I have to thank you guys.

[Stealth Pilot]

Sometime last year one of the posters on here was moaning about the
length of time that a Druine Turbulent takes to build, and that he
wasnt even going to start.
I looked at the post and thought, damn if that isnt exactly what I'm
after. something with lots of small parts that costs stuff all to
build and absorbs all the boring time between semesters at uni.

tailfeathers are almost finished. fuselage longerons were interrupted
by the table saw motor burning out but that should be home soon and
the fuselage should look like something in a week or two.

I'm having a ball at present with building sessions interspersed with
trips down to the airfield to fly the tailwind.

I've even been prompted to get the little furnace I built for
aluminium casting dusted off to cast up a set of lightweight toe brake
pedals. Man this homebuilding is magic.

for the poor bugger who thought it was too hard. rotfl. you have no
idea how much enjoyment building a little turbulent is.

Stealth Pilot
Australia

[Rich S.]

"Stealth Pilot" > wrote in message
...
>
> I've even been prompted to get the little furnace I built for
> aluminium casting dusted off to cast up a set of lightweight toe brake
> pedals. Man this homebuilding is magic.

The Emeraude plans even have specs for building your own wheels and brakes.

Rich "The devil's in the details" S.

[[email protected]]

Stealth Pilot wrote:

> I've even been prompted to get the little furnace I built for
> aluminium casting dusted off to cast up a set of lightweight toe brake
> pedals. Man this homebuilding is magic.
-----------------------------------------------

Doing your own pedals is neat, especially if you cast-in your
hull-number or the airframe designator (ie, VP, 701, etc). I usta cast
intake manifold ends for dual-port VW heads. (The cores are kinda
tricky) Also gascolator bodies. I did a very sexy Pitot tube... then
realized it weighed nearly 4x as much as a couple of pieces of tubing
taped to a stick :-)

If you have a lathe, even a small one, and access to aluminum plate,
making your own pulleys can save you a bundle. Ditto for fuel tank
fittings (ie, 'flanges'), caps and so forth.

-R.S.Hoover

[[email protected]]

Veeduber, you rock! I hadn't thought about the pulley thing. What a
neat deal. I happen to have access to both, and will try my hand when
I get to that portion.

Drew

[Stealth Pilot]

On 20 Jun 2005 14:02:08 -0700, wrote:

>
>
>Stealth Pilot wrote:
>
>> I've even been prompted to get the little furnace I built for
>> aluminium casting dusted off to cast up a set of lightweight toe brake
>> pedals. Man this homebuilding is magic.
>-----------------------------------------------
>
>Doing your own pedals is neat, especially if you cast-in your
>hull-number or the airframe designator (ie, VP, 701, etc). I usta cast
>intake manifold ends for dual-port VW heads. (The cores are kinda
>tricky) Also gascolator bodies. I did a very sexy Pitot tube... then
>realized it weighed nearly 4x as much as a couple of pieces of tubing
>taped to a stick :-)
>
>If you have a lathe, even a small one, and access to aluminum plate,
>making your own pulleys can save you a bundle. Ditto for fuel tank
>fittings (ie, 'flanges'), caps and so forth.
>
>-R.S.Hoover

oh yes. lathe and shaper etc.

Stealth Pilot

[[email protected]]

wrote:
> Veeduber, you rock! I hadn't thought about the pulley thing. What a
> neat deal. I happen to have access to both, and will try my hand when
> I get to that portion.
>
---------------------------------------------

Dear Drew (and the Crew),

I don't rock. But pulleys do. It's rare for the amount of
cable-travel to exceed more than 90 degrees of rotation of a large
pulley. That means you don't really need sealed ball bearings; a
properly fitted bushing (Grangers, McMasters-Carr, etc) works fine.

After making a few I took the trouble to grind a tool bit for the
groove & shoulders.

If you come upon a stub of bar-stock of suitable diameter you might
consider chucking it between centers and turning out a whole batch of
pulleys at the same time, leaving only about and inch of core mebbe
1/8" wide. After doing all the grooves and the sides, take it over to
the band saw or metal-cutting hacksaw and slice it up. A copper collar
made from scrap DWV pipe allows you to chuck it on the OD, accurately
drill the center and face it off. Or at least, accurately enough :-)
Since the pulley does not rotate a full 360 you can have the axis off
by a couple of thou without effecting anything.

Anodizing is a good idea and you can do it at home if you follow the
rules. But some of the baked-on cermet coatings are at least as
wear-resistant and all it takes to cure them is a kitchen oven.

-R.S.Hoover

[Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired]

wrote:
>
> wrote:
>
>>Veeduber, you rock! I hadn't thought about the pulley thing. What a
>>neat deal. I happen to have access to both, and will try my hand when
>>I get to that portion.
>>
>
> ---------------------------------------------
>
> Dear Drew (and the Crew),
>
> I don't rock. But pulleys do. It's rare for the amount of
> cable-travel to exceed more than 90 degrees of rotation of a large
> pulley. That means you don't really need sealed ball bearings; a
> properly fitted bushing (Grangers, McMasters-Carr, etc) works fine.
>
> After making a few I took the trouble to grind a tool bit for the
> groove & shoulders.
>
> If you come upon a stub of bar-stock of suitable diameter you might
> consider chucking it between centers and turning out a whole batch of
> pulleys at the same time, leaving only about and inch of core mebbe
> 1/8" wide. After doing all the grooves and the sides, take it over to
> the band saw or metal-cutting hacksaw and slice it up. A copper collar
> made from scrap DWV pipe allows you to chuck it on the OD, accurately
> drill the center and face it off. Or at least, accurately enough :-)
> Since the pulley does not rotate a full 360 you can have the axis off
> by a couple of thou without effecting anything.
>
> Anodizing is a good idea and you can do it at home if you follow the
> rules. But some of the baked-on cermet coatings are at least as
> wear-resistant and all it takes to cure them is a kitchen oven.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>

Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

[LCT Paintball]

> Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?
>
> Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

Because they're too big. Your cut off tool would have to stick out the
radius of the part that you're cutting, and you'd loose too much rigidity.
Besides, a good bandsaw is faster.

The real question is why spend an hour making something you can buy for
$10.00, and probably at half the weight?

[LCT Paintball]

> oh yes. lathe and shaper etc.
>

I ran a shaper once, about 20 years ago. They were outdated even then. ;)

[sleepy6]

In article <JYbue.92064$xm3.23541@attbi_s21>,
says...
>
>> Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?
>>
>> Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired
>
>Because they're too big. Your cut off tool would have to stick out the
>
>radius of the part that you're cutting, and you'd loose too much rigid
>ity.
>Besides, a good bandsaw is faster.
>
>The real question is why spend an hour making something you can buy fo
>r
>$10.00, and probably at half the weight?

1 You can make them any dia. you want.

2 The satisfaction of making it yourself.
>
>

[Stealth Pilot]

On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:31:05 GMT, "LCT Paintball"
> wrote:

>> oh yes. lathe and shaper etc.
>>
>
>I ran a shaper once, about 20 years ago. They were outdated even then. ;)
>
oh yeah. as inefficient of time as hell but for a guy like me who
likes to watch the job develop they are just fine.

I usually set it off and do some lathe work. as soon as the note of
the choonka choonka of the cut stroke changes I'm back on to it.

one of the beauties of experimental aviation is that you can perform
the building tasks just for the pleasure of doing the work and of
achieving the craftsman like end result. to hell with the
efficiencies, I'm doing this for the relaxation and stress relief.

I decided to build a little ply scarfing sander today. two days work
to make an 18 inch ply join in effect but all the other ply scarfs to
come will be effortless and perfect.

I'm having a ball building this little summers afternoon aircraft.
Stealth Pilot

[LCT Paintball]

> 2 The satisfaction of making it yourself.
>>

Yea, I guess I get all caught up in the profitability aspect of the venture.

I own a machine shop that specializes in building plastic injection molds.
About once a week I get a farmer in the shop that wants me to build a gear
that he could buy at the local parts store for $20.00. They never understand
the amount of time it takes to make a 1 off item, or the actual cost
involved.

[LCT Paintball]

> one of the beauties of experimental aviation is that you can perform
> the building tasks just for the pleasure of doing the work and of
> achieving the craftsman like end result. to hell with the
> efficiencies, I'm doing this for the relaxation and stress relief.

> I'm having a ball building this little summers afternoon aircraft.
> Stealth Pilot


That's cool. I used to do wood working for the same reasons. Now I find it
too close to what I do for a living, so I'm not about to do it to relax.

[[email protected]]

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired wrote:
>
>
> Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?
>
> Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired
-------------------------------------------------

Dear Dan,

Turning 'between centers' means the work-piece is supported by a
pointed, cone-shaped center at each end, driven by a 'dog' that grips
the work-piece and hooks into a slot in the face-plate.

A cut-off tool is a narrow cutting tool having negative draft, allowing
you to cut a deep slot into the work-piece, effectively slicing it in
two.

If the work were supported entirely by the chuck, or by the chuck and a
steady-rest, you might use a cut-off tool. But when the work is
supported between centers, using a cut-off tool means you've just cut
off one end of your support.

-R.S.Hoover

[[email protected]]

LCT Paintball wrote:
>
>
> The real question is why spend an hour making something you can buy for
> $10.00, and probably at half the weight?
------------------------------------------------

1. Mostly because I can.
2. I would prefer to spend the $10 on something else.
3. A simple part, such as pulley... or a gun barrel... provides a good
opportunity to pass my skills along. Besides imparting a fair degree
of competence in my own kids, I've trained a few hundred sailors, a
number of Scouts, a couple of wannabee homebuilders and I've now got a
crop of grandkids coming on line.
4. If you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer.

-R.S.Hoover

[Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired]

wrote:
>
> Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired wrote:
>
>>
>>Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?
>>
>>Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear Dan,
>
> Turning 'between centers' means the work-piece is supported by a
> pointed, cone-shaped center at each end, driven by a 'dog' that grips
> the work-piece and hooks into a slot in the face-plate.
>
> A cut-off tool is a narrow cutting tool having negative draft, allowing
> you to cut a deep slot into the work-piece, effectively slicing it in
> two.
>
> If the work were supported entirely by the chuck, or by the chuck and a
> steady-rest, you might use a cut-off tool. But when the work is
> supported between centers, using a cut-off tool means you've just cut
> off one end of your support.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>
I have used lathes before and know what a cut off tool is. I was
thinking of supporting the work with a steady rest leaving two pulleys
in position to be cut off, then moving the rest and repeating.

I should have been more clear.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

[Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired]

wrote:

>
> LCT Paintball wrote:
>
>>
>>The real question is why spend an hour making something you can buy for
>>$10.00, and probably at half the weight?
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
> 1. Mostly because I can.
> 2. I would prefer to spend the $10 on something else.
> 3. A simple part, such as pulley... or a gun barrel... provides a good
> opportunity to pass my skills along. Besides imparting a fair degree
> of competence in my own kids, I've trained a few hundred sailors, a
> number of Scouts, a couple of wannabee homebuilders and I've now got a
> crop of grandkids coming on line.
> 4. If you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer.
>
> -R.S.Hoover
>

'sides it bullds character.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

[[email protected]]

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired wrote:
>
> I was
> thinking of supporting the work with a steady rest leaving two pulleys
> in position to be cut off, then moving the rest and repeating.
>
----------------------------------------------------

That would work, assuming your chuck was accurate enough. My three-jaw
isn't that accurate (which is why I do a lot work between centers) and
setting up a long piece of bar-stock in the four-jaw can be a bit of a
bother. But I wouldn't be able to get as many slices since the steady
-rest would not allow me to work as close to the dog. (My steady-rest
is home-made and kinda big.) Plus, it would be a bit more work (at
least, for me).

The last time I made pulleys I spent about an hour to produce twenty
pulley-grooved 'slices' from a hunka 3" bar stock about 16" long.
After being sliced on the bandsaw the cartwheels went into a drawer, to
be drilled & faced as needed, often by one of the kids using a 'baby'
lathe.

-Bob

[GeorgeB]

On 21 Jun 2005 18:07:02 -0700, wrote:

>I don't rock. But pulleys do. It's rare for the amount of
>cable-travel to exceed more than 90 degrees of rotation of a large
>pulley. That means you don't really need sealed ball bearings; a
>properly fitted bushing (Grangers, McMasters-Carr, etc) works fine.
>
>After making a few I took the trouble to grind a tool bit for the
>groove & shoulders.

Bob, one of the more interesting manufacturing processes I have seen
involves making pulleys by slitting the edge of a piece of sheet
metal, then rolling it out to make the flat/vee/round depending on the
"belt" planned.

This was 10+ years ago; I wish I remember whare I was. IIRC, these
were for alternators and water pumps.