Need some guide wires


B

bkpigs

Member
Just finished my Walthers grain leg and need some guide wires. You know the ones that are used to keep the elevator legs and radio towers from blowing over. I thought about fisking string but thought that might be too thick. Do any of you guys have some ideas?

Oh, and just like the proto ones these will be keeping the structure upright. The washing machine shakes the trailer a pretty good amount.

Still have yet to post the proto picture of my trailer for the trailer park thread :)
 
Unless you can anchor and tension the string a properly it may cause more problems than it cures. You might look into a fine wire, like music wire. It will support in compression as well as tension so it might be more useful. Being a bit oversized won't hurt, exactly per scale might be darn near invisible!
 
Ok. How about this. Tippet. The following link is from papermodelers.com where the post concerns rigging a 1:72 scale bi-plane using this Tippet .. a thin monofilament using in fly fishing. In the post he says that the smallest size he can find is 8x at 0.003-inch dia. I double checked my calculations .. 0.003-inch dia in HO is less then 9/32".

Rigging Aircraft with Tippet

He covers coloring, adhesive and tools. Then about post #6 he starts talking about actually rigging the aircraft. I propose that rigging a bi-plane at 1:72 is probably more difficult then guide wires in 1:87 .. he continues on in post #11 and so on.

So there you go. If you REALLY want to have guide wires .. there's how

Edit: Did a quick Google Search .. found Frog Hair Tippett

.. and ..

Rio%20Fluoroflex%20plus%20Tippet.jpg
 
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I use bead string from Hobby Lobby. I have a few different sizes. It's black fresh off the spool, just put some silver paint on your fingers and run the string in between your fingers.

The "cables" on the lumber would be a good size for your purpose.


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I use nearly the same method as RUB -
I suspend the size thread that is appropriate the down guy (guy wire) and clip a weight on the free end. I use CA glue the full length first and then paint as RUB described. In this case, I ran them under a piece of heat shrink as the attachment at the top of the stack. The rope in the block and tackle is another example of the same thread-CA-paint process.
 
Rub said:
I use bead string from Hobby Lobby. I have a few different sizes. It's black fresh off the spool, just put some silver paint on your fingers and run the string in between your fingers.

The "cables" on the lumber would be a good size for your purpose.


100_2366.jpg
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Are you using the same CA method as Jon NFL especially on the wood portion of the load? How did you attach those guy wires to the flat bed? Both great looking models by the way guys (no pun intended). :cool:
 
Actually called "guy wires"

Thanks guys, I will look into the bead string and try to find some thin fishing line. This is HO scale, sorry that I forgot to mention that.

Oh, and I did finally realize that I have been calling them the wrong name my whole life. When you talk to anyone around here it sounds like they are saying guide wires. Never made much sense to me being that they aren't really "guiding" anything.
 
Brad, Not sure what CA is.

My method is: Paint the string first. This way I don't get paint all over. I tie one end with as small of a knot as I can manage but not small enough to slip through the hole. I weave it in and around to get the desired look I'm after. When Im done. I put the end through a hole pull it tight, hang my forceps (sp?) on it for weight. Then glue the hole shut. Keeps the strings very tight.

For the lumber load on this car. I used one piece of string. I go over the load, down through the hole, move over one hole and back up again ETC. Once im done I hang the weight and glue the hole shut. Trim the excess string away as close as i can.
 
bkpigs said:
Oh, and I did finally realize that I have been calling them the wrong name my whole life. When you talk to anyone around here it sounds like they are saying guide wires. Never made much sense to me being that they aren't really "guiding" anything.
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They probably ARE SAYING "guide wires" and do not know any better. It's like my uncle told my dad one time when they were driving somewhere in the car: "Hey Hank, watch out for the presbyterians in the crosswalk" :)
 
Get some speaker wire, strip the plastic coating, un-strand single wire. See if that's small enough for you
 
Radio Shack has 50-ft Wrapping Wire. It's 30AWG. I just measured it .. .018" (about 1-9/16 in HO) over the insulation. strip off the insulation and the wire itself is .010" (7/8" in HO).

This fed into another idea .. the insulation then, is a plastic tube measuring 1-9/16" OD x 7/8" ID. SHOULD be a use for that somewhere :)
 
CoolRuehle said:
They probably ARE SAYING "guide wires" and do not know any better. It's like my uncle told my dad one time when they were driving somewhere in the car: "Hey Hank, watch out for the presbyterians in the crosswalk" :)
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Guy wire is the proper term for the cables stabilizing towers, masts, poles etc.

The cables on the car would be tie downs. They also need turnbuckles so they can be tightened. If chains are used then chain binders are needed. A lot of times a solid rod that is threaded on the end is used to tie it down to the car.
If it is a steel floor car then it would have tabs welded to the floor to keep the bottom from shifting either to the side or from front to rear. A wood floor car would have blocking nailed to the floor to keep it from moving also.

Richard looking at MP 242 while working for the FEC Rwy.
 
Walmart has a silver cable looking wire that is very cheap in the jewelry making section.

It is braided and I have actually unwound it and used single strands.

I use black or gray paint to tone it down a bit.

I drive home on the parkway and park in the driveway

Most people here say guide wires not guy wires

We have a Walmarts and a Kmarts

and when the day is done I say "Aight lets go Home"
 
Copied from the 'Word Detective'

http://www.word-detective.com/102805.html

Dear Word Detective: So, I've heard this phrase used many times. The problem is I'm not sure if it's "guy wire" or "guide wire," though I'm tending toward the former as that's what I've seen in print. What's its origin and meaning? -- Jenny

I'm fairly certain that the phrase you mean is "guy wire," although there are such things as "guide wires" used in various medical procedures, including catheterization (whee!). But if you're thinking about the long wires or cables that keep tall antennas and the like from falling over, we're definitely talking "guy wires." However, because "guy" is only used in this fairly limited sense, it is entirely possible that eventually everyone will call such tethers "guide wires" and "guy wires" will fade away.

There are actually two entirely separate words "guy" in English. The "guy" of "guy wire" comes from the Old French "guie." Ironically, given the confusion with "guide," the same root is also related to our modern word "guide." Even more ironically, the original meaning of "guy" when it first appeared in English in the 14th century was "a guide, a leader." That sense is long obsolete, but our modern kind of "guy" developed aboard ship, where "guy lines," chains or ropes were used to steady cargo that was being hoisted to and from the ship. Stationary "guys" also supported and stabilized anything, such as the ship's masts or funnels, likely to fall over. Guy wires today are used to stabilize everything from circus tents to cell phone towers.
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