On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 17:07:17 GMT, Nathan Young
wrote:

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 07:42:05 -0800, "Tarver Engineering"
wrote:


"Bart D. Hull" wrote in message
.. .
I'm working on the firewall forward for my homebuilt.

I need to extend various wires to make it to their respective
destinations.
(14 to 26 gauge wires.)

Any way to have a nice clean butt joint? I don't like the crimp butt
joints
or twisting the wires together with the accompanying monster bulge.

What have y'all used for a central ground or central power point? I'm
building
a composite so I can't use the airframe as a convenient ground.

Suggestions and/or pictures are appreciated.

Use a terminal block, or a Burndy block.

Do not solder the wires.

I've noticed this - why does aviation not solder wires? Is it a
reliability thing? Ie the solder joint would fracture after enough
vibration and time?

Yes, for the short answer.

As a demonstration, take a piece of aviation wire and cut it in two.
Crimp a spade lug on the end of each piece. On one, solder the wire in
the connector.

Now, bend the wire back and forth.
The one soldered into the connector should break far sooner than the
one that is only crimped.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

With my A&Ps guidance, I've done a bit of wiring under the panel of my
plane. One thing is for sure - I wouldn't want to be soldering under
there - you'd get a facefull of solder droplets. OUCH!

-Nathan