Tony Harrison 2 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 The inners of my first snakes (installing them in an electric glider) feel rather stiff, as they slide through the outers. These are carefully installed in a fairly straight line, certainly no sharp bends, but there's too much friction and I think they'll impose a strain on the servos. What does one use to lubricate these? Thanks, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Tracey Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi Tony. On a personal note I am using a silicone based lubricant. I found a really good product in my local Aldi store a while ago this was like a pen with a little metal point and when the pen is pressed on a certain point it dispences one drop at a time . What I tend to do is to remove the inner and drop one deop of the fluid into thefixed one insert the inner one and work it up and down . This works for me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVC Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I've never had to lubricate a snake, and I'm not sure if this is a good idea; I imagine that any greasy lubricant will be like a magnet for dust, pebbles etc, the result being much more friction. When you slide them without installing in the plane, do they feel stiff also, or is it only once placed? If the latter, maybe the exit is not properly aligned with the control horn. Another option (quite unusual but possible) is that the holes in the formers are too tight. One last question: are they crossed, i.e. left servo to right control horn and vice versa? It would help if you show a photo of the installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 How loose are they in your formers? A tight hole in the former can just compress the outer a faction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essjay Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I think the fact that any oil/grease could attract dirt is a good point. What I've done in the past is to use a good silicon furniture polish. Remove the inner snake and spray a small amount of polish on a clean rag, then draw the inner throught the rag. Replace in the outer and it should slide a treat. It works very well. As an aside, I've used this method on a sticky curtain rail as well. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daren Graham - Cambria Funfighters Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Quite often when a snake is cut, the tube gets slightly crimped and wants opening up again. I just run a scalpel around the inside of the tube at each end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 There are dry lubricants intended for use on fabric tables during clothing manufacture (cutting tables mostly). My wife used to work at Silkolene and their product is called Slipsil but there are others. They are supplied in spray cans and the one I have now is called Wynn's Silicone Lube. We used to use it to lubricate the mainsail tracks in our dinghy alloy mast and boom to make sail adjustment smoother. They would work perfectly with snakes without causing any dirt to stick as with oily lubricants. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Have you tried KY ?????? Ooops... sorry wrong forum.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I used to use talcum powder when running 35 mHz aerials through long fuselage tubing. This should work on sticky snakes assuming there is no underlying restriction. Just dust a little powder into your hand then draw the snake through the powder. It worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Tracey Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi Tony. The posting I put up is a personal thing maybe I have been lucky . As I said I only put one drop of oil on the thing so far it has not given me any problems with .dirt etc as some of the other posters have said. Like I said it is a personal choice whatever works best for each person. Given the lubricant that I use is a silicone based and I use no more than one drop whatever I would the snake for binding. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven S Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I would use a dry lubricant, such as "extra fine graphite", it works well on scooter/motorcycle cables and since it's dry it doesn't attract dirt. I've rubbed some on my inner snake cables and noticed an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi Tony, If I may ad a '0,02 penny' to your question, certainly never oil or greasy products, please, as they attract everything possible in the area. Graphite is OK as it 'spreads' itself virtually all over the place. But at a certain point, it looses it's 'water-repelling' action & becomes hard (= no protection anymore & obstruction). The answer IMHO is Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is a fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. After our common 'ice' (frozen water... ) it is the product on earth with the smallest coefficient of friction. The best known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Dupont. You can find it in spray-cans quite easily. I’m using the German Wurth brand, specialised in automotive products. Maybe available in UK as well, or the Silkolene range as Geoff wrote.... Cheers Chris BRU – BE / CTR PTFE Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison 2 Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thanks for some creative suggestions. I hadn't thought of that "crimping" effect when cutting the outers, but will investigate. Can't recall if I crossed over the snakes but I think so - fuselage all closed up now! When trying the snakes for size it seemed that crossed-over would give straighter runs, so I probably did that. Lube: I have some dry graphite powder, and quality gun oils that contain PTFE. Will experiment. Of course, since buying & fitting the snakes, my learning has continued, and I now think I should have avoided snakes altogether! I could easily have made rods/wires to do the same thing, and even mounted the servos well back down the fuselage too... Will consider that next time. Lots to learn in this game. Ah, and my snakes are certainly not loose fitting, since I epoxied them into place in two bulkheads they pass through on their way to the tail - though they were not a tight fit. rgds Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spice Cat Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have used the simple expedient of running a pencil up and down the inner. Works on zips too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i12fly Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Another vote for pencil as Spice Cat recommends i.e.graphite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Posted by Daren Graham - Cambria Funfighters on 25/01/2016 12:05:15: Quite often when a snake is cut, the tube gets slightly crimped and wants opening up again. I just run a scalpel around the inside of the tube at each end. Yep, I've come across this too... makes a big difference if the end has become oval shaped or there is swarf hanging onto the inner edge after cutting, especialy if a saw has been used to mak the cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH. Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I have a bottle of rare virgin 'Snake Oil' - last one! £99 When it's gone it's gone! Lubricates all.. Cure-all for models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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