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  #1  
Old 01-25-2011, 01:46 PM
mcencula mcencula is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Delaware, OH
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Default How to straighten 3003 tubing?

Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or recommendations for how to straighten 3003 tubing so it's really straight? So far I've been straightening it out with my hands which gets it mostly straight, but still has some waviness over short distance (perhaps every 2 - 3 inches) and usually a gentle curve over long distance (say, a 4 ft length).

P.S. Yes, I've considered 5052 tubing. I may or may not go that route for the brake lines, but prefer to use the cheaper stuff for the fuel lines. Really just looking for recommendations on working with 3003.

Thanks,
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  #2  
Old 01-25-2011, 02:05 PM
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ChiefPilot ChiefPilot is offline
 
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Default

I used a length of 12" steel rod matching the I.D. of the tubing. Chamfer the edges, grease it up, push it through (using another piece of steel rod), and you have a reasonably straight piece of 3003. Not arrow-shaft straight, but far better than I could do by hand.
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  #3  
Old 01-25-2011, 02:19 PM
Mike Ice Mike Ice is offline
 
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Location: Sedro Wooley, WA
Posts: 147
Default tubing lines

Have you considered replacing all of those lines with the ones that come pre-made from Bonaco?

I made all of the fuel and brake lines and then saw the ones from Bonaco and removed all of mine and replaced them. Wish I would have done it from the beginning, it would have saved a lot of time, money and scrap.

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  #4  
Old 01-25-2011, 02:33 PM
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Lycosaurus Lycosaurus is offline
 
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Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 650
Default roll it on the floor

Those aluminum lines come in rolls. Roll it out on a flat floor holding the loose end firmly on the floor, then unroll as much as you need (roll it like a wheel). You will need to hold the straight section that is thus formed firmly on the floor.

I tried unraveling by hand, but it really comes out lumpy and amateurish. Hope I understood your question correctly.
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  #5  
Old 01-25-2011, 03:08 PM
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Bob Kuykendall Bob Kuykendall is offline
 
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Location: Douglas Flat, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcencula View Post
Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or recommendations for how to straighten 3003 tubing so it's really straight?...
It's hard to say. For most of these lines, straight enough for all practical purposes can be pretty wavy and still be 100% functional. So unless you're building a show plane, what you're doing hand and by eye and it will be fine.
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  #6  
Old 01-25-2011, 03:08 PM
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Kevin Horton Kevin Horton is offline
 
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Roll it between two flat boards, or a flat board and a flat floor.
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  #7  
Old 01-25-2011, 03:30 PM
FredMagare FredMagare is offline
 
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Location: Kyle, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Horton View Post
Roll it between two flat boards, or a flat board and a flat floor.
Kevin's idea worked well for me. I couldn't get it perfect but I got it pretty close.
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  #8  
Old 01-25-2011, 03:39 PM
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rocketbob rocketbob is offline
 
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Default

On the mustang I helped redo all the plumbing in the gear wells on, we used 5052 because it is delivered straight.

Jeg's sells a tubing straightener perhaps you could get your EAA chapter to buy: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/80082/10002/-1?CT=999
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  #9  
Old 01-25-2011, 03:55 PM
TS Flightlines TS Flightlines is offline
 
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Default 3003

is soft for a reason---easy to bend by hand. Works ok for low pressures, to like 850psi for -4. If it's already bent, you may not get it "perfectly" straight. In shorter lengths, try rolling it on a flat workbench. IF you have good tubing bender, you can bend the radius the opposite way, and get it close, without constricting the ID too much. Then roll it out. Probably easier to start over, use 5052, or braided teflon. Teflon is more expensive, but easier to route. 3003 and 5052 is less expensive, but harder to work with. Just depends on what your trade off is.
Tom
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  #10  
Old 01-26-2011, 06:13 AM
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rzbill rzbill is offline
 
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Default Vice

I clamped (and crushed) about an inch of the raw end in a vice bolted to a heavy table. This allowed me to put reasonable tension on the tube while unrolling it and hand straightening the roll at the tangent point of the loop. It was pretty easy to hold tension and manually uncurl the roll to get a fairly straight 6 to 8 foot piece.
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