Shop Tools and Equipment Q & A

• I keep wearing out my hole saw blades quickly in my Join Jogger. Any ideas?

Date: 95-02-05 23:46:47 EST

From: ClearProp@aol.com

The company recommends Lenox hole saws.... I have been using Milwaukee hole saws because they are easier to find (living in Milwaukee and all....). They are screwed on a mandril that is 1/2" 20 thread without a pilot drill. I have been running my drill press as slow as I can and have had pretty good success (ie haven't broke a hole saw ). I tried using The "Real McCoy " brand that use a 1/4 " pilot and broke about $20 worth in 20 min.... I was not a happy camper.

Date: 95-02-06 20:31:20 EST

From: Bill1533R@aol.com

Vry slow speed (150 RPMs) for cutting with bi-metal hole saw. I finished all my 90 degree notching with one blade, I tried other angles, but didn't get very good results. I hope to hear how notching tool works. I had to go back to the grinding wheel and router with 3/4" grinding bit.

Welding the engine mount bushings was tough for me. Those thick wall bushings take lots of heat and my little #2 tip was barely adequate.

Date: 95-02-06 23:00:51 EST

From: SKYBOLT55@aol.com

They told me to speed up the joint jogger a little to make the saws last longer. I was turning 400rpm then went to 700rpm seemed to help.

Hints and Tips

Welder:
From:  flyacro@juno.com
Comments: I currently own a Miller EconoTig, while it is everything it is advertised to be it has one problem that can plague the aircraft welder. It is rated for a minimun of 30 amps DC, this is right in the range most of the ,035 wall tube welding is done. I had problems with the contactor pulling in and out at the low amps I was welding with. I contacted Miller to see what could be done to lower the minimum amperage and the reply was "nothing". Lincoln Electric sells a comparable unit (price and performance) callecd the SQUARE WAVE 175, the listed minimum DC amperage is 12. I have not used the Lincon but with the lower amperage rating it would be a better unit than the EconoTig for A/C tube welding.

 

Wing mating Equipment

From: RIHNAIRCO@aol.com

Lacking lots of readily available manpower to help me fit the wing to the fuselage I built a platform the exact height of the lower (fwd) portion of the spar saddle. This platform is 16 x 20 but could be whatever suits your situation. I contact cemented a pice of carpet on the top. Then by standing at one wing-tip I could safely "walk" the spar into its saddle and out again. By adding thick plywood to the bottom of the platform, creating an open box with two closed sides I could screw the bottom of the platform to the 2 x4 's that are bolted to the firewall station of the fuselage. This made everything solid and secure.

 

Aircraft Welding

From: ACRO240Y@aol.com

I have had a lot of calls in reference to TIG welders. The most economical and usable for the home builder is the ECONO-TIC 150 by Miller. We use one for tacking in my shop. You cannot weld for long periods of time becakuse of the aircooled torch, but for the home builder it would be fine and you should be able to do 95% of your work with it. Also talk your welding store into swapping the foot pedal control that comes with it for finger controler. The unit comes with a 10 foot 150 amp torch, you should get 125 amp torch with 25ft leads this will allow crawl all over your project.

West System Roller

From: SKYBOLT55@aol.com

I installed lower wing skins last weekend...worked pretty good......except leeding edge was slightly off but within tolerance. The West System roller put the right amount of epoxy on the plywood.

Tables & Jigs

From: JAWS1D@aol.com

I have built my wing very close to what was described previous. I had access to some cheap 1.5"X2'X6' countertops that i added metal work bench legs too - ~ $12 per pair at Menards. I had 3 sets of legs per table top (3 tables - 18') and used sims at each leg to level span wise and fore-aft. I used 1/4"" threaded rod which was drilled throught the table tops and bolted on the bottom to create clamps for building the spars - spaced ~ 1' apart. The rods were also used later on to create clamps and apply pressure to the rear spar and ribs for bonding. I used aircraft nails to secure the ribs in place while bonding. I did have to re-make two ribs (one each half span) which were a little short. I am waiting for the warmer weather to add the nose ribs. Working on the ailerons now. One additional note, I have found that a benchtop combination 6" disk sander/belt sander to be invaluable. the 11 degree rear spar bevel can be easily made with this tool for the ribs - same goes for the 3 degree bevel on the leading edge ribs. This sander has also been used for finishing up all the metal parts i have fabricated. A metal bandsaw was used to get close and then finshed up with the sander. For the wood parts i used a wood bandsaw and again finished up with the sander. i have found that extra fine 150 grit to work the best for both metal and wood parts. both the metal cutting bandsaw and sander can be purchased for under $100. I also purchased the Ole'Joint Jigger from Dale Wilch and allthough a little on the expensive side - it has helped me in building my fuse. If i get to build a second tube steel airframe, i think it would have paid for it self. a 3/4" grinder dressed out to a round shape was used quite a bit to fine tune my tubing notches.

 

Stapler

From: mbkj29a@prodigy.com

I have experienced good results using a pneumatic fine wire stapler to assemble wing ribs. The Senco model SNJ was recommended by Bill Scheunemann and proved to be a reliable and easy to use tool for this first time builder

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