dragonhaven2001

Anyone have any good or easy ways to do this with normal pliers? I always junk my wires up, there must be some prper technique.

WCB

I tried and tried with pliers and never could get pretty z bends. I ended up buying z bend pliers $10-$12 and never looked back. Quick, easy and perfect z bend everytime.

tucker1865

My Feedback: (6)

dragon...look at your post under kit building.

50+AirYears

Tower even has a set of Z-bend piers listed that has a locating pin on one of the jaws so you can accurately locate the bend on the plane.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Either a pair of Z-bend pliers or

make an "L" bend and use a [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDMJ2&P=7]Goldberg Snap'r keeper[/link]

Don

RC-Captain

When I make bends I focus on the 'L' first then the 'Z' . I bend EMT pipe and the rule of thumb is to add a little extra for what you lose in the bend .

First mark where on the wire were the hole lines up . Then move the pliers up 1/16 an inch and make the bend . Check if it lines up with the hole , then make the next bend 1/16 of an inch above the servo arm. I hope this helps.

laker500

My Feedback: (2)

Another nod here for buying a z-bend pliers. Mine is from Hanger 9, I think it was close to 20 bucks. Its priceless for makeing z-bends, it never fails.

RC-Captain

I don't think he wants to buy anything ...

tucker1865

My Feedback: (6)

I don't know if you saw the post in kit building before they deleted it but I will repeat here. You can make a jig for bending simply by driving 2 or 3 framing nails ie. 16d, into a 2 by 4. Drive them in about 1/8 inch apart. Hold the wire flat, between the nails, and bend 90 degrees, do it again on the other side and bend 90 degrees. This is similar to the jig that Harry Higley sells for bending. If you have trouble with the wood splitting, you can pre-drill the holes. Experiment a little and you will find the best arrangement for the nails. You could use 8d nails for a smaller radius. You can bend z's and u's and just about anything else. Hope this helps.

johnboyrc

I mark the wire where the cneter of the control is, put the wire in a vise with a little space to allow for the bend, then bend it around the side of the vice. Then I put a snap-loc on the wire and cut off the rest of the wire that I don't need. I have built many planes, and I think I should have invested in the z-bend pliers, but I bought so many other tools when I was building, I wasn't sure I really needed it. I got by without it, but it would likely make life easier.

50+AirYears

Another way of making Z bends that works with American piano wire, but not too well with the more brittle imported stuff, is to mark the location of the hole on the length of wire, measure a distance a bit more than the thickness of the bellcrank or horn towards the end and make the first bend at that point. Grab the bent part with your pliers so the first mark is lined up with the mark. Make another 90 degree bend. You now have a Z bend pointing 90 degrees from the main wire. Now grab the end and twist it so the end continues in a straight line from the main body of the wire. Practice on some paper clips first, and see how it works. I've only done this with wire a bit over 1/16", and like I said before, it works best with American made piano wire like the K & S, and some of the imported wire, especially if it has a black coating, seems just too brittle, even for a 90 degree bend, let alone a Z bend. I fact, one of the building articles in AMI was very specific about this wire being the best for any high strength model need.

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

Personally I to use Z bend pliers made by Great Planes, work well. But if you don't have any, try using needle nose pliers. They're easier to control and bend the wire with I think. Just grab the wire with the ends and bend opposite each other.

Bill Teller

Z bends will ruin needle nose pliers quickly--it twists them out of line.Did it years ago on control
line stuff, still does it.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Yup, these:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXC81&P=0
I think they work great. The only problem I've had is that the wire on by WM p-51 was too brittle. Bending actually cause stress cracks which lead to the z-bend breaking. Fortunately, I found this while I was doing the install. I replaced the wires with some that were less brittle.

RC-Captain

Then take the pliers back to Sears and get a free replacement.

J_R

The method described by Tucker1865 works. Harry Higley makes a tool that is based on the same priciple. It works well for making all types of bends. They come in different sizes.

http://members.aol.com/harryhig/Tools2.htm

JoeAirPort

My Feedback: (41)

Z benders are great. I think I have a Great Planes. Best investment I ever made.

doctorgo

My Feedback: (5)

Z-bends?!? I didn't know people still used z-bends. There are no tricks or special tools needed to make U-bends.

single

My Feedback: (34)

fly r/c mag. sometime back carried an artical on how to make snake bends using reg pliers, who needs z bends anymore

50+AirYears

Only tried U bends a couple times. They tended to open up under load and become unstable and untrustworthy.

johnwrobo

I;m a little cheap. I try to use what I have laying around my shop. I've found that two pair of needle nose work just fine. Keep practicing

old git

[quote]ORIGINAL: dragonhaven2001

Anyone have any good or easy ways to do this with normal pliers? I always junk my wires up, there must be some prper technique.
I found the 50+AirYears solution in Aeromodeller magazine, probably 30+ years ago. I used this method at first to bend wire with normal pliers to a Z profile (worked well for me). Later for thicker wire I used a piece of 1/8" thick (or more to match required offset) sheet steel with a sawcut slot. For wider slots use more than one blade in the saw or maybe file to size. Place the wire in the sawcut and bend approximately flat to the steel and then grip both bends and slotted steel in a vice. I used waster steel sheet instead of soft jaws. The virtue of using the slotted steel sandwiched between wire and wasters is that the wire is not damaged by sharp edges and also bends with a slight inside radius. Finish tightening the bend by simply hammering on a hard surface with steel wasters to protect the wire.

John L.