Lego Cords/strings sizes question

[sp1984]

Hello

Have question regarding Lego, Lego technic string/cords diameters.

I would like to have custom strings with any length for my constructions, so need to know Lego strings diameter to use the same custom string with preferred length.

Therefore please give me info about diameter of:

1. Standard lego (city) string - String cord thin,

2. Technic string (grey colour like in 42128 tow truck set) - String cord medium thickness.

Kind regards

 

 

[Lego Tom]

The cord used for the off road crane and 42146 is 1mm or .0394 inch. I don't have the other standard string to measure.

[sp1984]

Thank you

[aeh5040]

I would be interested if someone has found a good affordable substitute for technic cord. The ones I have tried are not quite as good as the real thing.

Edited September 28, 2023 by aeh5040

[howitzer]

7 hours ago, aeh5040 said:

I would be interested if someone has found a good affordable substitute for technic cord. The ones I have tried are not quite as good as the real thing.

I would be interested as well, the official Technic cord is really great as it doesn't get easily tangled and is quite strong and also nice looking, but unfortunately the lengths available in sets are very limited.

[Cumulonimbus]

To the best of my knowledge the current Technic string is 1mm braided nylon cord. I haven't tried it myself, but there are several sources for this type of cord, for example this amazon link or this ebay supplier.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Cumulonimbus
Typo: a chord is not a cord :).

[howitzer]

39 minutes ago, Cumulonimbus said:

To the best of my knowledge the current Technic string is 1mm braided nylon chord. I haven't tried it myself, but there are several sources for this type of chord, for example this amazon link or this ebay supplier.

Do you happen to have firsthand experience on these cords, do they feel and act the same as the official Lego cord?

[Cumulonimbus]

1 hour ago, howitzer said:

Do you happen to have firsthand experience on these cords, do they feel and act the same as the official Lego cord?

No, unfortunately I have no first hand experience but these polyamide (aka nylon) braded cords are often described as very flexible. I might order some soon, but no promises. When I do, I'll share my experiences here. By the way, after some googling I learned that this type of strings are often used for home made jewelry and is then called macramé wire or jade draad in Dutch. I thought this might help somebody finding a suitable string.

[pleegwat]

I have used generic DIY store polyamide cord. It was somewhat stiffer than lego cord, and annoyingly it was white. I think I paid €5 for 50m, but it's been a few years. I would suggest checking nearby DIY or crafts stores for what kind of thread they carry.

[howitzer]

18 hours ago, pleegwat said:

I have used generic DIY store polyamide cord. It was somewhat stiffer than lego cord, and annoyingly it was white. I think I paid €5 for 50m, but it's been a few years. I would suggest checking nearby DIY or crafts stores for what kind of thread they carry.

I've looked up for those but I've had trouble finding cords of right thickness in sensible quantities (tens of metres or more rather than couple of metres) and yeah, they tend to have annoying colours like white or red.

[pleegwat]

Just checked some DIY store websites, 50m or 100m spools of the right thickness are not a problem but colour is. The only reasonable one is a dark brown natural fiber which isn't smooth enough. Hence my suggestion to try a craft store, which is more likely to carry painted rope. Maybe sewing supplies? I'm sure they use thread in those quantities, but probably thinner than you need.

Of course, you could build something in technic to make thicker rope out of thread

[howitzer]

15 hours ago, pleegwat said:

Just checked some DIY store websites, 50m or 100m spools of the right thickness are not a problem but colour is. The only reasonable one is a dark brown natural fiber which isn't smooth enough. Hence my suggestion to try a craft store, which is more likely to carry painted rope. Maybe sewing supplies? I'm sure they use thread in those quantities, but probably thinner than you need.

Of course, you could build something in technic to make thicker rope out of thread

I guess you have better stocked craft stores there, though it appears that you also didn't find a good substitute to the official cord. Sewing thread is indeed too thin and hence weak, as it's only spun and not braided. I guess building a braiding machine could work, but it feels a bit too much of an effort just to get some thread...

[Lego Tom]

I ordered a silver roll from Amazon. Will post comparison when it arrives.

[anyUser]

I think the original, thin black cord that has been used for a long time is made of cotton. It's diameter is less than 1 mm.
I haven't found something similar yet.

A few years ago I bought two spools of braided cord from a vendor / maker:
a) 0.4 mm aramid cord in beige (EAN 4046882073011)
b) 1.0 mm Dyneema (= polypropylene) in dark silver grey

The latter one (b) is too stiff to run properly through typical setup of technic cranes. It somewhat works when you put load on it.

The aramid cord (a) works much better but still is a little stiff. You cannot put a on and expect to unreel properly. The big metal hook is much better suited.

Images:

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by anyUser

[Lego Tom]

There are .8mm cotton cords listed on Amazon: .8mm waxed cotton cord

[anyUser]

 

6 hours ago, Lego Tom said:

There are .8mm cotton cords listed on Amazon: .8mm waxed cotton cord

I have seen these. I've never had any of these in my hands but I expect them to be rather stiff because of the wax coating.Also, you want the gems on your necklace to appear in an nice curve. Flexibility would be desired for this cord.

Has anyone tried fishing rope?

Edited October 15, 2023 by anyUser

[XTN]

From my experience I can say:
0.8 as well as 1.0 mm nylon cord works trouble-free, also for the standard plastic hook.
Just get one of these on amazon for a good price, and you'll be fine.

[Moz]

I have a roll of waxed cotton that I use for models, it's stiffer than official Lego stuff but works well enough. 1mm braid is more expensive if you want proper flexible stuff. I have 0.9mm kevlar braid for another application and that is stiffer than the waxed cotton (but stronger, obviously, if for some reason you need 1kN string in your Lego model...

[pleegwat]

I've got a spool with (originally) 50m of 1mm white nylon cord which has served me well, though the colour is not ideal.

https://www.praxis.nl/gereedschap-installatiemateriaal/ijzerwaren/bevestiging/touw/sencys-polyamide-koord-wit-1mm-50m/5033468

[Jundis]

Finally my textile degree can come in handy :D

Polyamid is more expensive than polyester and not really needed for Lego in my opinion. Although this nylon (PA) cord looks very much like the one from lego:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Metres-Braided-Nylon-Wire-Light/dp/B07L5T2NRG

For this item, shipping is too expensive, otherwise I would try it out.

Edit: I'll do a fire test tomorrow to see, what kind of fibre we have here.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Jundis

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

For my Goliath 2.0 project

I used this black nylon cable with a 1 mm section.

I consider it superior to the cable supplied by Lego because it is neutral in behavior and very pleasant to the touch and sight.

 

I found the STRING (1,5 euro --> 20 mt) on eBay but I think Amazon also sells them.

 

[msk6003]

Unlike every people in here, I like use fishing line. It is much thinner than lego string so it can wind more on same reel.

[Lego Tom]

1 hour ago, msk6003 said:

Unlike every people in here, I like use fishing line. It is much thinner than lego string so it can wind more on same reel.

In many cases though, fishing line thinness makes it out of scale. The cable on heavy lift cranes is quite thick, as is required by the weights they are rated to lift. Additionally, most fishing line is black while cables tend to be silver/grey because they are made of steel.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Lego Tom

[msk6003]

1 hour ago, Lego Tom said:

In many cases though, fishing line thinness makes it out of scale. The cable on heavy lift cranes is quite thick, as is required by the weights they are rated to lift. Additionally, most fishing line is black while cables tend to be silver/grey because they are made of steel.

Most of the fishing line readily available near me is transparent. And since I mainly use it in places like robots, I didn't even think about scale issues.

[Lego Tom]

As I stated, I ordered a spool from an earlier link. Although I got it a couple of weeks ago, I've been busy with other things, until today. I added 4 sections to my crane's boom, necessitating a longer cord. The Amazon cord is very similar to the LEGO product. I measured the new cord using the old one and adding 3 feet to the end. Everything worked as hoped. Unfortunately, they did not have any dark grey in stock so I went with silver to simulate new cable. I may try using an old modeler's trick called 'black washing' to add some darkness to it and make it look more used.