Bolt tie wire

[stephen low]

Guys

I need to tie up several bolts on my Jag suspension and brake components.

I presume stainless steel wire is used, is that correct?

What guage / thickness is normally used and where can I get some in Melbourne?

Cheers

[poboy427]

Yes stainless is what you want. I have spools of .025 and .032. You will also want to buy safety wire pliars for the job. I bought my stuff from Speedway Motors in Lincoln, NE, USA. They can be found on the net. Hopes this helps.

Ray

[AC-460]

Steve
Just go to a welding shop and buy some stainless tig wire...
you'll have to measure the size or just take and old piece of the wire with you
Cheers Mark

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by AC-460

Steve
Just go to a welding shop and buy some stainless tig wire...

Why? Is TIG wire stronger than SS safety wire?

[AC-460]

No welding shop is the easiest place to find stainless wire not many people keep it in stock

[AC-460]

and you only need to buy a couple of lengths you dont need to buy a roll

[stephen low]

Mark

Is the question about strength of the TIG wire compared to "safety wire" valid?

Steve

[alffie]

Aviall in Melbourne sell .020,.025.032.035,.042 thou Stainless lockwire. You can do it by hand, lockwire pliers are around $100 for a cheap set.
mig wire will make the job ten times harder.

[Rick Parker]

Aircraft supply house or Circle track race car supply shop will have it. The wire on a spool is annealed and more easy to work with than Stainless welding wire.

Here is an example of how it is packaged:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LOCKWIRE-Stai...1%7C240%3A1318

[AC-460]

Tell me why you need lock wire anyway.....whats wrong with a good old stainless cap bolt and a stainless spring washer for that matter. How many new cars these days use lock wire on their brake systems!! Look inside an engine how much lock wire can you find inside of there.. none just a good bolt with the correct torque... anyway thats my two bobs worth.. My cobra has stainless cap bolts from one end to the other.. They don't come loose
Cheers Mark

[Aussie Mike]

Slowy, I've got a roll of SS lock wire and the lock wire pliers. You can borrow them if you like. I'll be back from Queensland this weekend.

Cheers

[poboy427]

Safety wire can serve as a tamper proof visual too.

My knock offs are safety wired. Depending if you wire them before or after the knock off ear is up to the individual. Example; if the wire is slack then at a quick glance you can see the knock off has backed off.

My Aviad pan has a tab to safety/tamper wire the drain plug. My KN oil filters have a provision to safety wire them too.

Internally many engine builders will wrap a wire mesh screen around the oil pickup and secure it with SS safety wire. Keeps shear pin bits out of the pump. Ring gears too are sometimes safety wired. I had my ZF ring gear safety wired on my Pantera.

Also' the safety wire pliars are trick. Here in the US they can be bought all day long for under $25. Once you use them you would never go back to hand twisting.

As well as providing function and good looks they provides a nice comp look if you are in to attention to detail.

Ray

[poboy427]

Steve,
Cut and paste to your browser. Excellant pliars at $19.


http://www.speedwaymotors.com/ProductSummary.aspx?free_text|12/29/2008%205:57:12%20PM=safety+wire&deptId=0

[bobcowan]

According to Carroll Smith, safety wire will not keep nuts and bolts from coming loose. But it will let you know when a bolt comes loose.

[stephen low]

Thanks guys for the information and thanks Mike for the offer.

I talked with my nearby cobra / aircraft owner who indicated he safety wires his bit and pieces and has miles of wire from his past employment, so I'll sponge some wire off him this time.

Most of the bits I want to do this time around are well hidden on brakes and suspension so I'll hand twist this time around.

I'd like to go to pin drives eventually so if that eventuates I'll aquire a twist tool then.

[BMK]

I have set of pliers and plenty of wire. If you need them let me know.

[BMK]

Mmmm just buy one in from Finish Line on the left on this site Under $100 with wire included.

$25 US for wire and $25 US for pliers. A few dollars for post.

Enzo or Paula from Finish Line will post them to you within four days delivery to you no problem. I have ordered a lot from them and they are good to do business with.

Saves borrowing or chasing up aircraft suppliers etc.

[legenmetals]

Try Aircraft Spruce and Specialty.

[Bill Bess]

Harbor Frieght or Finishline can supply the ss wire and pliers. With regards to safety wiring everything these days...it looks very cool, but "Lock tite" and proper torque will do the job. It is true , safety wire on Knock-off wheels is a must.....easy to check for wheel tightness at a glance.

Best Regards, Bill

[stephen low]

Thanks Guys for the comments.

In the end my cobra / flying mate wound off some and gave it to me and this has done the job. He dropped the wire off on his way to his plane to retorque the heads so he is an avid flyer and has used miles of this stuff before.

He uses the lighter gauge SS as it is easier to work with but is still plenty strong. Just took my time with pliers and it came up pretty well both functionally and visually. Didn't think to use the medium strentgh locktite - DoH!

I'll look at getting the right gear if and when I go for knock offs, which is some time away - read years, at this point.

Cheers