summerwind

i'm building a Proctor Nieuport 11 and mounting a Laser 80 to it. this will have to be done by recessing the engine back about an 1 1/2 from the main firewall. not a problem, but that distance pluse the thickness of a 1/4" ply at the back end of this leaves no room to use a conventional mount, so hardwood beams will be the best way to go.
question is, maple or birch......?
my LHS (Hobbytown toy store) does not carry any hardwoods.
i do have a maple chopping block that i've collected through remodeling jobs and don't have any problem cutting into it.
if you have any other suggestions, please speak.

thx
-mike

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

maple would work its a pretty hard wood.

dhal22

i recently purchased a 25 or so yr old pattern plane with the engine screwed to maple (i assume) rails. the 4 screws were so tight it literally took me 2 days to remove the screws. i would push extremely hard and twist, i could just barely twist the screw. i had to do this the entire length of all 4 screws. i was worried about stripping the head. my hand would get so tired i had to come back later. i would say, based upon that experience, that maple rails would do just fine.

david

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Hobby store maple has gotten softer in recent years. Look around for New England Rock Maple, very slow growth and dense. You can drill and tap it for machine screws, but I like to use socket head sheetmetal screws to mount engines. The aft ends of the beams should be swiss cheesed to lighten them somewhat.

iron eagel

If you are looking for rock maple for mounts here is a source:
Heritage Woodwrights 128 Chace Road East Freetown, MA 02717.
Tel. (508) 763-5280 or (800) 445-5887 Fax: (508) 763-5507. Email: [email protected]
www.heritagewoodwrights.com

If you only need some for a couple of mounts I have lots of scraps that I can't use for cabinet work...

edit to ad:

There was a time it was considered cheap wood under $1.00 a board foot and nobody would use it because it ate saw blades.

dhal22

now that is hard wood.

TFF

Sig I think still has some. I thought your fuse was already built? It might be hard to use wood mounts because the beams are run through bulkheads usually, not butt glued. You probably knew this but just making sure.

summerwind

yes the fuse is built. i precut the opening in the firewall and am following pictures that Joe from Proctor sent me. the mounting box is to be built in after the landing gear is assembled and mounted.
i made a cutout in the main firewall before i started so the the mounting box could be fabbed afterwards.

the beams will go through the main firewall and mount to the recessed firewall,sides and then will have a gusset on each side.
if you were to see the pictures of how the front end was done, it would explain alot.
i will go ahead with maple, and will try to get some of the material from Iron Eagle as soon as he gets back to me.

iron eagel

The only problem with rock maple (sugar maple) is that it is as heavy as it is hard. You must do as CP said and lighten it up a bit in the rear. It cuts and work a lot like metal or carbon fiber and does dull tools. But short of aircraft al it is the best thing for home built engine mounts.

summerwind

i wish to say thx to Paul (iron eagel) for helping me out, and also it is the one of the biggest reasons i remain in this fine hobby............nice folks all around this world, and another thx to all of you who responded.
i sometimes get into anal mental blocks that are to do with detailed items like this which i never used to give a second thought.
nowadays however with such limited time for building, i plan all my steps to keep from having to fix something that is avoidable by planning.

-mike

summerwind

many many thanks to "iron eagel"..............not only was he kind enough to send me enough Rock Maple for my current project, but he actually sent me enough to do at least a dozen planes should i need it, and here is the kicker, "Priority Mail?".........talk about a generous modeler.
thx again Paul, you are a genuine modeler.