How to straighten 16 gauge wire to make control rods for RC airplanes

Make control rods from 16 gauge wire purchased from Home Depot. $6.29 for 200 foot. This straightening and hardening process will work for about any gauge of wire.
A 1/16" hole in a block of wood will straighten 16 gauge wire (1.5 mm)

[@andymodeller965]

I'm an older modeller and precision engineer - and sir - this is one of the rest demonstrations I've seen. Never say it's too late to learn something new.

[@SatishKumar-iu1yx]

Would you teach me aeromodelling sir

[@marcopruscini1603]

Exactly that where my thoughts...👍

[@s3rkanAGA]

The best trick I have seen recently. Thank you

[@gleebgreek8060]

Excellent Trick This is one of the best tutorials I've Seen. Thanks!

[@austinwessels]

I used this technique on .055 in spring steel music wire. It works great! My controls rods were about 30 in. I imagine the shorter the pushrods the easier it is. The 30 in pushrod was a two person job.

[@justindunlap1235]

Awesome I was wondering if this technique would work with music wire.

[@renman71]

Leave the wire chucked in the drill and just move the torch along the wire. This should help keep the wire from bending while heat treating. I haven't tried it, but it should work.

[@awuma]

I've started to use carbon rods in place of wire inside Sullivan-style plastic tubing. Lighter and stiffer, and short wire Z-bends at the ends can be glued with CA inside a heatshring tube. This final gluing can be done as the last step, to get exactly the right position. CF rods are sufficient stiff to not need long wire rods at the ends, but sufficiently bendable to go up T-tail fins, for example.

[@kf4293]

How thick of rods? I'd love to see a video of your technique!

[@pheenix42]

Hmm! I was wondering if that wire would bend if you made a control rod, but you solved that issue. Well done!

[@MrDabrudda]

You only really need to harden the rod on very long runs between the servo and horn. A few inches will not bend very much.

[@windsurfer3329]

Great idea! I think you can thread the ends before the heat treatment for clevis connections too.

[@evalyer]

very useful tip. I've been having trouble finding push rods that don't have fancy bits and tips on it.

[@jaimekehler1484]

Thank you so much! I'd been trying to use a bench vise and it kept slipping. This works like a charm!

[@macrumpton]

Nice tip! I have some rolls of music wire that I am constantly having to straighten. Hopefully this will work on those too.

[@michaelosmon]

You can get similar wire but stainless at harbor freight. I like this method better than twisting the wire which does straighten the wire but I think it weakens it also. I appreciate you

[@BrianFyhnPetersen]

Use jumper cables and a 12 volt car battery to watch the whole length of the wire heat up instantly to red hot. Hold it over a bowl of water and release the wire from the clips at the same time. MUCH faster and uniformly.

[@schr4nz]

That sounds simultaneously thrilling and scary, so I'm going to try it! Thanks

[@videosunrelated1883]

good way to ruin a battery. I just use my houses 220v outlet.

[@vincentzito3933]

Just go to Tower Hobbies and by the right steel... sounds like a good way to get yourself hurt either way.

[@biancat7761]

Jumper cables, batteries and water? I'm gonna die lol

[@ariehartansah4206]

hey....nice trick... i should try this too... thankz

[@algwoutdoors9481]

Very helpful for my fishing lure projects, thanks!

[@nochance686]

This works great for coiled music wire as well. Thank you!

[@michaelstanco8508]

your a genie I meant genius...nice little procedure..many people will find that useful. mike

[@mrBDeye]

You win the world peace prize for this.

[@screamingmimi90]

Thank you! I make wire trees and have arthritis in both my thumbs. It’s very hard to get my wires straight enough.

[@PanosGosfp7]

The hardening process you recommend is applied to medium/high carbon steels. As far as I know, the carbon content in such steel wires is small, so I don't think that this would make a big difference. It's worth a try though

[@Trpratt1]

Yea I think you're right, I've tried this on regular wire not galvanized and it doesn't seem to do much, maybe slightly springier but not actually harder or less prone to bending, will just deflect more without permanently bending.

[@YoggieYoga]

i'll try this at home, thanks for sharing this usefull tips :)

[@RyanLenz]

Super slick MrDabrudda.

[@iguanainasuit]

This is GOLDEN! thanks man!

[@lol49031]

As a safety note do this in a well ventilated place as zinc oxide is released

[@memememe-jc1nh]

Goat wdym?

[@phoenixcreations94]

Hmm .. sorry for that .. but no need to be smart .. 99.999 percent of the food u r eating from the markets have poison and 99.999 percent of the water and air u r drinking and breathing have poison .. so plz stop

[@rajeswarirengaraju7876]

@@phoenixcreations94 Do you know what you're talking about. Goat was simply talking about the galvanized metal releasing the oxide. Not general pollution.

[@lovetofly32]

I dont think that amount of heat would do squat! Plus its all cooled off by the time you got it in the water! I was just in my shop doing some 9 guage and tried several different heats and dipping it in oil verses water and what did the trick was getting the whole wire glowing red like almost melting and throw it in the water. Thats when I got the wire hard. You can't just get it orange and let it cool b4 you quench it or itll just be softer actually.

[@dmbadcat]

Great piece of knowledge, thank you for sharing!

[@tdstudd1996]

you can temper the lower guage wire with a blow torch and drop it in water and it will be very strong

[@nrgsmrt1]

Excellent Thanks for sharing. :-) Tim.

[@vladorlovsky6623]

That pretty clever. Thank you for sharing.

[@modelman8139]

This is awesome. Great idea!!

[@danielmacdonald5779]

Have you thought about using old bicycle spokes ? They are about the same thickness and are rigid and stainless steel :)

[@MrDabrudda]

Spokes are thicker than the gauge of wire I used.

[@danielmacdonald5779]

MrDabrudda OK

[@TheMrSnipey]

You sir are a legend.

[@peterchessell28]

Huh is it teally that simple I have been trying all sorts and then this just simplicity itself.

[@Mourningdove702]

:-O Ermegerd! LOL Seriously, that was cool.

[@unbiasedlycurious]

This is my fav instructional video on youtube! Well done very useful, but only in California. I laughed for 20 mins after that

[@MrDabrudda]

I received a few hate emails from people stating the hazards of heating galvanized metal and not warning people who view my video. Maybe that's why my windows are open in my shop which they can't see in the video.

[@jdog4534]

@@MrDabrudda I think he might be laughing about the actual "hardening" of the wire. I don't think that wire can really be hardened. It's mild steel. However, if it can be hardened, you would have to get the whole wire orange hot and quench it while it's still orange. Then it would have to be tempered. I think it's the act of straightening the wire that leaves it a bit work hardened. ...like wrought iron. I think heating it up after its wrought out straight might actually make it softer, not harder. ...anyway, great technique on straightening the wire. Thanks for posting Side note: if it wasn't for California, there would be no KZbin to troll from

[@harithsyahmi9660]

how do i properly test the wire hardness? i cant find the solution in google to test

[@shawnlund]

Is there really enough carbon in that steel to harden it? Wouldn't it need to be cherry red across the entire rod if there was a high enough carbon content?

[@shawnlund]

Actually the carbon content has everything to do with hardening steel. Without a high enough carbon content it won't harden at all. Without tempering the wire should be glass hard and resist a file if it was actually hardened. I'm not saying your wrong I'm just surprised the wire has a high enough carbon content and that you were able to get such a skinny piece up to a high enough and even temperature to form metastable martensite?

[@shawnlund]

On a safety note, galvanized coatings release zinc oxide fumes, inhaling these fumes can lead to metal fume fever. Probably not fatal but very unpleasant all the same.

[@Derpynewb]

Someone's deleted their comment. no clue what happened here.

[@BobCorey]

Very nice! Would this work on a 2.5mm wire for the landing gear? Would it prevent the bending or it is still bendable and I shouldn't try? Also alternative ways for heating? I don't have this tool...

[@WaschyNumber1]

It's better to pull the wire without winding it, you can also put it instead in the drill chuck on a thick rod piece withe a loop and pull it without compromiseing the strength to much, or put somewhere a hook in the ceiling or something strong and put on the other end a weight and lett it hang for a little while 😊

[@capodad2u]

Yeah I usually pull the wire a couple of times angled down over a wood work bench, works good on shorter lengths as a 2-3 foot piece will still have a little curve in it.

[@ajpran]

wow, very nice idea, thanks

[@mitchellspanheimer1803]

The hardening method did not work it just made my galvanized wire soft... I quenched it in ice water. I couldn't keep it red throughout the wire maybe that was the problem, but it didn't work for me

[@MrDabrudda]

Mitchell Spanheimer If you let metal cool slowly it is called annealing which will soften the metal. Quenching the metal when it is red hot or close to red hot will harden iron and steel.

[@vickyvavaroutsos5441]

If you quench this in oil ( like when forging knives ) will it harden it as well or even better or not at all?

[@shawnblock7335]

You can also use guitar strings.

[@mb2308]

Thanks for the vid...good job!

[@prasannadeshpande4435]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing it. Gonna have to buy a drill I guess.

[@ninjatrader6624]

How about letting the wire hang vertically and heat it that way?

[@MrDabrudda]

I don't know the wire might curl up with heated

[@corwinmcguire2886]

I have copper wire tho can you heat up copper wire to strengthen it

[@MrDabrudda]

Copper won't harden like steel.

[@uptownphotography]

Nice one....Hope it works with 22 gauge Full Hard Steel wire that I will use for model bridge building. Thanks. Phil Update: I tried it with the 22 gauge Full Hard wire and unfortunately it does not work. I know this method you used for the thicker 16 gauge works very well according to many videos I watched however. If you have any ideas how I can get the bend out of the thinner 22 gauge I'd appreciate your input. Thanks.

[@jamescole3152]

Well you said yours was full hard. His method is for softer wire.

[@uptownphotography]

@@jamescole3152 Yes for sure. That's why I said I was hoping and did update my original comment....This was over a year ago and solved the issue another way, but I appreciate your comment...Be well...

[@harithsyahmi9660]

is that mild steel or high carbon steel?

[@MrDabrudda]

Don't know what type of steel it is.

[@gabeitches8903]

KZbin’s algorithm is knowing me well, I was wondering where I can buy thick steel rods for cheap, still an interesting video.

[@festivelad5079]

I bought a plane, and forgot that you DONT bend the rods, they use a special nut, will this work on a fully assembled plane?

[@MrDabrudda]

It should work to make custom throw rods.

[@tonyprice5726]

For undercarriage legs and other stuff The wire edges of a bed mattress is a great source of spring wire

[@Aikaramba12]

Are you sure there are not any hazardous zink fumes etc? From the galvanized layer

[@senseisecurityschool9337]

Yeah if you're going to heat it, you should definitely be using UNgalvanized wire.

[@ilikec]

Consider torsion straightening. Much faster and work hardens the wire.

[@wmrhoward]

How would you pull the wire hard enough to actually stretch the wire? 16ga is very strong

[@d.jensen5153]

Thank you ilikec! And thank you MrDabrudda ! Three minutes after watching this video and reading this comment, I had the push rods done for my foam chuck glider RC conversion. What a fantastic world we live in, with fantastic people!

[@zeth1826]

wow ,so easy, thanks for you vídeo. rgds!

[@harithsyahmi9660]

what gas does the torch use. and where do i get one. is it expensive?

[@MrDabrudda]

Either propane or MAPP gas will work

[@harithsyahmi9660]

@@MrDabrudda how about butane? can it work with it?

[@ashutoshbhakuni303]

Will this work for harder music wire (spring steel)?

[@mike_van_in]

Brilliant - thank you!

[@ranarashid4037]

beautiful

[@LinanTong]

would the re-heating process damage the galvanized coating?

[@MrDabrudda]

Don't know. Not like the control rods are going to corrode.

[@senseisecurityschool9337]

@@MrDabrudda Putting the zinc (the galvanized part) in the flame creates hazardous fumes. If you're going to heat it, don't use galvanized wire.

[@m.g.4538]

Genius

[@JacobTJ1]

Brilliant.. thanks

[@Tractor-boy1]

Excellent

[@ranarashid4037]

I like it

[@himeccms893]

Brilliant!

[@MrSpikesvids]

U R my hero! :)

[@surastyosamiaji2117]

awesome.. thanks

[@ptcman8267]

But this trick don´t cause a torsion stress on the wire ( breaking down the resistence of him ) ?

[@jeeperscreatures]

Cool. Thanks

[@JudysRevenge]

what about straightening longer wire, like 2' long?

[@MrDabrudda]

The block and drill method will work but you have to spin the drill very slow or the wire will flap around. You could also try putting one end of the wire in a vise and the other end in a visegrips and twisting the wire.

[@QuadView]

Amazing.

[@matthewperry3721]

Could you use high current to heat it red hot?

[@MrDabrudda]

You could but this thickness of wire would take a lot of amps to heat up.

[@picramide]

Matthew Perry, that is exactly the recommendation I was going to make. For a 3' piece of wire I set my arc welder to about 50A, clamp it between stinger and ground, and flip on the switch. In about 5 secs it is orange hot. Flip off switch, drop in water, and cut to convenient lengths for straightening using the brilliant method shown here.

[@juanvicuna739]

great congratulations

[@shepard2148n7]

can i do this with spring wire too?

[@MrDabrudda]

+Dean Hernandez Do you mean piano wire? I'm not sure if spring wire will spring back to it's original shape.

[@gmodesike]

ook is the brand

[@FastEasyLifeTips]

what is this in mm plis? Nice vid thanks man

[@zacjohnson8404]

1.29mm

[@mazpr2025]

Now I know what am gonna be doing when I retire. Just sayin, those control rods are dirt cheap. But thanks anyway, do like the wood trick for those bent rods. +1

[@MyBigThing2010]

Well I'll be damned! Figures, I just laced an order for music wire too!...uhh

[@edw4698]

There are mush faster, better ways to do this that will straighten and harden in one simple operation.

[@GintasKadys]

Really chewer, god vidio.

[@martinliu2196]

Woow.....

[@kimchikoalaa714]

What sorcery is this!!

[@sandpir8]

I'll be G******ed!

[@NK-bc5xw]

Be careful with your eyes.

[@ivanv754]

That is absolutely genius!

[@Moostery]

This is the best thing since sliced fucking bread. I have thick gauge piano wire that's been refusing to straighten out for me till I found this.

[@cerndo]

I need 200 foot of this wire

[@ariehartansah4206]

unbelievable.... if i watched this video earlier, i would have save a lot of time. best trick everrrrr!!!! thankz bro...

[@alanknight4418]

Will that work on heavier gauge wire? I want to straighten 9ga farm and fence wire. After I cut it off the coil.

[@johnjia7097]

I want to buy 500kg this galvanized wire in Texas, who s dealer?

[@Dave51262]

Great tip. Thanks for this.

[@CNGTek]

Bro bro bro, You are amazing. I have been searching for days how to do this. Thank you.

[@MrDabrudda]

Glad I could help

[@cryptout]

Chuck approved!

[@ChrisFredriksson]

Completely awesome!

[@qiksoft]

Also works great for creating antenna elements for wifi / 4g. Never liked the drill method where wire is twisted, this way is SO MUCH better! Thank you...

[@davyl1414]

What kind of sorcery is this??!

[@tallswede80]

What is the purpose of using galvanized wire?

[@MrDabrudda]

You don't have to user galvanized wire. It's the only type of wire at the hardware store.

[@junmark312]

how about you get a plywood, place the wire into a flat surface then roll it with plywood BOOOOM STRAIT WIRE IN JUST 5 seconds!

[@tmc3p1]

Genius!

[@sumarali7639]

Thanks for your help to show us this video clip of how can make the spring and in Mumbai from where can buy this type of16 Gauge this type of the wires in a different type of Gauge

[@jayasri4418]

What is the name of that machine

[@MichaelMantion]

I am sure you are long gone but you can simply stretch the wire if you want to do a lot at once. pulling straight between 2 cars works well. if it snaps then you pulled a bit to hard, go back in time and try again.