blow_away Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Following on from the caliper bolt thread........... I need to be shown how to lockwire properly. I am really dumb so keep it simple And if you can recommend some reasonably priced lockwiring pliers while you are at it, that would be grand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addiction269 Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 i think demon tweeks do a lock wire kit pliers and wire and also a jig for drilling and holding the bolts. i think its pretty simple,google how to do it is always a good start or theres magazine articles around, i think superbike had one not long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadracer Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 This link is good for motorcycles, but not advanced enough to be professional about it. You need aircraft mechanic training module to do the advanced stuff with a series of bolts in wierd places, but this is fine:- http://www.rc51.org/wire1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark/Foggy Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 MCN had an insert y/day with lockwire pliers for about £13-99 at Busters or some such (lobbed the mag after about 2 minutes - sorry). I'm on the lookout for a quality set of reversible pliers if anyone knows where they come from nowadays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardgowanhouse Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Course you could just use your fingers instead of pliers good practice before using pliers anyway. put some bolts on a plank or something and practice first. you'll get the hang off it pretty quick mate. get the right gauge wire for the job. Don't over worry about how many twists.It's there to stop vibration loosening the bolts so tension is the thing.to many twist actually weakens it. I would say first and last twists most important.make sure the single wire going round the nut/bolt head is tight enough so you cant flip it over the top with a finger nail.wire lines between bolts tight enough to remain straight and tight with a bit of pinging,but not so tight they will snap. Always follow the tightening direction,usually clockwise. Make sure you have plasters as you will cut yourself a bit to start with Worst I had to do--3 gas union bolts for an ejection seat in situ no visibility,restricted access(couldn't get pliers in).strangely satisfying when complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadracer Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 MCN had an insert y/day with lockwire pliers for about £13-99 at Busters or some such (lobbed the mag after about 2 minutes - sorry). I'm on the lookout for a quality set of reversible pliers if anyone knows where they come from nowadays! These look ideal, if that's in your budget http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?st...mp;group_ID=770 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark/Foggy Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 These look ideal, if that's in your budget http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?st...mp;group_ID=770 Hmmmmm, Donuts Should have known really, always Snap - On. Thanks for the dollar site, I'm not buying them out of my local van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blow_away Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Found this on the web http://www.byrongliding.com/lockwire.htm Good advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemonkey Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Yep. Have you not thought about just tightenting the bolts to the correct torque and torque striping them (use a paint stick and paint a thin, clean line of paint from the centre of the bolt head and onto the forks so you can see, at a glance whether the bolt has moved)? Damn good point! - If you get to the point where the bolt is loose enough to start moving on brake calipers you'll be in big trouble anyway! In my opinion the best way to use lockwire is on things like drain plugs where if they come loose they can still do their job while the lockwire stops them from falling out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blow_away Posted October 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 OK, thanks again guys I bought some nice thin nib marker pens, I'll use those to "stripe" the bolts. I'm off to Fowlers today to order some OEM caliper bolts. Been looking on e-bay for lockwiring pliers. I'm also going to look for a "low range" torque wrench while I'm at it. Looks like the credit card is going to get a pounding today! I'm a one man economic recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fzrtim Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 As said before you dont need wire locking pliers to wirelock as you can simply twist the wires by hand. Even in aviation some of the bolts have to be wirelocked by hand when you cant get in with the pliers. When i was a trainee aircraft engineer we had to learn how to wirelock by hand before we were let loose with the pliers! My pliers are bluepoint items from the snapon man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blow_away Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Had a go at lockwiring by hand yesterday - it's bloody hard work! I struggled to keep the tension on the wire and to achieve the minimum 9 twists per inch. Then I had to figure out what an inch was - as I am nearly completely metric I thought it was cider http://www.winkleighcider.com/?p=about Now thinking about how I wired the bolts yesterday, I realise that the wire is trying to undo the bottom bolt More practise required methinks. If anyone who is coming to Oulton could bring some lockwiring pliers and show me how its done, I would be most grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budda Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 You get the tension on the wire at the end when you finish off with a pair of pliers, this is after you have fed the wire through the first set of holes, decided on direction and then put the turns in the wire by hand. Now feed the wire through the next set of holes or whatever you are securing to, be it bolt or bracket or what have you, put some more turns in I would give yourself a decent length to work with. Now pull on it hard with some pliers and put in another couple of turns at this point if it won't go tight you've done too many twists between the fasteners to be secured. Rule of thumb is 9 to 12 tpi=twists per inch. It may be worth remembering the old righty tighty thing, the wire must pull the bolt to the right to work it may help to draw a quick sketch to save time with directions i.e. lefty loosy=feck a common mistake whatever your skill level. Keep practicing and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZXRRDave Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 The best memory aid I find if you are wiring between 2 bolts (such as caliper bolts) is the shape the wire and bolts make when its finished. If its a Z its zipped up, if its an S it'll slip out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liamo Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 If its a Z its zipped up, if its an S it'll slip out. Top tip there, advise that rhymes is always worth listening to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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