Working with Bob's Buckles for the first time

[smperry]

I received an order from Bob's Buckles the other day. Very prompt and extremely courteous service as I'm sure y'all already know.

I also finally got some mono line of the correct diameter and thought I would try my hand at some rigging fittings. Took an hour, but I was able to make an attachment out of a twisted eye and a brass sleeve. Darn proud of it too. I had to use Maxima 1 Lb test line as the 2 Lb test, which is closer to the specified diameter, would not fit twice through the brass (0.5 mm x 1.5mm). Nor could I get a twisted eye tail to insert into the tubing. I am guessing these little tubes need drilling out to take the tail of a twisted eye or 2 strands of mono.

I also have lengths of 0.5 mm brass tube from which I cut about an inch and tried to drill it out. No joy there, but on the up side, I didn't break a bit. I can see right off that a high quality pin vise is a must. I will order one when I order some bulk bits. The other thing, besides my eyesight, which I found wanting is really good tweezers. Any recommendations as to type and source?

Any tips and advice would be really welcome as I am on the fine line of just not seeing well enough to do this

sp

[lcarroll]

sp,
    I've used Maxima Chameleon 2 lb. test(0.12 mm) with Bob's Buckles for years and find no problems getting through the tubes twice using two pairs of tweezers. The trick is to "sharpen" the end of the line by trimming it at about a 45 degree angle with a blade on a work surface or, better, use a pair of cutters (I find the Xuron Photo Etch cutters available at most hobby sources best) Same with the eyelets, a clean sharp end on the "Tail" works great. As for tweezers I use the common ones, I believe they came from the Squadron Shop Catalogue possibly they were by Excel.
   My eyesight has not been treated well by time either; without the aid of an Optivisor over my eye glasses I'm useless! I still am blessed with the above normal distance vision which was a blessing in my flying days but inside 6 feet I'm probably legally blind!
    I'd recommend you try the 2 lb. line with a sharpened end and I'm betting it'll "work a treat" as Bob would put it!
Cheers,
Lance

[bobs_buckles]

SP,
 Just to give you some helpful advice.

The 2lb maxima line does pass through the tube twice. There are many on here who can confirm this.  You may need to clean the inside of the tube with a 0.3mm drill bit to clean away any swarf left over from the cutting process. This should also help when inserting the shaft of the eyelet into the tube.

Working with eyelets and tube can be fiddly, but with patience you will become more adept over time.  Use of an optivisor or any decent head magnifier will greatly improve your success rate.

Please feel free to ask anymore questions.
Cheers,
Bob 

[bobs_buckles]

sp,
    I've used Maxima Chameleon 2 lb. test(0.12 mm) with Bob's Buckles for years and find no problems getting through the tubes twice using two pairs of tweezers. The trick is to "sharpen" the end of the line by trimming it at about a 45 degree angle with a blade on a work surface.
Cheers,
Lance

Thanks Lance!
I forgot to mention this important fact 

Yes, taper the end of the line with snips, decal scissors or scalpel blade. A pointy end always finds it's mark 

Good luck!
Always here to help.
Cheers,
Bob 

[smperry]

Thanks for the great products Bob. I couldn't be happier with them.
Here is a photo of my first test fitting. I will give the eyelet through the tube a try later when the shop cools off a bit.
sp

[bobs_buckles]

Great stuff!

You will be a rigging champ in no time.
It just comes down to practice and not beating yourself up. You will get there!

Cheers,
vB 

 

[smperry]

OK y'all, I've been diligent in practicing getting 2 lb Maxima chameleon line to go back through a 3 mm Bob's buckles tube. I can't get it to work. I have gotten a much brighter light over the bench, better glasses, (3.0 readers + Optivisor vs. bifocals and Optivisor), better tweezers and have taken great care cutting the line at an angle with a brand new #11 blade. All of this has helped, but not enough.

I can get the line through once just fine. Best I seem able to accomplish after that is getting the line started back through, but it stops and the line I am attempting to push through kinks and that's it. Same result on several pieces of tube no matter how close I grip the end of the line with the tweezers. Smallest bit I have is a #80 which converts to 0.3429 mm. I can't seem to get that started drilling out the tube. I am about to place an order for 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mm bits and a good quality pin vice.

Only other thing I can think of is lubricating the tip of the line before attempting to run it back through the tube. Bob, can you or any of the others here who have mastered this tell me what I am doing incorrectly? This has become a bit of an issue with me as not only is it mastering a new modeling technique, it is also bit of middle finger waving at the aging process as well. Any further advice will be most appreciated.
TIA
sp

[lcarroll]

sp,
    You've got me baffled at this point. I can think of a couple of points that may have eluded you, forgive me if I'm re-stating the obvious:

   -I often twist the tube to keep the already inserted line against one side of the tube and then insert the second run on the more open side:
  - I apply the tweezers very close to the end, about 1/8 to 3/16 inch from the sharpened end; (I'd say 1/4 inch is max.)
  - I wiggle the end a bit if it's being stubborn while still pushing the line; and
  - Once it's in, if it won't continue, I slide the tube back over the two lines as opposed to trying to push the second line through.

    All of the above is done with tweezers in each hand and I work on a piece of white paper to enhance the visual picture. I hope something here is of help.
Cheers,
Lance

[smperry]

Thanks Lance
I have hit every point you made except the following: " I slide the tube back over the two lines as opposed to trying to push the second line through."  I do have depth perception issues which makes it difficult for me to get the line started into the tube, but once it is in, it seems to jam up. I will try gripping both lines and pushing the tube over both.
One other point just occurred to me. Just how big a loop does one need to make? I know the tutorial recommends plenty of extra line to make it easier to manipulate the tube and line away from the model structure. Maybe I am looping back too tightly on my tests which puts tension through the mono as it passes through the tube. I will try it with a crazy big loop to make sure there is minimal tension on the line already through the tube.
Thanks again for your advice
sp

[smperry]

I just can't get it to work with 2 lb line. I guess I will have to settle for using 1 lb line with which I can do everything shown in the tutorial. Perhaps painting the 1 lb line a brighter metallic shade will compensate for the smaller size.

A much larger loop of line took some tension off the line already through the tube, but that still didn't get the second line through. I tried cutting the line at an angle on different surfaces to see if that would give me a better pointy end to thread through the tube. Line cut on a hard steel surface was no better than line cut on paper over cutting mat.

This is highly frustrating since I long ago mastered rigging with stretched sprue.
sp

[bobs_buckles]

SP,
 Grab hold of some 0.25 and .3mm drill bits for cleaning out the internals. One other thing you could try doing is pre-stretching the line. Hang a decent weight on the end of a 5 foot length of line and allow it to hang for a few days. This will take the memory out of the line and may improve your chances. But, like Lance, I'm finding it hard to understand why your batch of Maxima is having trouble passing back through on itself.

I will run some line tests tomorrow and report back.

We will get to the bottom of this 

vB

[lcarroll]

sp,
    As I said earlier I too am puzzled by this problem. FWIW I don't recall having to drill/clean out one of Bob's tubes more then 2 or 3 times over using probably 4-500 of the little devils. (That's why I still keep von Buckle Builder in beer money!? ) The extra step can't hurt and I'm looking forward to hearing how it works out when you receive the smaller bits.
   Keep plugging at it!
Cheers,
Lance

[bobs_buckles]

[lcarroll]

 von Jokester,
FWIW my Dentist has an identical set of wheels, bought with the proceeds of an 11 session root canal that lasted 3 weeks before he pulled the tooth!
Oh, and once I get this LVG put to bed, I may need another order .........
Cheers,
Lance

[smperry]

Bob and Lance
Thanks for taking such an interest in my attempts to master these rigging materials. That y'all are puzzled is a good sign to me, it means I am doing something wrong or not doing something right. either way once I figure it out, I should be able to use these parts as intended.

I will try hanging some of the 2 lb line with a weight for a few days as I wait for my order of drill bits. Thanks again for your interest and help
sp