Alternatives To Piano Wire

you can have stainless or copper plated mild steel wire

all the best.mark

What about silver steel, 1/16" & 2mm are the nearest.

Andy M

Hi,

You could try silver steel. It is a high quality, high-carbon steel alloy stock that is ground to size. It can be hardened easily if required. Suitable for use with plain or ball race bearings.

Available at all engineer's suppliers such as Cromwell Tools (

MIG wire is required to be bent (by spec, for the contact). You *can* get straight MIG-wire, but only in huge drums (never saw them live).

Nick

I've heard that printers have these metal shafts in them that are hardened and ground and well up to quite a few other uses ..

take a trip to a computer shop ...bet they will be glad to give you all the old defunct printers they have .

all the best.mark

Hmmm ... how long? Could you use spring wire? Once when I flew R/C, I used spring wire for controll rods. Is that what you want to do? Or do you want to drive propellers or the like at high rpm?

Nick

Are you using it for a drive shaft? Keep in mind piano wire is sold coiled.

Wes

On the nail.

:D

Silver steel is looking good - I'm going to try some and see how i works out.

Thanks everyone

-- Mr Cran

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Piano wire as sold in model shops is in straight lengths. It sometimes (but not always) displays striations which are presumably marks from drawing. It is often possible to pick out a good piece assuming that the shop has a decent amount actually in stock. Rather hit and miss 'though.

Peter

"Pivot steel"? aka Arbor steel. Usually in short lengths (4 1/2 inches), but a range of Stubbs gauge diameters. From any good clock material supplier, or even maybe from me (let me know if you want me to check through my assortment).

That's the problem - "hit and miss" as you say. I need something tha is more consistent quality-wise

-- Mr Cran

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I've seen it sold that way but I've always assumed that even that came off a roll and was straightened some where along the way.

I'm curious if the OP built a frame so that he could tension a length wire and bake it in an oven at 500F to see if the relaxation of stresses would make for a better drive shaft.

A steel pipe, a couple endcaps and two eyebolts and a couple nuts would make a tensioning fixture. Wire goes inside the pipe.

Wes

If I had the time, space and access to eqpt necessary, I'd like t tinker with that. However, I'd rather just buy it off the shelf..

-- Mr Cran

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