you can also use piano wire or brass rods. they probably aren't as durable as drill blanks, but they are readily available at any hobby shop and most hardware stores. i've used brass rods to convert the front independent axles to a solid axle on all my fly classics.
I use stainless tubing (left over from 1/24 drag cars) as front axles when replacing independents in fly classic. I use slot-it or drill blanks if they are actually going to really touch.
Add me to the piano wire crowd for home racing. I use it all the time as it is very inexpensive compared to other materials and also quite strong. I have yet to bend one. If you are doing heavy competition where you might get shunted to a hard floor, then go with the drill blanks.
Piano wire is OK as an axle material. The problem in the UK is finding the right diameter piano wire. The standard sizes piano wire is supplied in here in the UK is not the standard sizes for a proper fit in bearings / gears / wheels.
Do you guys have that problem?
For the quicker cars TOJ is right - use drill blanks.
For front axle replacement, I find piano wire in the correct dimension to be more than adequate. Most of the chassis support the axle adjacent to the front wheel. Most front wheels are made of plastic and will break much quicker then the piano wire will bend.
For rear axles I will always use drill blanks, once I roll them across a flat surface to assure they are straight. A rear axle that is only slightly bent will cause many problems with your car.
You guys must run in some serious figure 8 races to bend axles. I have used aluminum tubing for years and raced twice a month an each one is still as straight as the day it was built. Very low unsprung weight, easy to balance the assembly and easy to build.
Yes I agree piano wire is fine for front axles, particularly cranked front axles. With wheels independently rotating on a fixed an axle, quite a few cars are not particularly sensitive to slightly bent front axles.
I haven't found piano wire that fits the gear properly, and gears running out of true don't usually last long. Yes I agree, most cars are very sensitive to even slight bends in the driven axle. For some reason cars with heavy magnet traction seem much less sensitive to slightly bent driven axles.
Piano wire front axles do sometimes bend in F1s. Usually with these cars the chassis support is someway inboard and there's less chance the bodywork will provide any protection in the event of a crash.
I use reamer blanks for axles, they are harder and ground to size. You will break a chassis before you bend one of these guys. I buy them in lots of 12 from a tooling supplier we used at work and they do not cost any more than a Slot It axle. I have repaired proxy cars that have had brass tube axles and I would not recommend anything less than using music wire axles. My local hardware store sells 3/32 music wire and I just bought some yesterday for $4.25 for two pieces three foot long.
All the 3/32" music wire I've found is around .092 to .093" diameter, while standard race-quality bushings are about .0938" ID, so you get "the shakes" due to the excess clearance. Also, music wire is die-drawn, with an unfinished surface, so polishing is in order (which reduces diameter further). I've used music wire for casual runners, with no problems, but for competition I use Slot.It axles front and rear.
I use reamer blanks for axles, they are harder and ground to size. You will break a chassis before you bend one of these guys. ...
The "drill blank" axles sold by the higher end slot racing suppliers are ground to size and suitable hardness.
Remember, nothing is indestructible, hit it hard enough and an axle will either bend or break.
Making axles too hard doesn't help, they break rather than bend.
Fortunately axle wrecking accidents are relatively rare. In BIG accidents, 3/32 "drill blank" axles do sometimes bend or break. In about half of the axle wrecking accidents I've seen, the chassis has been undamaged.
Piano wire is OK as an axle material. The problem in the UK is finding the right diameter piano wire. The standard sizes piano wire is supplied in here in the UK is not the standard sizes for a proper fit in bearings / gears / wheels.
Do you guys have that problem?
Not really. K&S makes it in both 3/32 and in 1/8 inch diameter. I generally use SCC bearings and Slot.it gears with various maker's wheels and have never had any fit issues. I do slightly chamfer the ends after cutting to remove any burrs.
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