Legal Eagle XL in Pennsylvania

[DA Miller]

no one asked, but I'm also going with the round struts.  How could it be wrong with so many old and experienced builders using them

[DA Miller]

I like the look of your Al strut fairings.  What type of Al and what thickness are you using?  TKS

[Kamcoman77]

The strut fairings in the photos are not mine but they are 2024-T3. I do not know the thickness. I've heard some people made them from roof flashing (Lowe's). I think this method is similar to Rockiedog2's way on Putt Putt.

[Pilotarix]

Hi all, here is a brief update on what's happened in the shop

As mentioned before, all the wing ribs are done and sanded. Yesterday additional Birch ply arrived from ACS. Now I have everything to make the wing spars. However, I realized that I had kind of underestimated the size of the wings. I am not sure anymore if I can get them out of my basement. To be 100% sure, I have to make a wing-sized frame out of scrap wood and test it. The last thing I want to experience is that I can't get the wing thru the door and up the stairs.

Meanwhile, I finished the gussets for the rudder. One side is drilled and mounted with clecos. I thought I had some leftovers aluminum angles of the correct size, but I did not,  so I have to get some before continuing.

On the rib that is carrying the rudder horn, I increased the flank height to 0.75", making it easy to bend the top rim of the flank inwards. I hope that gives the rib a little more stability. I made the rudder horn gusset on the CNC router, so no problem making the slots.

I may have made the gussets a little bit too big. As you can see in the picture, there is just enough space for one hinge piece between the end gusset and the one carrying the rudder horn. However, I can't see why this would make a problem down the road, but maybe there is something I don't know or haven't seen yet.

Somehow I got second thoughts again on what hinge version to use, the aluminum ones or the steel ones. I used several different abrading tools, but nothing really was easy and the result less than desirable. I am wondering how I can improve that. I made a new piece of hinge material, and the inside looks again pretty rough. I am wondering if that would be better with some Argon back purging. Unfortunately, my Argon regulator has only one flow meter.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I used several different abrading tools, but nothing really was easy and the result less than desirable. I am wondering how I can improve that.

I've said many times that the right tool is 2/3 of the job. Get yourself a die grinder or even a Dremel or clone. You have to have some serious rpm to grind.

I am wondering if that would be better with some Argon back purging.

Sure it would.. but you really don't need that. TIG is not learned in a day, grasshopper..more practice.     
Nice work, btw..

[Kamcoman77]

Like Chuck says, the Dremel or high-speed die grinder is the way to clean up the 7/8" tube interior. I had some pretty heavy clean-up to do on some of my hinges. An 80-grit sleeve on my Dremel did the job.

[DA Miller]

concerning the space for the hinge, I don't think it will be a problem but it looks like you can pick up some space by squaring off the bottom of the upper gusset and trimming back the top of the bottom gusset. Traditional edge distance is two diameters from hole center to edge of sheet 1/4" for 1/8" rivet. If it were me (I?) I wouldn't be afraid to cheat a little on edge distance in this case. Of course it's your call.

[DA Miller]

one other thing.  I know that you're not too keen on gas welding in your basement, and rightly so, but another benefit of gas welding is that the welds are much softer than tig or mig welds.  Gas welds can be drilled and filed. 

[CHARLES DEBOER]

Like Chuck says, the Dremel or high-speed die grinder is the way to clean up the 7/8" tube interior. I had some pretty heavy clean-up to do on some of my hinges. An 80-grit sleeve on my Dremel did the job.

How about a 7/8" drill bit?

[DA Miller]

I've tried drill bits, they're scary.  They want to catch and depending on how powerful your drill is, it can really throw you.  A 7/8" reamer would be a better choice.  However, that Tig weld is mighty hard and may ruin the hss reamer.  Probably the best bet is a die grinder with a stone.

[Pilotarix]

I've said many times that the right tool is 2/3 of the job. Get yourself a die grinder or even a Dremel or clone. ...

Like Chuck says, the Dremel or high-speed die grinder is the way to clean up the 7/8" tube interior. ...

Thanks for your input.
I am listening.
In hindsight, I am not even sure anymore why I have even tried to use my electric drill for that.    It was like enlightenment, and I drove down the road to Lowes and got the little blue sucker. That's all you can get on a Sunday evening in central PA. Only Harbor Freight would probably be worse. Anyhow, the thing got the job done. In the end, the limiting factor is my slightly underpowered air compressor. That thing was never meant to drive air-hungry rotary tools. Just brad nailers and the like, now and then a little POP, not more.

... I know that you're not too keen on gas welding in your basement, and rightly so, but another benefit of gas welding is that the welds are much softer than tig or mig welds.  Gas welds can be drilled and filed. 

DA, I may have to outsource the process to my garage. In that case, I will give gas welding a second thought.

Not entirely sure, but I have the impression that the material gets harder in the weld-affected zone.

That brings me to the next point.

How about a 7/8" drill bit?

I would think, without having tried, that when using a drill bit, the workpiece (hinge) needs to be aligned and secured very thoroughly. Otherwise, the drill bit may deviate from the center due to the hard material in the weld affected area and cuts more into the softer material on the opposite side. So ideally, in case I would build a rocket ship or the like, I would clamp this in the lathe chuck, center it and use a boring bar to bring this to correct dimensions.

An alternative way could be removing most of the surpluses material in the weld affected zone with the grinder and then using a reamer of the appropriate size. However, a reamer of that specific size is very expensive.

The "only using the grinder" version is already pretty good. Just use the right tool ...

[Pilotarix]

I've tried drill bits, they're scary.  They want to catch and depending on how powerful your drill is, it can really throw you.  A 7/8" reamer would be a better choice.  However, that Tig weld is mighty hard and may ruin the hss reamer.  Probably the best bet is a die grinder with a stone.

Somehow I missed this post.
Those were exactly my thoughts. I was also afraid to ruin a very expensive reamer.

Anyhow, a real grinder gets the job done. It's all about RPM, much like engine size (displacement) in cars ... just kidding  .

BTW I made a little video showing my hinge-making process.

[Chuck in Indiana]

In the end, the limiting factor is my slightly underpowered air compressor. That thing was never meant to drive air-hungry rotary tools.

Just a heads up. What will happen is your underpowered compressor will get really hot. That will condense moisture and rust your (plenty good) die grinder into oblivion in short order. At the very least, put a decent water trap in line, and drain it religiously. (proper tools and all that..) 
Yes, a 7/8" reamer would do it (with proper fixturing and cutting fluid). Don't even think of a drill.
I would have clamped it in your table top mill and cleaned it out with an end mill. If you don't have 7/8", 3/4" would have eaten it out to where just some light die grinder work would have cleaned it up.
NOW.
Never wear gloves or long sleeves when running machinery that rotates. I cringed when you were wearing gloves  using that disc sander. It is one of the most dangerous tools in the shop, and if it grabs some cloth it is an explosion. Trust me..
Nice video, and nice work..

[Dan_]

My uncle by marriage was a master electrician.  He had a 90 degree heavy duty drill with the extra handle on it. All the plumbers wanted to use it.  He always cautioned them about how strong it was.  He stopped loaning it out after it had a guy crumpled up in a corner and could not get his finger off the trigger...

[Pilotarix]

...At the very least, put a decent water trap in line, and drain it religiously. (proper tools and all that..)  ...

...Never wear gloves or long sleeves when running machinery that rotates. I cringed when you were wearing gloves using that disc sander. It is one of the most dangerous tools in the shop, and if it grabs some cloth it is an explosion. Trust me..   ...

Thanks for the advice.

A water trap is on the list for quite some time...

Gloves sleeves but also long hair (thank god I don't have that    ) are a NO-NO if working on rotating machinery. I am well aware of that, which makes me look even more stupid, I know.
However, I would never ever wear gloves while working on the lathe, the mill, the table saw or the jointer, and the like, you name it. This Proxxon thing is not in the same leag you may have in mind. It's easy to stall the motor, doesn't require a lot of force. With that in mind, gloves may not be such a big problem, but regardless you are correct; it's a dangerous and bad habit. 


One more question for the group. As you can see in the picture, the weld seam did not penetrate all the way into the corner between the tubes.  Do you think that is a problem? Rust building without being noticed and at some point failure of the hinge?
I may overthink this.