Piano Wire

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase lengths of good quality Piano Wire that can be bent cold to form model aicraft under carriages.So called Piano Wire obtained from model shops is poor quality and wont take sharp bends without fracturing.

Its probably high carbon steel that you are using. Try annealing it before bending then re harden and temper.

Regards,

IDP

Hi David Williams

Roslau Piano wire is high quality made in Germany. I bought mine in Australia.

I found this UK link, I am sure there will be others.
**LINK**

I have used number 11 .26" 200 pound breaking strain wire..... to align machinery. It is amazing to see it hold a huge cast Iron gear I use as a counterweight to tension the wire and keep it straight.

Regards
John

Here is a UK manufacturer **LINK** . Niko.

Look in yellow pages for MODEL SHOP - as in aeromodeling etc. Most stock various sizes of P.wire. Incidentally, I have a pair of wire cutters stamped PIANO WIRE and so far have stood the test of time. For cutting P.wire, use the side cutters often found on the side of plier jaws.

Hi All

Worth reading.....

Re working with Piano wire.

**LINK**

Regards
John

Hi what size and length do you need? I hae some that you could have that has been bent into tight loops on the end. Diameter must be about 2mm of the top of my head but id have to check.

Neil

A source of thin high tensile wire is MIG welding wire. It comes in various gauges and material types.

Try a local welding shop. They often throw out ends of rolls.

You may have been unlucky and got a bad batch but piano wire as sold in model shops is almost specifically there for making aircraft bits. It is drawn high carbon steel and tempered just right to bend while retaining high strength. However you cannot bend too tight, probably best to keep above 6 wire diameters bend radius. On no account try to heat it to bend it. You can never ever restore the temper.

To cut it don't ruin your side cutters or pliers. They are intended for soft iron garden wire or electrical wire only. For larger sizes as you are using use a Junior hacksaw t either cut right through or make a deep nick and bend to break. For smaller sizes use a triangular file to make the nick..

You might get lucky and find someone who is junking an old piano, you then will have a whole range of wires. Ian S C

I have never yet seen a piano with piano wire inside

I agree that modern model shop 'piano wire' seems to be brittle compared to what I use to sneak out of my dad's bit box in the 70s.

Neil

It's got some sort of wire, saw one or two at the local dump, when we had one. Ian S C

David,

Many model shops sell straight lengths of wire under the guise of 'Piano Wire'. It is usually in a supplier based display - a series of tubes containing wires of varying diameters. This wire is not traditional piano wire, it is somewhat softer and less springy - I believe it is actually 'Music Wire' and has quite different properties - much more easily bent for instance and it will fracture on a tight bend. It also appears to come in imperial or metric diameters as opposed to the usual SWG.

True SWG piano wire is getting hard to source but the last place I found it in good quantities and full range of diameters was a SLEC at Watton in Norfolk. A quick Google will get you there.

Hope this helps - I can certainly sympathise with your situation having tried in the past to use this poor substitute myself

Regards - Ramon

The stifness of (piano) wire is very much dependend on how many times it is drawn, there is a very nice museum about wire in Altena, Germany, (Deutches Drahtmuseum). This is a video (in German) from them on youtube, **LINK** . Niko.

Joe at Macc Models has it specificaly for model engineers in meter lengths.