School me: Safety Wire, good uses? examples? show me how..

[caffeine]

you use it.

and how its used. motorcycles, cars, anything. I see many folks using it on motorcycles now, just curious how its used and what not.

[haring]

I'm sure you know its use -- to prevent bolts from backing out. As such, it is overkill on most machines, so guys are mainly using it for looks. Jimmy Shine wired all of the bolts on his '34 truck. Maybe someone can post picts.

Here are good instructions on how to run the wire:
safety wire instructions (http://www.tavia.com/01421_instructions.html)

[ChuckleHead_Al]

I use it on C-5 Galaxies and used it on F-16's and F-117's that I worked on throughout my A.F career. It's safety wired due to constant vibrations of military aircraft in flight, man we safety wire bolts, nuts, screws anything and everything..

[colorado51]

Oh yea, safety wire!

I used to road race motorcycles, and I had to wire just about everything. The first time, it took me forever, but after I did a couple of bikes I got a little faster at it.

Of course you need to have safety wire pliers, and now they make jigs to hold the nuts and bolts; a lot better than using a vice.

[36-3window]

you can twist the wire by hand , or use a special tool for a real neat job.. you also need a jig to drill hole in the bolt heads or nuts. check this out:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/to/safetywiretools.html

[OldCarPilot]

Its used on airplanes all the time. Mostly acts like a cotter pin would, keeps nuts on bolts. They make a special tool for the stuff that spins if for you. Works pretty slick.

[Slag Kustom]

it looks great on bikes.i did most of the bolts on my ridgid iron head after alot of stuff lossened up. use it any where you dont want locktite.

[Slide]

The main thing I use safety wire for is to hang small parts from the rafters so I can spray some Krylon on them! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, though. If you know someone at an aircraft parts counter, you can buy pre-drilled hardware. Hi-$ tho. I must agree that it's overkill for the street... but then we ARE hot rodders! Overkill is what we do!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I have a set of the spinny pliers, and it works pretty slick. I have seen some dudes chuck the safety wire leads into an electric drill, and slowly spin the wire that way for a neat job. The special pliers are much better, though.

A neat tech tip: If you are doing any TIG or gas welding on very thin steel, you can run a length of (solid) wire out of your MIG welder (about 18-24"). Clip the wire off, and clamp one end into your bench vise. Grab the other end with your safety wire pliers, and give it a couple spins. This will make the wire stiff, like a thin welding rod. You can then use the MIG wire as your filler rod!

[bigron]

i've used it on planes ,bikes, cars and numerous other things around the house. i keep a roll of saftey wire in my tool box in each vehicle. you'd be suprised how many things you can "temp" repair on the side of the road to get home. you can get safteywire pliers from harbor frieght or pay to much and get them from mac or snap-on.

[a/fxcomet]

You can use it on your motorcycle handgrips too. Once you get some and some pliers, you'll find all sorts of neat uses. .032" stainless is good for most all around work. I got a 1 lb can from my local fastener house for $15-20. Pliers are about the same from HF.

http://www.malinco.com/aerospace/index.html ,
http://www.ultralightnews.com/pilotslounge/safetywire.htm ,
http://www.geocities.com/robm351/pantera/index-24.html ,
http://www.whizwheels.com/Tips/safetywiring.html .