Bending SW fuel float wire

[RScott]

Bent the wire for my first tank per the plans & the float hit the top & bottom of the tank. Bent it here, a little there til it looked like a snake & it still hit top or bottom tank skin (not the stiffener--I flipped the float to clear that) & never could get it to clear both.

Bought a new wire from Van's, bent it shorter than the plans specify (3 1/4" on each leg) & it worked fine. On to the second tank. Also bent it shorter, but it still doesn't clear. Is there a secret to this? Do I need to bend each leg a LOT shorter? I went to about 3.1" on the second tank. What's the secret to bending these things & getting them right the first time?

Am I the only one with this problem? Since Van's sells replacement wires, I think not, but I found nothing in the archives except for people missing the little dogleg at the very end.