LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

I am somewhat familiar with the do's and don'ts of C/F, but...

I have a c/f landing gear set- GraphTech, I believe. I bought it for a project but never used it. Now I would like to use it on another airplane, but it is too wide.

The model in question uses two separate gear legs, so this is my question; I want to cut the unit in half, and will need to trim some material off the ends of the cut to make the mounting area shorter. I am wondering:

1) what is the best method for cutting and then trimming it? Two cuts, perhaps, as in cutting a section out of the middle?
2) will doing so degrade its durability? IOW, should I seal the ends of the cuts?

I'll also have to drill some new mounting bolt holes. I know to wear a dust mask against the particles, etc.

Any and all suggestions/advice appreciated.

.

hobbyncrafts

Hi Steve,

Measure, and cut out the center section that you do not need. Use a cut off wheel on a dremel, or use a diamond blade on a wet tile saw. Do NOT use any saw blade with teeth....it will ruin both the saw and the gear.
After the cuts are made, use 150 wet sand paper followed by 240 wet paper. This should give you a VERY smooth edge that should be free from slivers. Sealing the edges is not necessary.

I'm Ken of 'hobbyncrafts' and have been making custom CF landing gear for over 10 yrs. I have 30 yrs in the advanced compositees indurtry. If you ever want to talk to me about a custom CF gear for any upcoming project, please feel free to email me direct at: [email protected]

Regards....
Ken

dhal22

i'll keep that in mind Ken.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Outstanding. Many thanks, sir.

.

frequent flyer

My Feedback: (6)

Steve , David, anyone cutting and sanding Carbon fiber

Be sure you wear a mask for that purpose! since we are Carbon base beings our bodies will not reject the dust and it will cause you great health problems.

MTK

Yes, it is easily done. In fact you may polish the material in an epoxy base, if you wish