Replacement buckles in the post Bob world.

[drdave]

Best wishes to Bob for a speedy recovery.

Grim reality of the post Bob Buckle era now upon us! I’m embarking on a RE8 with my last 60 buckles. I haven’t found anything else to be as easy to use as attachment points until now. Proper turnbuckles are not quite right and too spendy really.

What’s everyone else’s plans going forwards? I don’t think I can face churning out hundreds myself…that’s valuable modelling time.

[Davos522]

My sons and I have been giving a lot of thought to the turnbuckle issue, and researching the idea of producing a line of strong, reasonably priced 3D printed types (standard, Albatros, Nieuport, etc.) and anchor points for folks here in the US and Canada. The Gaspatch and ProperPlane items are great, but issues of currency conversion, shipping and turnaround times from Europe simply ain't.

Not sure if there'd be any interest, but I'm throwing the idea out there!

Dutch

[drdave]

Yes I’d be interested. What we need are small eyelets on a 2mm stem, a direct replacement just to be able to thread through. It’s not turnbuckles per se but rigging attachment points that the bobs stuff does perfectly.

[BobW]

One can try the model train section of a hobby store for photo etch eyebolts of the required size.

[pepperman42]

Hey Dutch, I'd be interested if you went ahead with this project.

Steve

[uncletony]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but twisting eyelets is not that hard or even that time consuming! For anchoring structural rigging, I can't see 3DP resin eyelets being up to the task.

Des' treatise on the subject is still valid: https://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/page8.html

[drdave]

There’s a reason we buy bobs stuff. Time. Spare time is for modelling. Twisting hundreds of wires for the RE8 is a complete mojo killer.

[Davos522]

Dr Dave and Steve, check your messages.

And Bo, I wasn't talking about doing printed anchor points, although that might have been the way it came across. Sorry for any confusion, I agree with you 100% that Des's method was (and is) brilliant... I actually find twisting them up relaxing, in some weird Zen kind of way.

Dutch

[lcarroll]

    Like Dutch I "twist" my own eyelets using very fine copper wire or more often nickel chromium wire. I actually prefer the latter as it is much stronger then the copper version.  A fellow modeler shared this little idea with me; the hook fitted into a pin vice is made from the spring of a cheap discarded ball point pen.  The wire cut to 1-2 inch length is bent over the hook and then grabbing both ends with a small pliers twisted with tension and then trimmed to a length that can be cut again to desired length later. I can produce 5 to 10  eyelets per minute after some practice and find it no great imposition on modelling time; it's actually relaxing! Reminds me of the old proverb, "a man who gathers and cuts his own firewood is twice warmed". I'll miss Bob's pre-cut tubes for sure however the method in Des' article is a good idea as well.





    I hope this is of some help.
Cheers,
Lance

 

[PrzemoL]

The eyelet problem has been on my mind, too, since I learned about Bob's health issues. Some time ago I have bought a roll of copper wire 0.125mm diameter.
And having read this thread, having remembered that I read about the tool to twist the eyelets and seeing the excellent tutorial by our Des, I have tried my hand on it.
What I can say, it is perfectly doable and with some skill can be a fine passtime after more demanding modelling jobs 
Here are my tools and the first batch of 10 eyelets.





But the ballpen spring I used to make the hook has the wire diameter about 0.3mm. I compared my proudly made eyelets with the last examples from Bob and found that the eye is substantially larger



And here my wife helped me with a donation to my tool batch. An ancient tool used years ago to repair the "falling eyes" in then precious stockings. The hook is smaller but also with a smaller diameter.



But it produces the eyelets identical to the Bob's ones!

[Davos522]

Does anyone remember what Bob was charging for his eyelets?

As I said, I find making them quite relaxing, but apparently a lot of people would rather have a tooth pulled.

Dutch

[PrzemoL]

Does anyone remember what Bob was charging for his eyelets?
Dutch

1.80 GBP per 10 pack.

[uncletony]

There’s a reason we buy bobs stuff. Time. Spare time is for modelling. Twisting hundreds of wires for the RE8 is a complete mojo killer.

Ok, I hear ya...

And Bo, I wasn't talking about doing printed anchor points...

ah, ok, I misunderstood.

[AngryJazz]

And here my wife helped me with a donation to my tool batch. An ancient tool used years ago to repair the "falling eyes" in then precious stockings. The hook is smaller but also with a smaller diameter.

I make my own eyelets from copper wire and the buckles etc. from Albion Alloys Micro Nickel Silver Tube.

Also this tool looks amazing Prze! Do you or anyone know the name og the tool?
May have to ask my wife as it looks knitting related 

I've been using my pinwise with the smallest diameter Albion tube (0.2mm) twisted to a hook, but the "eye" could be a little smaller.

[Panzerwomble]

Been experimenting , tried wire hook and 0.15 CU wire ( on the right ) better results using a bent airbrush needle hook and 0.1 brass  wire (on the left) . 20 eyelets took me 10 minutes or so ?

The .135 Infini line I use and also some Prym I had lying around both seem happy to go through the gap