Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yesterday I was fitting the remote glow connector to my new Extreme Flight Extra. Could I get the retaining nut that holds the earth wire in place? -Could I hell! I tried for over an hour. The problem was that where the unit had to go, so that the wires would reach the engine, was a really inaccessable front corner of the fuselage. I just couldn't hold the unit and the earth wire in place in this corner and at the same time get the nut started on the thread. Eventually I called my 15 year old daughter. Laura has very small hands and on just the second attempt she had the nut started on the thread (I'm sure that's going to cost me somewhere down the line! ) As Laura pointed out "What would you do without me". And I got to thinking, she's right! I don't think I've assembled/built a model in the last 10 years where "Laura's hand" hasn't been an essential tool at some point! But Laura is growing up. Already there are places even she can't get her hand into - what am I going to do? What happens when she goes away to university or gets married? Who will sort my accessability problems then What do you do? How do you get access to that awkward spot? Who fiddles your fuel lines down through tiny holes at the front of the fuselage when you have been trying for hours with a couple of pieces of wire inserted in them to thread them through - and failed! Who holds the back of the captive nut that has fallen out up against the back of the firewall while you re-attach it? Who hooks your close loop wires through from the back of the fuselage when you have stupidly covered it before installing them? Do I have to borrow the kid nextdoor? BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Captive nuts are great - provided that you get them into place earlier on in the build. Then there are hex socketed cap screws, which, when used with ball headed allen keys can be put into tight places. Blue-tac on the end of a screwdriver or allen key?Then I believe that there are ladies in the far-east, where the people tend towards the smaller end of the spectrum, who, for a fee, will come and do many things for you. Perhaps handling your nuts is one of them. Plummet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Plummet has the right idea, tho not sure your partner would agree......failing that plenty of rioters around who now have community service orders, perhaps one of them could be (ab)used to help, they seem to be able to get their hands on most things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 temting as Plummet's suggestion is (got a phone number?) I end up using bits of tubing with the nut pushed in the end, ring spanners with sellotape to keep the nut in place, needle nose pliers and similar. I use lengths of Sullivan snake inners to get captive nuts into place or to guide fuel tubes through the bulkhead. I also spend quite a bit of time cursing the designers and the half-wits who didn't glue the captive nuts in properly in the first place.I think the worst one I can remember was trying to get the forked elevator pushrods into place on a Wot4 XL - eventually I lost the plot and cut holes in the pristine fuselage covering so I could guide them through the exit holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Forked elevator pushrods aren't too much of a problem, Bob. Insert two lengths of snake inner through the exit holes from the rear, slide them forward and thread a few turns onto the ends of the pushrod wires. Withdraw the snakes, pulling the pushrod through..........takes just moments! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Leaving aside the obvious solution of having more children........... A very handy thing is 'pearl catcher' or pick up tool which is available from Proops or Squires ( pearl grip pick up tool page 29 of Squires catalogue ) at about 3 pounds for metal and less still for a Proops plastic one. This has three wire prongs which can hold a small nut and will grip a servo screw tight enough to start driving it into a hole in a beech servo bearer.There are also locking forceps (from Proops or Squires ) and nut drivers which hold the nut You might try double sided tape or cyano to fix nuts to a bit of balsa or cardboard, making a large nut with a tapped hole in a bit of metal. Or even try one of these powerful tiny magnets ( hatch catch ) to hold nut. Anyway try turning the bolt anticlockwise until the nut locates (Like fitting a lens to a camera etc. ) The classic way of putting pushrods in is to feed a snake outer in through the exit until it comes into the servo bay and attach it to the pushrod. For forked use 2 snakes. For an aerial or wire use string with a tiny weight.Edited By kc on 20/08/2011 12:39:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Posted by Pete B on 20/08/2011 12:13:52: Forked elevator pushrods aren't too much of a problem, Bob. Insert two lengths of snake inner through the exit holes from the rear, slide them forward and thread a few turns onto the ends of the pushrod wires. Withdraw the snakes, pulling the pushrod through..........takes just moments! Pete yes Pete, that's what's suggested in the instructions.Except:1) the pushrod ends are 3mm, so normal snake inner won't fit over them2) the exit slots are a nice close fit on the 3mm rods used, so to accommodate anything that would go over the rods I would have had to open the slots by another couple of mm, something I didn't want to do as it would have allowed the rods to flex more. We're talking about a 9lb 120+ power model here.I also considered throwing the pushrod away and fitting dual snakes, but I have to admit that it does the job just fine despite my initial concerns. Believe me, I spent a long time trying alternate solutions. In the end just cutting through the covering and patching it afterwards took only a few minutes in total. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 20/08/2011 16:29:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 And only you will ever know that the patch is there! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 eggsakerly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 As has been suggested - have more kids so you always have a stock of small hands. Or alternatively BUILD BIGGER MODELS WITH GREAT BIG PETROL ENGINES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 Posted by Wingman on 20/08/2011 16:26:17: Or alternatively BUILD BIGGER MODELS WITH GREAT BIG PETROL ENGINES Now that is the first sensible suggestion so far BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 20/08/2011 17:48:09: Now that is the first sensible suggestion so far BEB Sulk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 OK, OK your advice was sensible Plummet - just not viable. Mrs BEB would have confiscated my nuts if I'd done that. Then what would I put my aeroplanes together with eh? BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I find medical locking forceps incredibly useful for work in confined spaces. You can lock them on to small nuts (we're going to need to be careful where this thread (groan) is going!) or other components and use them without needing to concentrate on holding the item like you do with long nosed pliers etc. They are very slender for getting deep into blind structures. I have 2 different sizes in my workshop and another one in my flight box.Edited By Martin Harris on 20/08/2011 23:00:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Claridge Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 i have a special pair of those with 20in long arm and a half in jaw at the end they are a loverly bit of engineering and get me out of lots of tricky instalation jobs i picked them up for 50p at a car boot, also got 2 pairs of the 12in forceps and 6 other sizes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myron Beaumont Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Phil A while back do you remember sending me a surgical grip thingy mentioned.I didn't realise at the time that you gave them away just so you could justify getting bigger ones for your nuts ! I didn't start this by the way Myron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Posted by Myron Beaumont on 24/08/2011 08:59:12:Phil A while back do you remember sending me a surgical grip thingy mentioned.I didn't realise at the time that you gave them away just so you could justify getting bigger ones for your nuts ! I didn't start this by the way Myron Lets call it teamwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Claridge Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 BIGGER NUTS mean bigger models Myron Plummet we're all nuts some of us more screwed than others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myron Beaumont Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 A few crossed threads about Eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclicscooby Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 ROFL... Luv C xxEdited By Tim Mackey on 24/08/2011 11:32:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Yes, I think that close enough to the wind gentlemen - time to tack into safer waters now! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Wind? Let me tell you about wind. Plummet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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