36 replies to this topic

[Rick]

Not sure SS wire would even be legal?? Early on a builder built a chassis using SS instead of brass( from the K&S rack) and was deemed illegal. SS is not addressed, just steel wire?? ......

[Gator Bob]

Not sure SS wire would even be legal?? Early on a builder built a chassis using SS instead of brass( from the K&S rack) and was deemed illegal.

 

By who? lol

 

SS is not addressed, just steel wire?? ......

 

Chris... the OP is a dedicated and talented old school wire scratchbuilder in Group 'F' wings and as far as I know doesn't mess with retro.

 

Hi Chris

[MSwiss]

Not sure SS wire would even be legal?? Early on a builder built a chassis using SS instead of brass( from the K&S rack) and was deemed illegal.

Wire or sheet?

[Pablo]

Sounds like SS wire could possibly be good for jig axles (like Swiss said) and not much else.  At least not much else WE do.....

My experiments say SS solders to brass OK, but does not solder well to SS.  At least, with the normal acids and solders WE use..... 

[Mr. M]

Hmmmm, I have not tried any actual soldering? What were you testing with Pablo? All I use is stay right acid and flux on everything.

[Pablo]

I was using typical slot car solders and acid products we normally use, Lucky Bob's, Stay Brite, Oakleys, etc.  In my experiments, SS soldered to brass "no problemo".   But, SS did not solder well to SS.  I'm sure there are acids, solders and techniques that would work better, but for normal slot car type acid and 60/40 and or silver bearing solders, you will find it doesn't like to be soldered to itself. Try it yourself.  I'm just sayin', that's what I experienced.  People solder steel tubes to brass all the time in slot cars, works fine. Try soldering two SS rails together side by side, or at an angle across each other,  it's not strong at all. I like to break things with my meaty fingers to test strengths

[SlotStox#53]

With regular 60/40 & Lucky Bob's acid stainless tube did solder to brass rod quite well, just needed to be really cleaned up prior to soldering. Brass you can get away with not being perfectly clean here & there, whereas the stainless is very picky!!! The soldering ability could be down to varying sources/qualities of stainless. So far only tried soldering Stainless tubing from JDS & that worked reasonably well..

 

Although bending said tubing was a right PITA .... !!  

[Bill from NH]

Lucky Bob's was selling a special acid flux for stainless a few years ago, but I don't know what they sell now. They used the same part number as their regular acid flux but with a -SS suffix added. I use Stay Clean or Oatey's Liquid Flux when soldering stainless, because both seem to have more bite. The thing with stainless is to be ready to solder it immediately after cleaning the oxide off, because this oxide reforms quickly. That's usually a chromium oxide but it could be nickel oxide too, depending on the makeup of the stainless. Brass doesn't oxidize as quickly.

[JimF]

I would view the application (at least for me) of SS wire thisaway..........

 

I like to use single .078 wire as a sorta general purpose main frame rail design that works reasonably well at most anything. I used to buy .075, .072, and .068 PW from SPI as alternatives when I wanted a little more flex. Now, those PW sizes are no longer available but IIRC, SS wire might be. If those sizes still exist and they are maybe a slight bit more ductile than PW but still more resilient than bronze, then you might be able to pick and choose your flex and get the benefit of better damping as well.

 

I think that I might spin the SS wire in a dremel with 220 paper to rough it, then add acid and do a full tinning job. Then I think you could solder that wire to your bracket and your hinge tubes etc with relative impunity.

 

I think..................

[Mr. M]

Back to my original question of practical implications, I think it is mostly answered. Stainless is not widely used because it is harder to work with (soldering) and the springier piano wire is more forgiving to bending during a crash as well as better dampening to vibration.

[Half Fast]

Jim F-

 

You can get various "in between" sizes of piano wire from McMaster-Carr to supplement the K+S sizes.

 

Cheers

[Bob Thurman]

An easy fix is to get a small length of very fine brass rod (1/64) and lay between the ss rods. Both will attach to the brass and hang together. If you see any cracks later (or just in case) a quick touch of the soldering iron before a race makes sure it's stll together. I had a spell with joints cracking and the brass cured everything.