Does anyone know where I can get braided wire for tow cables

Several of the aftermarket companies offer it. Personally I like Accurate Armour . Some folks use picture hanging wire, but the kind that I have found isn't braided properly. I'm sure other sources are.
My favorite replacement for wire is actually kite string. I find the number of strands to be enough to be convincing.

One option is stainless steel beading wire. It's actually cable and is available with seven, 21, or 49 strands. The 21 strand cable is three bundles of seven and the 49 strand is seven bundles of seven. It has a nylon coating which is easily stripped off by holding the cable between the blade and a cutting board and pulling the wire towards you. The bare cable is then heated in a candle to de-springify and weather it.

The .019 inch diameter is 0.4826 mm so it's about as thick as 0.5mm styrene rod. The 0.014 inch diameter is 0.3556 mm so it's about as thick as 0.3 mm styrene rod.
This stuff might be too thin for tanks but it's just right for half tracks and soft skins. The cables I've seen in archive photos on half tracks is relatively thin.
The downside to this approach is you'll still need cable ends.

One vendor is Fire Mountain Gems. You can get a 30 foot spool for around $10 US after shipping.
http://www.firemountaingems.com/shopping.asp?skw=KWCORDACCUFLEXSTEEL
There are other vendors too. Just do a search for "beading wire".

I hope this helps.

David

Another option you could try is a technique shown to me years ago. Using this technique you select a small strand wire of brass or copper (preferably) and cinch a couple of these into the end of a Dremel and lock it down. Hold the free end with small pliers of some type......you will probably want to experiment with which acts as a better anchor.
Then turn on the Dremel at the lowest RPM setting for about two seconds while holding the free end of the wires with the pliers. This will tightly wind the strands. It will look more realistic than doing the twisting by hand because each wire loop is consistent in appearance.
I like to use copper personally, because once it has been slightly heated (which the twisting action will do) it holds its shape. Brass wire tends to want to "bounce back" to its original shape it seems.
Just a thought. Robert

I have used the method described above (variation of) and it works really well.
First, I strip old electrical flex to get the copper wire, then carefully separate the strands to get just two or three individual wires. About a metre long is good. It's a good idea to carefuly straighten or stretch the wires to loosen up any kinks.
Next, I fold the strands in half, twisting the ends together and firmly tightening them in the chuck of my motor tool (quite important to get the knot in the centre of the chuck) - the other end, the 'fold', gets looped over a handy window latch in my modelling cave.
Then I hold the chuck with my index finger (hand brake) turn on the power and release the hand brake slowly so the motor tool turns at an even slow rate by keeping finger pressure on the chuck - my motor tool is one speed but comes with a friction brake built in so I figure my method isn't going to cause it to blow up any time soon.
The key is to watch the operation carefully and not to over tighten the coiled wire.
For heavy duty cables, I twist up three two-stranders, then carefully twist 'em all together.




Above photos are a sample of a Work In Progress, apologies for the poor quality snaps.

acav out

hey,

I've used for tow cables,it's made by a company,named Westrim Crafts ,style 179,,75 yds. ,,2 Ply Lame Silver,reverse side of label is also writen,, 179-PE-003. it's made in Taiwan,and appears to be distrib by Westrim Crafts,Van Nuys,Calif. 91406. UPC code is 48492 03386.Very easy to work with,and can be painted.Found it at "Michaels Art&Crafts".





joe

Here is another way to make your own tow cables.

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