A little progress XL H-58

[Dan_]

[Chuck in Indiana]

Changed direction today. I had decided to make a caliper mount sort of like this..

(cad drawing glued to some gutter flashing for fit)
and when I woke up this morning  I thought, "Ya know.. it would be lighter and simpler, and maybe stronger to just bend up some 90 degree angles out of 1/16" and weld those suckers on there.

Works well, and *I think* will be strong enough to drag a little downwind brake on crosswind landings. I guess I'll be the first to know. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

You know the old saying about airplanes, "If you want to play you have to pay.."

$111.54.      Yeah, I could have worked around the expensive cable shackles and turnbuckle ends, but they'll make a nicer job of it.

[wbeetle99]

Amazing work! I'm a younger guy (21) who just got his a&p and started work at the local airport. I get to work on anything from small GA planes and helicopters to private jets, turboprops etc. I have been researching the Legal Eagle for awhile now. Hope to be able to build my own one day! Anyways, I find your work, especially the machining and attention to detail inspiring. I love messing around with the old lathe in the back corner of our shop that no one uses anymore. I have been trying to teach myself as much as I can. It seems to be a dying art as I have found few people who know a thing about it! I hope to be as skilled as you one day, truly great work! Thanks for the great thread you posted here. Good luck with the rest of the project! looking forward to seeing Bullet fly!

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks for that, and good for you. It's always fun to see a young guy get involved in aviation. If there isn't "an app for that," most kids aren't interested.
There are some good tutorials on lathe work on Youtube. *wear safety glasses* Never try to remove a chip that is curling off the tool with your fingers..don't ask me how I know. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Yeah, I've been slackin' again.

Since the drawings don't give any dimensions on the control column, I can give you some that work if you find this in a search some day..





4 inches aft, and 3 1/2 inches from the pivot to where the cables attach.
Ignore the "lightening holes" that are my first trial and error attempts. 
This will make the stick vertical at neutral elevator, touch the seat front at full up, and right at the instrument panel tube for full down.
Also.. the bottom of the stick needs to have a "filler" like the control column pivot area. There is a pretty fair amount of load there, and I'm afraid to really tighten the two bolts that mount the stick for fear of crushing the tube.
That's it for today.. the rain passed through, and I'm going out to play motorcycle. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Decided I needed to have floorboards if I was going to sit in the airplane and make airplane noises figure out where the rudder pedals needed to be.
So, here is where Leonard calls for tabs for that.

Made up and clecoed the floorboards..

I'd say a guy really needs to put a tab on each side half way between the rudder pedals and station 1.. but I'll wait until I rivet it together and (somehow) reinstall it. I made up a few extra tabs while I was making them, so it will only take a few minutes and add fractions of an ounce if I think they're necessary.
Desperate times call for desperate measures..
My antique (naturally) gizmo was needed to cleco the tabs on station 2..

[Chuck in Indiana]

If you haven't seen one, this tool makes it easy to get equal rivet spacing. No thinking, my kind of job. 

[Dan_]

If you haven't seen one, this tool makes it easy to get equal rivet spacing. No thinking, my kind of job. 

I know a guy that bought a Thorp T-18 from a fellow that claims he invented that tool.  Some call it a rivet fan spacer. 

I asked my buddy if he patented it and he said he did not know, but he believed him.  My friend's wife is biggly into quilting, and he thinks there may have been a similar tool for spacing holes and buttons. 

I have not tried to search for a patent yet, but I know the guy who built the Thorp's name and it may have not been possible to get a patent because of the previous similar tool.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Alrighty, now.. lets make up the rudder cables.
Clamp the rudder pedals in neutral.

This is about right for my stubbie legs. I *can* shorten it a little, or add length to the coupler if absolutely necessary.

The tailwheel steering cable will be nicopressed to the rudder cable sightly aft of the rear most fairlead. Tension can be controlled by (possibly) a different spring and/or removing links in the chains.

So far, it feels good, and *I think* it's going to work. 
Toe brakes next, and it will be essentially complete. Uhh, there *is* that engine mount thing..
Oh, and hooking up the wings and making the ailerons work..

[Chuck in Indiana]

Made up the parts for toe brakes (I hope)  today. I know.. doesn't look like much, but I have 4 hours in it.

If all goes to plan, there's only a matter of fitting up the sheath and running the cable to each side.
One more bite..

[Chuck in Indiana]

Yea, I love it when a plan comes together.. The tail feathers wiggle, and the toe brakes give differential braking. I'll trim the cables, etc. at final assembly.

From here, I either have to start thinking about mounting the powerplant.. or the wings.

[Chuck in Indiana]

   

By the way Chuck I must congratulate you on your builder's log.  I check it out each time I'm on the forum to see what's new in your world.  And not to forget Kam ( I guess you beat the Covid?) you both contribute mightyly to this forum.  Keep up the good work.

Thanks much, sir.  As you've seen, I've been slackin'. I've been saving the final push to have *something to do* this Winter. I *have* reorganized the hanger so I have room to install the wings while it is still warm in there.

But first.. Leonard's drawings call for HTFIFPTM> (hammer to fit in field, paint to match) on the 4130 strut attachments.  It's probably fine, considering the loads involved, but "I do not like that, Sam I am.." 
Strut material propped up against the wall, the Mighty Verner is the blue lump in the foreground.

[Chuck in Indiana]

^^^^ The above was copied from another thread. Here's what I'm planning on doing for the 4130 pieces for the strut attach fittings.
Cut off 8 pieces of 1 1/8" diameter 4 inches long.

Made a forming tool that will slip fit inside the tubing..

And squeeze the end in the vise. Here's the start of the 4 top pieces.

The plan is to bore a 3/8" diameter hole perpendicular to the flats, and weld in a 3/8" X 1/4" bushing in each.
I may not be man enough to squeeze the lower fittings another .150" or so without heat. Tomorrow should tell the tale, though.
Onward through the fog..

[DA Miller]

^^^^ .
 may not be man enough to squeeze the lower fittings another .150" or so without heat. Tomorrow should tell the tale, though.
Onward through the fog..

  could you set the parts up in a hydraulic press rather than a vise to squeeze them ?