Wow. So much heat, so little light. (Pun intended).

First, to say that heat treating steel wire is beyond the capabilities of a home RC shop is silly. Of course it is not. And you do not have to be a metalurgist either.

Next, to say that all cold bending is necessarily bad is equally silly. Of course it is not.

As an amateur knife maker, I can assure you that anyone with even a minimum of tools (propane torch and color guide for common steels) and practically zero intelligence can sucessfully heat, anneal, and re-temper steel landing gear wire with no problems whatsoever. I prefer to bend steel using heat because it is so falling-down easy. But heat bending is not the only way to make landing gear for our toys.

Be very wary when you see absolutes trotted out in these forums as the *only* way to accomplish something. And be VERY wary of armchair experts everywhere, not just here.

Tom