question

Where do you find the nylon that is used to make ventures and and for teh slides on handles?

Excellent question !!!

I believe the most common source of Nylon, Delrin, T6061, titanium, another forms of unobtainium is "at work".

Try Small Parts, Inc. http://www.smallparts.com/ Their catalog can be downloaded, and you can even order online.

They have a variety of machinable materials, in manageable quantities.

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"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand." -Mark Twain

Mcmaster Carr sells Delrin in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Delrin is a lot nicer to machine than Nylon.

About $2/foot for 3/4" diameter, 4 foot minimum. A lifetime supply for most home shops!
They also have Phenolic plate, 6AL4V Titanium, 6061, 2024 and 7075 aluminum, plus lots of other "unobtanium" stuff.

Pat MacKenzie

I used HDPE in the slides because it works clean. HDPE is high density poly etheline.

>I used HDPE in the slides because it works clean. HDPE is
>high density poly etheline.

Mcmaster also carries HDPE
Pat MacKenzie

I stop on the way home at "Professional Plastics" and buy a 10' length, for about $15. Sometimes I do find scraps of Delrin at work, pretty much picking it out of the garbage cans. It's recycling, removing stuff from a landfill, and saving the company something on their garbage bill. If anybody offers you "UHMW" at a bargain price, keep looking. Just buy real Delrin. Nice stuff to work, and you can even sand a few thou off it, if you have to. Steve

Steve Helmick
Renton, Washington
USA

I go to Ace Hardware and get approximately 3/8 to 1/2" (not sure) by approximately 3/4" nylon stand offs in the nuts and bolts section. They have a hole drilled down the center I use for chucking them up on the drill press. I used a file and sand paper and my digital caliper to size it to fit the venturi opening. Then I drill and taper the hole to the venturi size. I use one of thoughs tapered ream I normally use to size the holes in props to taper the venturi. I have only done it once but it worked great and was fairly easy.
Andhy

>Where do you find the nylon that is used to make ventures and
>and for the slides on handles?

Look under plastics in the phone book. I have found several such places even in a relatively small city, and you can buy the stuff by the inch if you want. Just make sure you get the right stuff. Nylon does not machine well. Use Delrin for venturis.

What about Teflon rod? How does that machine up? Is it suitable?

Warren Leadbeatter
Control Line Models
Port Stephens - Australia
Ph: 0439-754-474
MAAA: AUS-14782

I have found that Teflon is not as dimensionally stable as Delrin.
It is also about 50% heavier.
(BTW, also sold at Mcmaster Carr!)
Pat MacKenzie

And it seems to be alot softer.

MSC is much like McMaster Carr. They have 1 foot pieces. Aluminum, Delrin, Teflon, etc. And most stuff is availalbe overnite.

FWIW

Curt

I would like to remind or inform those that work with these plastics for the first time, there is a definite limit to how hot you get these materials when using abrasives on them.
Trust me on this one.
Years ago I had an interest in a fabricating shop in Atlanta and one of our products was a pneumatic delivery system for bottling plants to deliver caps to the capping equipment. It had slide valves using Delrin guides for the valve plate. In machining these guides we used a rotary sander to clean up the edges. One of our workers passed out at the sander and was taken to the hospital. The sanding operation heated the Delrin to the point that it released a very toxic gas into the air. Almost killed the worker. We were told by Dupont that the culprit was a cyanide compound found in this material. The manufacturer dictates a limit on the speed of machinery working even small amounts of Delrin. I believe it was 600 rpm and no faster to avoid this problem. It is quite safe at proper levels of working. If you plan on working this material a little confirming research on your part may save a life, Yours.
Jon Ramsden
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