Neat idea, and comes with ready made handles as well!

PAINT TUB WORK STAND
Hi Guys,
I use old paint tub's as work/display stands.

Remove the handle.
Cut out the desired shape for your boat at the top of the tub.
Line the cutout with rubber hose.
It is ideal for holding your models when you are working on them.
With some modifications you could use it to but your boats in the water and retrieve them as it is made from plastic.

Martin.

I like your tip, it reminded me of the way I have used cycle spokes as drive shafts, the spoke nuts are usually plated brass so can be used in brass props by drilling out then silver solder the nut into the prop after removing the plating.
Cheers Colin.

There are two types of bicycle spokes it seems - ordinary and stainless steel and of course they come in various lengths as our local cycle shop owner said years ago. Have used the ordinary ones as pushrods and the stainless ones as propshafts as components are not easy to come by in SA. However they are not 2mm thread so can only be used with old Billings type plastic props where they thread themselves and using the flat head part of the spoke fastener as a lock nut . Tried to re-thread some but they broke the carbon steel die.

We are fortunate to have a material called Vesconite manufactured here - a grey/black nylon type which replaced Lignum Vitae as underwater shaft bearings on most Tugs around the world. it is lubricated by water - and functions especially well in salt water. So there is very little wear after years of use.

$15 NZ is not too bad for a pair of Sullivan (US) 3ft pushrods (2 inners 2 outers plus 2 threaded rods 2 clevises, 2 clips and 2 keepers) makes it so much easier to make a set (or you can buy them as singles,- different lengths, sizes, $$ available) No worries about finding suitable tube for outers etc, then still having to buy clevises etc (or make Z bends) Not sure of the cost in UK etc,- perhaps they whack you with a bigger $ extraction stick up over ?

Excellent,
And I bet they are a lot cheaper too.

Martin.

Some time ago I bought a whole load of cycle spokes - which are rods with one end threaded. They were very useful as push-rods...

R/C aircraft elev, rudd, ail push-rods come with threaded rod, clevises etc. You can cut them to whatever length you need, (same as yours Doug but with all the bits. Graupner used to make some really fine push-rods in the 70s which I had a truckload of (still have bits left) but they disappeared with all the good stuff from Graupner years ago (Chinese ARF market killed them a bit.)

When I needed an extra long connection the length of my submarine to the rudder I used a home made Bowden type cable.
Stranded steel wire from the garden centre craft shop set in a styrene tube.
😎
Now back to clearing up the terrace / garden after storm damage 🌧️🌪️🌩️😠

They are a really good idea Martin, I've been using them since the 60s in boats and planes. To add to your idea, some other slightly stronger items to try are R/C plane wheel collars (steel or brass) which are available in different IDs. I found that sometimes the brass terminals (electrical) will split at the bottom if you use a bit much force and can come loose. A couple of wheel collars hang on pretty well, and don't have any screws sticking out to catch on things. (I've had partially jammed rudders now and again)