control rod retainers

What methods do you prefer for securing control rods to bellcranks and control horns? With 1/8" wire, rather than arrow shafts, on my profile sport stunter, I thought I'd use a double bend at one end and a threaded clevis at the other for adjustability at flap and elevator horns. Does this sound OK? Or would you solder or use adhesives with washers. Any better techniques? With so many popular topics now, I wouldn't have brought this up, but it's time to install hardware on my first CL project in over 30 years. I'm trying to catch up (have read 32 Forum pages too - great stuff!). Thanks much. SK

What I do at the bell crank is ...FOR small 1/2a planes Z bend works super. For all of the rest I make a 90-degree bend. Solder a washer on the wire so the bell crank can't get caught at the bend in the wire. You should have at least 1" of wire that is extended though the hole of the bell crank. I now make a flat spot on the wire that went through. This will make a spot where my wheel collars will have a good grip. Now I add a washer and TWO WHEEL Collars and tighten. Make sure that the bell crank moves with NO bumps or grinds. Cut off the excess wire THEN I JB Weld the collars to the wire, OIL. You can use epoxy. Now at the Flap and elevator I DO the SAME THING. How do I get my ZERO? I have a solder able link just after the arrow shaft about an inch and just before the flap and elevator. Works for me.
HOWEVER, on my last two PA Stunters I used an adjustable cleaves at the elevator.

Scott (just touching the surface) Riese

Serge --

You have no business in this hobby without irrational prejudices. Mine is a soldered washer at an ell, both ends. No data, other than I never had one fail.
When I awake every morning, I snap my fingers three times. That keeps elephants away. That practice has not failed either.

We, also, solder. If you have an arrow shaft pushrod, same thing. You have a wire end. Solder.

Solder a washer on the inside of the "L" first. Drill a hole in a piece of 2 x 4 the size of the wire, push the washer over the wire and insert it in the hole in the 2 x 4. This holds everything square while soldering. Use silver solder for this (higher heat). Solder, then clean. Put the wire through the belcrank or horn (same at either end), put a piece of 400 sandpaper facing away from the belcrank or horn, add the washer, snug it up, and solder. There is some neat stuff called heat fence that you can get at your local plumbing supply. One tube = an 500 year supply for airplanes. Put this on the other side of the wire and that washer will not unsolder.

After soldering the last washer, twirl the sand paper around to clean the back side of the washer, then tear off. This gives you the proper gap. Clean, clip the end, you are done. A proper solder joint will not fail. Make sure the solder is hot and flows and you will have no problems. You can also use JB Weld to hold the washer if everything is clean (as it should be when you solder anyway). Greasing or oiling is optional. Some claim it attracts dirt and could hurt more than help.

On sport models without flaps, I use a Z bend at the bellcrank and a solder on 4-40 size quick link on the elevator. Make the solder joint properly and it won't fail. I use plastic control horns and once I have determined the proper control horn hole I put a piece of heat shrink tubing over the quick link for added security..

If it has flaps I use the Z bend at the Bellcrank, solder on quick links at the flap horn with the heat shrink tubing and a threaded 4-40 quick link (the Sullivan ones with the little keeper) on the elevator. I use a solder coupler to splice the threaded rod and push rod, put a 4-40 nut on the rod before screwing on the quick link to act as a jam nut. I have been doing it this way forever and have never had a quick link fail...

Bob's method is real similar to what I use. Simple and easily adjustable and I likewise, have never had a failure. I use a small cable tie to secure the kwick link. Also be sure to use sturdy 4-40 kwick links. Sullivan golden and Great Planes both seem to work fine.

On a similar note, speaking of failure, and maybe worth a separate thread are flap horns. Specifically, flap horns for use inside built up fuselage models with plastic horn and wire joiners. Yep, the cheap ones.
These come in some kits and I have used them with nary a problem until recently. With the wing covered, hinged, epoxied into fuselage, etc. I was inserting the elevator pushrod which required a slight bit of pressure on the flap horn and bingo-it broke. This was really bad but I salvaged the situation. I should mention that it is necessary to drill the holes in the horn to 3/32 to accept the pushrod wire and that was the site of the break. Anyway, wrote it off to bad luck until the same thing happened again with the same type cheap plastic horn and now I have another covered, flapped, epoxied in mess to resolve. It may wind up in the fireplace. I will never, ever, under any circumstances use this type horn again regardless of what is furnished in a kit or how expensive decent horns may be. They may be OK undrilled assuming you wanted to do it that way and reverse the kwick link but I am not going to take that chance.

I guess the good news is that both broke on the bench rather than in the air over concrete so I learned that lesson rather cheaply.

Yeah, same as soldering wheels on, right, Leonard? The sandpaper trick works right well.

>Serge --
>
>You have no business in this
>hobby without irrational prejudices. Mine
>is a soldered washer at
>an ell, both ends. No
>data, other than I never
>had one fail.
> When
>I awake every morning, I
>snap my fingers three times.
>That keeps elephants away. That
>practice has not failed either.
>
>
>Larry F

cool!... I thought I was the only one that used the anti elephant finger snap!

One question: Did you solder the plastic (I think nylon, really) horns? If you did, you may have over heated the nylon and that caused the failure. Or the drill hole may have done it. I agree, metal is better, but these should work if used properly. Try "Heat Fence" on the nylon parts when you solder. It works for this material, too.

Hi Leonard
Yep, soldered the washer using a 1/16 balsa spacer/heat shield as I have done before with no problem(unless one that's already installed and forgotten about breaks and goes in next flight). I had also thought about the heat maybe being the problem but I think I will still stick to metal horns in the future. If nothing else, the peace of mind is worth the price differece.

I did witness a nylon elevator horn failure(the exposed kind, no joiner) in flight on a maybe 20-25 year old Barnstormer a while back. It looked like it had been drilled out and soldered when originally built and maybe just became brittle over time or maybe it was just destined to eventually fail.

I messed up an old Top Flite belcrank once my over heating, but it was definitely my fault. It failed before ever getting in the plane, however, so no loss (other than the belcrank). That Heat Fence is good stuff, however, and putting a little of that around takes the heat right out. I brazed a bicycle fork once with this stuff just beyond the point of brazing and it never even scorched the paint under (or beyond) the heat fence, even though the end of the fork got red hot. I just painted the ends of the fork in a contrasting color and made it look like it came from the factory that way.

All,

A 3/32" wheel collar with locktite on the threads and some JB Weld on the outside of that seem to work pretty well, I've used that on some models and it works real good - no heat needed!

The wheel collar by itself, it tightened properly, should work. I am not sure I would trust it alone. The JB weld by itself if done on clean wire and washer should work. Solder may be a little better (if done properly, a sure joint. But heating nylon can be bad as noted elsewhere). The wheel collar and JB weld together should be no problem at all for security. It may be a bit much in tight quarters, however. I would still want a washer on the back side, but that could, also, be held with JB weld for those who do not wish to solder.