Metal tubing for MG's

namrednef · October 2, 2008, 5:11pm

IYO…what is the best source for aluminum or brass tubing for A/C machine guns?

Also…what diameters do you recommend for 1/48 scale .30 and .50 MG’s?

TIA!

Summit · October 2, 2008, 6:23pm

Lt, somewhere in the tomb of forums is a chart someone with all the cross reference for Syringe needles. I printed it off but somewhere I misplaced during the remodel of the workshop. [sigh] But I bought several needles that I knew where to find and for 1/48 .50 cal use 26 or 27 gauge needles. I picked mine up at feed store .

namrednef · October 2, 2008, 6:28pm

Thanks Sean! I’ll check that out!

sfcmac · October 2, 2008, 9:28pm

Gosh Nam most of the Hobby shops got that tubing here on display by the balsa wood for some reason.

some_assembly_requir · October 2, 2008, 9:28pm

here i saved in my favs.

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FineScale.com Forums » Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials » Techniques

Techniques

Started by garthbender at 06-15-2004 7:32 AM. Topic has 4 replies.

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06-15-2004, 7:32 AM
garthbender Joined on 05-21-2004 Posts 127

Hypodermic Tubing Sizes

I’ve never used hypodermic tubing for gun barrels, but have seen people reference it so much that I’d like to give it a shot. What size should I order for a .50 cal. barrel in 1/48? How about the same .50 cal. in 1/35?

Does anybody have good tips about working with the stuff? Is it hard to cut without collapsing the tube? How do you replicate the holes in the cooling sleeve?

~ Thanks
~ Garth

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06-15-2004, 7:47 PM

MikeV

Joined on 04-19-2003
Hayward, CA
Posts 7,848

RE: Hypodermic Tubing Sizes

Since .50 cal is .5" divide .5 by 48 for 1/48th scale which comes to an inside diameter of .010" which would be 22 gauge hypodermic tubing.
I think the heavy-walled stuff from SmallParts.com would be best as it has a thicker wall and looks more realistic. http://www.smallparts.com/components/
For 1/35 scale it would be .5" divided by 35 which comes to an inside diameter of .014" which would be closest to 21 gauge hypodermic tubing.
This stuff is fairly hard as it is stainless steel,but it cuts great with a Dremel tool with an emery cutting wheel on it. Wear your safety glasses though!
There is no way to drill the air cooling vents in the tubing though.
If you want that kind of realism then you need to buy some of the aftermarket machine guns that they sell.

Mike

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06-16-2004, 10:37 PM
garthbender Joined on 05-21-2004 Posts 127

RE: Hypodermic Tubing Sizes

Awesome! Thanks Mike. I’m going to give this a shot on my next project. I hate when guns have that plastic look, so hopefully this will help.

~ Garth

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06-17-2004, 8:59 AM

jridge

Joined on 04-16-2003
West Des Moines, IA USA
Posts 355

RE: Hypodermic Tubing Sizes

Try this site if you are interested in barrels with the cooling jackets.

http://www.karaya.ceti.pl/eng/eng2.html

I’ve used their 1/48 scale barrels and highly recommend them. I’d pass on thier resin bodies however, unless they’ve drastically improved their molds. I use the kit gun bodies.

Jim

The fate of the Chambermaid
http://30thbg.1hwy.com/38thBS.html

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06-24-2004, 8:20 AM
TimL Joined on 01-07-2004 Posts 76

RE: Hypodermic Tubing Sizes

50 caliber

Caliber/Scale
.50/72=.0069 29 or 30 gauge
.50/48=.0104 26 or 27 gauge
.50/32=.0156 24 or 25 gauge
.50/24=.0208 21 or 22 gauge
.50/18=.0277 19 gauge

So as not to forget the metric guns, 20mm
The list I have has all the sizes in inches, you can either convert the size now or after you do the scale conversion, I’ll do it now to keep it easy
20mm / 25.4mm per inch = .787 inches

Caliber/Scale
.787/72=.0109 26 or 27 gauge
.787/48=.0164 24 or 25 gauge
.787/32=.0246 20 gauge
.787/24=.0328 19 gauge
.787/18=.0437 17 or 18 gauge

The math is the same and very easy, just divide the nominal bore diameter (.50, .30, 20mm, 30mm) by the scale (72,48,32) and you’ve got it.

There was also a question regarding the calculations being for the bore diameter, in the past when this question came up, most of the time, the person was wondering what the proper inside diameter (ID) of the tube was, you could calculate based on outside diameter (OD) of the gun, but since I don’t have a chart of the OD’s of various guns, I find it easier to calculate by nominal ID.

For example, assuming a 50 caliber gun has a 1/4" wall thickness in real life, this would make the OD of the gun approx. 1" in real life.

And as an example, we’ll use 1/48th scale
1/48= .0208 OD Which is a 25 gauge tube, and does jive with the calculations above.

If the wall diameter in real life is 3/8", then .5+.375+.375=1.25

1.25/48=.026 OD, a 23 gauge tube with an ID of .013, which is close

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sfcmac · October 2, 2008, 9:31pm

That’s very helpful! Thankyou! Love odd ball! he is my hero!

namrednef · October 2, 2008, 9:41pm

I appreciate the help, but I NEVER get to a LHS! So lazy and used to just ordering online. I know I need to change my ways!

Also, I needed suggestions about recommended sizes.

But I thank you all!

Triarius · October 3, 2008, 9:52am

Nam, here’s the link to my chart in the FSM forums:

scale tubing

namrednef · October 4, 2008, 2:41pm

Thanks Everyone! I actually went to an LHS Friday afternoon…advertised open until 6 pm.

We got there at 5:30…locked and closed! Ugggggghhhhhhhhhhh!

Hans_von_Hammer · October 4, 2008, 4:24pm

I use the needle aplicator tubes from “Black bottle” Testor’s Liquid Cement for .50 cal/12.7-13mm guns… .30 cals come from my wife’s used 26’s for her insulin… 20mm gets the 1/16th OD aluminum tubes, everything else gets drilled… Also, wire insulation works as well. I just strip a bit and pull it forward, but leave the wire in to maintain rigidity.

namrednef · October 4, 2008, 10:04pm

Great tip, Mike

tlivancso · October 6, 2008, 3:47am

Hello nam,

Here is a chart on sizes of tubing recommended for each scale per type of machine gun and the smallparts.com part number if needed.

The original chart came from Randie Coulter but I added in the missing scales.

http://www.mechanicalrenaissance.com/albums/info/Scale_Gun_Barrel_Chart.pdf

hth

Cheers,

Thom

namrednef · October 6, 2008, 7:32pm

Thanks Thom! It’s a new ref for me!

What river are you east of?

lewbud · October 7, 2008, 2:17am

Nam,

You might also try Minimeca’s products. I picked up their “grab bag” at Squadron last month and it has several tubing sizes that would be ideal. It’s kinda pricey (fifteen bucks and change), but I got enough tubing to do several 1/72 and 1/48 aircraft. There’s also some fine wire, perfect for antennae or aerials. The tubing diameters are .6mm and .8mm in lengths of 10mm and 20mm along with some 100mm lengths of wire.

tlivancso · October 7, 2008, 6:35am

Hello nam

I am east of the CT river, in East Hartford.

Cheers,

Thom

namrednef · October 7, 2008, 5:36pm

Thanks everyone for these suggestions! LHS aside…I now have greater sources and references!