Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Gary McNeel, Jr."
I friend of mine in Zellwood Florida was killed about 8 years ago whn thewooden stick in his Waco CSO biplane broke off at the base after thepassenger in the front cockpit slumped over and jammed the front stick. OldBob White tried valiantly to control the plane but lost it and crashed intoa lake and drowned.Best to use the 3 dollars worth of welded (not brazed) steel.Chris BobkaTech Counselor________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 13:00:44 -0500

Original Posted By: Fisherman Caye
>>I friend of mine in Zellwood Florida was killed about 8 years ago whn the>wooden stick in his Waco CSO biplane broke off at the base after the>passenger in the front cockpit slumped over and jammed the front stick. Old>Bob White tried valiantly to control the plane but lost it and crashed into>a lake and drowned.>>Best to use the 3 dollars worth of welded (not brazed) steel.>>Chris Bobka>Tech Counselor>>________________________________________________________________________________Date: 8 Mar 2002 11:06:50 -0800

Original Posted By: Fisherman Caye

Original Posted By: "Fisherman Caye"
Unfortunately, if you remember the story of the boy who cried "wolf!" Your"trolls" are very similar.More people than you think have e-mail filters. Sooner or later you willseriously need the help from someone who will never see your request as yourname is in the auto-delete file.Cy Galley, TC - Chair, Emergency Aircraft Repair, OshkoshEditor, EAA Safety Programscgalley(at)qcbc.org or experimenter(at)eaa.org Bellanca Champion ClubNewsletter Editor & EAA TCwww.bellanca-championclub.comWe also support Aeroncas----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Larry, they really are not as hard as they look. Cut the pieces out per theplans, being sure to align the grain of the steel ACROSS the bend lines asmuch as possible. Make yourself a bending block with the proper radiusground along the edge (I used a piece of 3/8" thick steel about 8" long) andclamp the work in the vice with the edge exposed above the vise. Thetangent point of the ground radius of your bending block should be even withthe bend point on the workpiece. After everything is well clamped, startworking the edge with a hammer. This stell is pretty thin, so you don'thave to hit it really hard, but you've gotta do more than just tap it. Workit down until you have bent it the required amount, then do the other piece.You should be able to fit them together and not have more than about 1/16"gap betweent the two pieces before welding.To weld them, I found it easiest to put just the edge of the trailing edgeof the two pieces into the vise and lightly clamp them together, just enoughto hold them. Make sure the edges all line up properly, then tack weld thetwo pieces together at a couple of places on each leading edge. Use thesmallest torch tip you've got and be very careful - it doesn't take much toburn through this thin material. After tacking the leading edges, I turnedthe part around and found that the trailing edges were firmly held togetherby the leading edge tack welds. I started at the tip and edge welded theentire trailing edge in one pass. You probably won't ned any filler at allfrom the welding rod - just push the puddle down the edge with the torch.Once the trailing edge is welded from tip to tip, turn it back over and weldthe leading edges. Since this is the formed area and there is probably alittle gap in places between the parts, you will need some filler metalhere, but don't get carried away with it.You will probably screw up the first one (I did), but by the time you'vefinished, you'll be able to weld one up in less than an hour.One more thing - when adding the brackets on the back of the horn, be sureto keep the torch almost totally on the thicker bracket material as you caneasily burn through the thin sheet metal of the horn.After everything is welded, drill the holes. If you drill the holes first,they will be distorted by the time you are finished.Good luck,Jack -----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: "Warren D. Shoun"

Original Posted By: "Gary McNeel, Jr."

Original Posted By: Gary McNeel, Jr.
----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Mark"
I clearly can't improve on Jack's post but one thing that made them easierto me is that they are not really curved as much as you bend a flange alonga straight line on one side only and weld the edges. Most of the curvecomes from how sharp (or not) you make the bend.________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
>>I clearly can't improve on Jack's post but one thing that made them easier>to me is that they are not really curved as much as you bend a flange along>a straight line on one side only and weld the edges. Most of the curve>comes from how sharp (or not) you make the bend.>>________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Gary McNeel, Jr."

Original Posted By: Larry Neal
Never mind the brazing welding. Anyone got a cure for verbal diarrhea?________________________________________________________________________________Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 06:07:29 -0600

Original Posted By: Larry Neal

Original Posted By: "Gene Rambo"
>>I'm now where a some of you guys were a few years ago, trying to figure >out how to build the shaped metal control horns.>In the archives, there is assurance that it's easier than it looks, but >putting the convex surface on the parts before welding seems to involve >a lot of hammering on vises and yanking with pliers.>Has anyone come up with tips for bending these parts?>>Larry>>________________________________________________________________________________