1/48 turnbuckles for WWI

Hi,

That turned out great.

Pat

The Q tip trick is tricky and one needs plenty of practice to stretch the plastic. I find it very easy to stretch and can do any scale and tons of them from a few tubes.

Here I made some for my Revell 1/28 Fokker Dr.1

I want to thank everyone for your kind replies.  I have done a few tests and wanted to report back.  Hopefully this can be a help to others, as before I did this I had made a grand total of zero of these.  These results are what happened to me and the failures are not to say that they don't work.  They just did not for me.

Some things that I found:

Stretched plastic Q-Tips did not work for me.  I could not get the stretch long enough to get the tube thin enough.  I was shooting for the .5mm brass tube that I had on-hand.  After about 30 minutes and a couple dozen tries, I shelved that one.

Razor saw was too bulky for me and the size seemd to overwhelm the tube.  I shelved that one.

I tried cutting the tube with very sharp scissors, various "snips" and always ended up with a crushed end of the tube.  Shelved those methods.

Found the small K&S pipe cutter at the LHS and grabbed it.  Should have read the label.  The smallest diameter it says is 1/16".  I am using .5mm or slightly larger than 1/64.  Shelved that tool. 

So, what did finally work?  The winner is:

I laid the flat tube on my cutting mat, and found the length I wanted.  I placed a breand new number 11 blade scalpel on that spot and rolled it over the tube going back and forth about 4 to 6 times with medium pressure.  Think of those loggers rolling a large log with their feet while it is floating in the water.  I then checked and could see a visible "scoring" of the tube.  I then put the tube into a small set of soft nose pliers just about to the score line.  I then lightly moved the other end of the tube back and forth and it snapped in half.  I inspected and thought I had a pretty clean break with no crushing.  Now on to the eyelet.

This was much easier.  I used 36 gauge annealed wire from TEMCo.  Item number RW0189.  I cut a piece off with sharp scissors about 3 inches long.  The length is not really relevant, I just wanted a long enough piece so I could handle it.  I folded the wire into what looked like a tennis raquet frame.  I then took some large hemostats and clamped off the handle end of the raquet.  The large loop end was then placed over a .3mm diameter drill bit that I had placed in my hobby drill.  Keeping slight pressure so as to not bend the drill bit, I twisted the wire until I had a twist with a very small loop just slightly larger than the diameter of the bit.  For those of you who have done it, think of safety wiring a filter or other thing to an engine.  I then slipped off the wire from the bit and released the hemostat.  The end clamped was then cut shorter with the scissors to make a sharp clean end.  I then took that end and slid it through the tube like threading a needle with a thread.  The long "extra" can then be CA glued and trimmed down as needed.  By the time I was done, I was making one of these every couple of minutes.

Here is a picture of two that I made.

I am sure my scale is all out of proportion, but I was thrilled to be able to make it happen.  I loved the look of those that are available to buy, but two bags of those and it would be more than the price of the kit.

If anyone wants more info, just let me know.  Thanks again to everyone for your help in explaining your techniques!

John

If you have a small enough drill bit or hard wire (such as stainless steel), you can stick that inside the tube to prevent it from collasping while cutting.  As mentioned, you don't have to cut completely through as you can snap the two pieces in half.

regards,

Jack

I make my own out of those plastic cheap generic Q Tips from the Dollar Store. They are hollow and can be stretched over a candle to any scale. The cool thing is that they maintain the hollow cavity so the wire can be inserted and looped over then CA'd.

Hi John.  Small diameter brass tubing is actually easier to "score and snap" than cut.  If you roll the tube under a new razor blade to score it and then snap the piece off, it won't crush.  A quick twist of a knife blade on the inside of the tube will take care of any knicks or "fuzz" left.

Another thought - lately I've been using stretched plastic Q-tips to create small plastic replacements for brass tubing on my WW1 builds.  The cheap drug-store variety earbuds have hollow platsic tubes for shafts - they can be stetched just like sprue, and will retain the ID.  The plastic used is harder to get a "good stretch" but the upside is they are dirt cheap - and you get a bunch of tiny tubes for each "good stretch."

I love buuilding WW1 stuff too - have fun and post pics!

I used to use my Dremel, but it was not idea. Now, I just lay the tube (Albion Alloys) on my cutting mat and gently use a sawing motion with a standard No. 11 X-acto blade. It basically works like a pipe cutter, and if you don't push too hard, you don't bend the tube.

-BD-

I have the saw, but I will look into the cutter.

John

Those are nice.  I will have to check them out.

John

I use my Dremel with an abrasive disk to cut small tubing. Stick the parts down with tape so they won't fly off into the blue when cut.

John,

One other thing: I'm very lazy. So, not having the patience nor the skills to do a lot of scratch building/manufacturing, I usually opt to buy ready made items if they can be had for a reasonable price.

For my Eduard DIII and DV I'll probably use these:

John,

I have both of these tools:

https://www.amazon.com/Xacto-X75300-Precision-Razor-Saw/dp/B00004Z2U4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492577251&sr=8-1&keywords=xacto+razor+saw

https://www.hardwareonlinestore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=48690&virtuemart_category_id=54807&gclid=Cj0KEQjw8tbHBRC6rLS024qYjtEBEiQA7wIDeXMlmNAXGyCRhpaDz8DhqHtn5Az6esufW3PS8GWrkRUaAuhY8P8HAQ&ppcsclkid=ZXYnJHVPKwMk&ppcstrkid=1332290283&ppcsu=xhg7f5djqitnahs

but I'm not sure .5 mm would work in the little tube cutter. I've cut 3mm and I think a little under that diameter before but I doubt .5mm would be able to be cut by it. The saw might work though.

Yes they do make them small enough. I have one. :)

Plumbing and tool supply stores usually carry them.

Mike;

Do they make them for tubes with that small OD?  I have seen some other websites where they talk about using the small tube, but they all seem to be cut already or using a stretched plastic Q-Tip technique which I am terrible at.

John

Hmm. Either a small pipe cutter, or roll the tube on a flat surface with a shap blade.

The pipe cutter will be more precise with little practice.