Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Cuy, Michael D. (GRC-RXD0)[ASRC]"

Original Posted By: "Gene & Tammy"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Piet DVDMike,I can't stop laughing as of 5 minutes after reading your post!!! My wife agrees with the divorce part!! If I don't laugh I will cry!! Dan HelsperPoplar Grove, IL.**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exer ... __________

Original Posted By: "jimd"
For what it's worth.A while back someone on this list asked about forming windshilds made from plexiglass. I needed to make a replacement windshild for my Piet as the windshild it came with was tinted dark and in low light conditions it was difficult to see towers. The windshild has two bends in it (flat in front with bends at the sides) and I was told that to bend either plexiglass or lexan you needed to use an oven at about 250 degrees. Unable to locate an oven big enough, I was forced to try other ways.Here's what I found that worked for me. I decided to use 1/8th Lexan as it won't shatter like plexiglass will. I was able to make clean cuts with a jigsaw with a 14 tpi blade. I found my cuts were best when made with a slow speed. To make the bends I did a lot trial and error. I obtained great results by building a jig for the windshild, cutting out the windshild, then forming one bend at a time using a heat gun (the same one I use to preheat my A 65 for cold weather starting). I found that by keeping the heat gun between 3 & 4 inches above the lexan and moving it back and forth over the area of the bend at the rate of about 6" every second, it would take about 1.5 to 2 minutes for the lexan to soften enough to bend. If you don't keep the heat gun moving or you get too close, the lexan will bubble, ruining your work. In my experimenting I tried both Plexiglass and lexan and found it works well with both. I was able to make nice bends in Lexan, up to 1/4" thick. Drilling holes is easy as long as you use a slow speed. I finished the edges with a file and sandpaper. I would suggest using scrap pieces and experimenting before trying to form the "real" piece as it did take a little practice to get it right.Gene________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Forming Plexiglass and Lexan

Original Posted By: "Peter W Johnson"
Gene,I asked about it recently.. was trying, and am still trying to find a good templatefor the shape of the thing. I went thru all my plans and none of them haveanything. (GN-1/Pietenpol Aerial/JN-4/Glider manual Pietenpol), anyway quitea bit of advice about how to cut and shape and finish plexiglas is available.Picked up a nice sheet of it at a reasonable price, but short of guessing andplaying with cardboard, I haven't ran across any templates. Surely someone hasa good one, nearly every piet I have seen had windshields on them. Is the one,or are the ones your replacing a good shape? if you have them off can you getan outline of them, shape would help, dimensions would be better, and somethingprintable would be awesome. Anyone?JimRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... __________

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Jim,When I bought my plans from Don Pietenpol a template was included. I used itand am happy with the results. I could rough some measurements from it ifyou like.CheersPeterWonthaggi Australiahttp://www.cpc-world.com-----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: "Peter W Johnson"
I didn't get one, not that I need it at the moment. I like everyone else buildingwill need it in the future. JohnThat's the long version of me tooSent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry-----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: Jeff Boatright

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
To:Subject: RE: Pietenpol-List: Re: Forming Plexiglass and LexanJim,When I bought my plans from Don Pietenpol a template was included. I used itand am happy with the results. I could rough some measurements from it ifyou like.CheersPeterWonthaggi Australiahttp://www.cpc-world.com-----Original Message-----