube headers like I made. They made the model "heavy" feeling. Especially the front. I switched to styrene rod and liked it much better. 

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On 1/1/2022 at 5:41 PM, peteski said:

Excellent idea! Not sure why I (or others) have not thought if it.

Regular 14 or 12AWG wire is still fairly stiff.  You can make it more like solder (softer) by annealing it.  I believe that to anneal copper  you have to heat it up until it glows, then quench it in cold water (yes opposite than what is done to steel).

I tried annealing one wire on this second set, but I liked the stiffness of the un-annealed wire better.

On 1/3/2022 at 11:23 AM, Oldmopars said:

I like it, I like it a lot. i don't build many "Hot Rod" types of vehicles, but this could also be usefull for building roof racks, tube bumpers, truck ladder racks, etc. 

I always love new suggestions like this. 

You could, but if you want long straight sections, I think styrene rod or brass would work better. The brass is just as easily soldered.

On 1/3/2022 at 11:08 PM, Plowboy said:

I made two or three sets from copper wire around seventeen years ago. Also made some exhausts with it. The only drawback I had with it was the weight it adds to a model. Especially long tube headers like I made. They made the model "heavy" feeling. Especially the front. I switched to styrene rod and liked it much better. 

The weight doesn’t concern me, but these are just shorty headers. From there back the exhaust will be styrene.

4 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

That's how I did the solder headers on my supermodified. That jig makes all the difference in the world! Nice work, Greg!

You must have used CA to join the solder “pipes”? And, yes the jig makes it easy. On the first set, I made a tracing of a kit manifold to get what I thought would be an appropriate direction for the outlet…but I had to re-make them in a different direction.

It works for me. Thanks Everyone!

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The holes in the heads have gotten a little enlarged due to having these in and out a dozen times. I will likely  make some tiny flanges from styrene or brass to cover them.

Edited by NOBLNG
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On 1/1/2022 at 3:41 PM, peteski said:

Excellent idea! Not sure why I (or others) have not thought if it.

Regular 14 or 12AWG wire is still fairly stiff.  You can make it more like solder (softer) by annealing it.  I believe that to anneal copper  you have to heat it up until it glows, then quench it in cold water (yes opposite than what is done to steel).

I work in the HVAC refrigeration industry. The copper lines we use come in hard and soft. To soften or anneal the hard copper to bend it, we run our oxy-acetylene  rich to coat the copper in soot. You then heat it until the soot is gone. It is then air cooled.

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A question - as I am not from the USA the cable used here 14g - is that a single stranded wire - 

The problem is that all our cables are sized in metric and in mm cross section - 14AWG is the equivalent of 2.08mm2 

We in NZ abandoned solid core cable in the early 80's as it was not very popular with us sparkies

 

 

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2 minutes ago, bill-e-boy said:

A question - as I am not from the USA the cable used here 14g - is that a single stranded wire - 

The problem is that all our cables are sized in metric and in mm cross section - 14AWG is the equivalent of 2.08mm2 

We in NZ abandoned solid core cable in the early 80's as it was not very popular with us sparkies

 

 

Can you get 2mm2 in Aluminum or a soft aluminum about the same size? If so, use it the same way, just epoxy it instead. 
You may be able to find aluminum or brass rod and anneal it so you can bend it. 
I'm sure there are options if you get creative. 

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1 hour ago, bill-e-boy said:

A question - as I am not from the USA the cable used here 14g - is that a single stranded wire - 

The problem is that all our cables are sized in metric and in mm cross section - 14AWG is the equivalent of 2.08mm2 

We in NZ abandoned solid core cable in the early 80's as it was not very popular with us sparkies

 

 

Yes it is a solid core wire. It measures 0.063 inches diameter, which would be 1.6mm. Any properly sized solid wire could be used. The advantage to copper or brass in my mind is that it can be soldered to make an extremely solid set of headers. YMMV.🙂

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8 hours ago, bill-e-boy said:

A question - as I am not from the USA the cable used here 14g - is that a single stranded wire - 

The problem is that all our cables are sized in metric and in mm cross section - 14AWG is the equivalent of 2.08mm2 

We in NZ abandoned solid core cable in the early 80's as it was not very popular with us sparkies

Yes, it is 14 AWG solid copper wire.  This site should be helpful to you (and others using metric system):  https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/wire-gauge-chart.html

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On 3/11/2022 at 3:16 PM, peteski said:

Yes, it is 14 AWG solid copper wire.  This site should be helpful to you (and others using metric system):  https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/wire-gauge-chart.html

Thanks for the clarification Greg

Copper is easy to solder and would make for easier handling.

I have used plastic tube but you tend to use a bit and it is more time consuming and I feel a little wasteful. We pay a lot for Plastruct etc tube here in NZ as it is imported and there are a few ticket clicks on the way to the time we buy it

Ally cant be soldered so that does not lend itself to header building. The same for solder.

I will keep a look out for some suitable copper though as I like the concept

 

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