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Thread: Building tips and hints

  1. #121
    Senior Member
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Slightly off topic, but hey it's food ...

    Build a super duper fire in the smoker without the water pan, that'll do the
    trick. At least that's what I do. Smoker #1 became a wood fired pizza oven
    after a few mods. It runs up around 800-900 degrees F so it never gets crud
    anymore. Smoker #2 (Weber Smoker) is still a smoker. The wood fired pizza
    oven sees 2-3 times as much use as the regular smoker though. Cooks a
    pizza in about 4-5 minutes.

    The Gasket remover is a good idea for other stuff though ...

    Quote Originally Posted by War Eagle View Post
    I wonder if it will work on my smoker to remove backed on crud and not be hazardous to cooking food.

  2. #122
    Senior Member jtpitkin06's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Fiberglass Work: Alll Models


    If you do fiberglass work on cowlings or other fiberglass parts the appearance on the inside often looks like a chicken with gastro-intestinal problems was in the area.


    To make things look professional use a layer of “peel ply” over the repair area.


    What the heck is peel ply?


    Peel ply is a Dacron fabric covering pressed over the fiberglass cloth and resin to smooth out the laminate and squeegee out the excess resin. The theory is that polyester resin does not stick very well to to Dacron. The Dacron is removed or peeled off after the resin sets. The result is a high fiberglass to resin ratio and a pro look to the finish.


    You can get peel ply from Aircraft Spruce and several other sources but chances are with a Kitfox you have some left over Polyfiber from covering. It will work nearly the same as peel ply.



    The procedure is to lay down your fiberglass cloth and resin as usual. Then place Dacron cloth over the fiberglass and resin area extending beyond the area of repair.. Squeegee the area with a tongue depressor or plastic spreader to squeeze out excess resin. The resin under the Polyfiber will feather to a clean edge. Mop up the excess if it comes out from the edge of the Dacron. You do not need to wet out the Dacron all the way to the edge. It is OK to have some dry edges of the Dacron as long as your fiberglass is fully wetted. Leave the Dacron cloth in place until the resin sets.



    After the resin has hardened you can grab a corner of the Dacron cloth and peel it off the repair area. It will be firm but not difficult to remove. The result will be a smooth finish with a bit of fabric texture visible. The resin will taper nicely to a feathered edge. Any “stringy” areas you would normally have will be smoothly tapered.


    The fabric texture imprinted in the resin makes a great surface for adhesion of subsequent layers if needed. Otherwise leave it as is.



    Another benefit is the Dacron cloth acts as an air shield while the resin sets. This allows for a complete cure all the way to the surface. Laminating resin will not be tacky or slightly soft as it is when exposed to the air during cure. This make construction easy. There is no need to buy separate containers of laminating resin and surfacing resin.
    With this method you get a better looking and stronger repair.


    John
    Last edited by jtpitkin06; 09-03-2013 at 08:16 AM. Reason: spelling

  3. #123
    Senior Member ken nougaret's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    I attached an airbrush to the end of a piece of pvc. it was just small enough to fit in the end of the wing spars for priming the inside. I taped the button/trigger and then connected and disconnected the air feed to turn on and off. my wife held the jar of primer at the end while I moved the airbrush in and out. I went in from each end of the spar and used a tennis ball to seal the opposite end. it worked well. ken
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  4. #124
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    I discovered that I had a unique and useful deburring tool for things like fittings, bolt holes, etc, when a simple hand held tool will do; and, it does both inside and outside deburring.

    Apparently the reason I didn't figure this out earlier is that the tool was in my rifle reloading cabinet and is intended for deburring rifle cases.....however....works on a lot of other stuff including airplane parts.

    The outside diameter is approximately 5/8" and will do inside holes up to that size while the other end will do up to 1/2" outside diameter deburring.

    Don't recall what the price was when I got it but this tool can be procured from Sporting goods places like Cabelas, etc, and other stores that sell firearm reloading tools.

    Sincerely,

    Dave S
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  5. #125

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    Lake Isabella, CA
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    On the elevator bearings/bushings - - fortunately I had a friend who has a machine shop in his garage. He watched me for a while and then said "lets just take all of those down and remachine them to the right size". Now all of my bushings are custom fit to .001" - along with the bushings.

    Tom Livermore

  6. #126
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Varnishing the wing ribs -

    I discovered that you get a lot less all over yourself if you varnish the false ribs first and then the main ribs once the false ribs are dry. Your hands bump into the false ribs when trying to varnish the main ribs. Also, the wife feels that it is easier to varnish with the wings on the plane than on the stands.

    We have a small stool to jump up and hit the tops.

  7. #127
    N981MS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Perfect fuel flow jug. Graduated in quarts (and liters). Clear so you could see if there is any junk in there. It even has a spout so you can set it on the wing and empty fuel back into the tank.

    http://s1137.photobucket.com/user/n9...g.jpg.html?o=0
    Maxwell Duke

    Kitfox S6 IO-240 Built it (Flying since 2003)
    Maule M7-235C Sold it (liked it though)
    RV-10 IO-540 Bought it
    Zenith CH-750 Built with 7 friends (DAR Vic Syracuse)

  8. #128
    Administrator DesertFox4's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Neat, simple drill stop. Piece of wooden dowel. Works great.
    Thanks Desertfox1
    image.jpg


    DesertFox4
    Admin.
    7 Super Sport
    912 ULS Tri-gear


  9. #129
    Senior Member jtpitkin06's Avatar
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    MASKING TAPE

    I have a klutzy habit of dropping rolls of masking tape onto the shop floor. Usually into a pile of sawdust. The edge of the roll is then covered with dirt and dust.

    My solution is to cover the sides of the roll with tape and trim the outside excess with scissors. I also cut tabs on the inside then fold the tabs inward. I can now drop the rolls of tape on the floor and the edges remain clean and I undamaged.

    The method has a side benefit of protecting the edge of the tape from those annoying nicks that cause tape to rip on a long diagonal when pulling it off the roll.

    John p

  10. #130
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    Default Re: Building tips and hints

    Might be easier to sweep the floor John!

    r
    Ross
    Mt Beauty, Vic
    OZ
    Sold to Richard and Scott Taubman in OZ, 2019. Kitfox SS7,Rotax 912is Sport, Airmaster CSP 75" blades.
    Landcruiser and Cub off road camper (doesn't get any kudos on this forum!)

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