scott finnie Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 As the title says wheels! Are they important? I was at a local flying field today and seen 2 wheels roll off at the end of the runway, made me think , how many of us check our wheel grommets ect before we fly? our undercarriage is sometimes under a lot of stress with vibration ect but most of us just check the main things like ailerons,elevator,rudder ect, why not wheels, both these wheels rolled off trainer aircraft so maybe it was just a newbie (not over tightening anything) thing. But it has got me thinking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 AS I have said many times. The most useless piece of modelling hard ware is the wheel collet. One of our club members lost a wheel and smashed a plastic spat and ruined his day a couple of Sundays ago, Still, it helped me fill a column! Solder the wheels on and you will NEVER lose one. OR solder on a piece of brass tube that extends past the axle and drill it for a split pin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 or just use a bolt with nylock nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will -0 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Peter, would you care to share any tips on getting the solder to flow onto piano wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Damms Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I use wheel collets but I always epoxy the ends, never had one fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Posted by will -0 on 18/10/2013 09:38:29: Peter, would you care to share any tips on getting the solder to flow onto piano wire? Easy. You need to clean the wire properly by sandpapering it. YOu need plenty of heat. I have a 40 watt iron that works well with 8SWG wire but if you are going to buy an iron buy an even bigger one, I have an ancient 75Watt iron that also works very well and is better when soldering larger lumps of metal succh as two 8 SWG wires. You need a good lead tin multicore solder and you can add some extra flux as well. So those are the three things, Cleanliness, heat and solder and flux. Put the wheel on, wrap the end of the axle with clean copper wire apply heat and solder. You can add a wassher between the wheel and wire if you want to be really classy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essjay Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Peter, with all that heat flowing in the axle, how do you stop the plastic wheel hub from melting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The heat is pretty localised. Never had a wheel melt. You can put some weth paper up against the wheel to stop any blemishes of the hub. As soon as the solder melts and flows you remove the iron. The axle will absorb the ehat and disperse it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnor Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Further to Peter's soldering suggestion I saw a 3/16th slot in the end of the wire, nip said end together at the tip, fill the gap with solder, then drill a pin sized hole in it...........put wheel on, add a washer, and pop a pin thru the hole and bend it. Again, you'll never lose that wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.