IL2windhawk

I'm planning to put a set of Robarts into a 60-sized Mustang.

The kit has the standard setup for retracts: parallel bars of a rigid type wood.
I'm trying to determine the best way to mount my retracts to these bars.
I generally like to steer clear of wood screws, since they can only be installed
and removed so many times before the hole is FUBAR'd. Since I'm very
maintenance intensive on my planes, I like to build them so that parts can
be easily remove and reinstalled, so I need something that will suppor this.

T-nuts unfortunately will not fit on the back side of the parallel wood bars.
I've considered threaded inserts with machine screws, but I'm worried about
splitting the parallel wood retract bars. I've also considered tapping the wood
and sealing the threads with CA, but I'm worried about these threads getting
worn out, or broken by repeated landings.

Any suggestions?

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

You might as well give up now while you're ahead.

But seriously, this is one of those areas where there is no perfect way to do it.

I HIGHLY recommend sheet metal screws with thin CA to harden the wood threads. It holds up very well, even after repeated removal. and if it ever gets really bad, you can fill the hole with epoxy and re-drill.

IL2windhawk

I had an idea:

I might put socket-head cap screws in from the backside
through the retract plate, then tighten a lock nut. I should
be able to fit an allen wrench in there to hold the bolt, then
torque the nut. We'll see how that goes!

Villa

Hi IL2windhawk
You mention a T-nut and it will not fit. For a tight area like that I use a blind nut. Is that the same thing? They take almost no added room. Go to http://www.towerhobbies.com/ and search for blind nut. are those your T-nuts? It the flange portion causes interferance you can counter sink for it with a Dremel tool.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

As far as machine screws go, retracts take a lot more stress than conventional gear. Bolting them in with steel nuts is just asking to rip the mounting blocks out. But then, even with sheet metal screws the mounting blocks usually rip out anyway

iron eagel

How about threaded inserts?
If you use nylon bolts if you hard a hard landing they should shear without damage to the mounts.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Definitely not. As I said before, Retracts get a lot more stress than regular gear. You'll probably never get a landing where you didn't break the nylon bolts

yel914

I've taken to inserting small lenghts of the yellow splined Golden Rods when I need to insert a screw into wood. Drill a snug hole and CA the rod section into the wood.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

That works great for #2 screws, but retracts usually use #6 and that's too big for the plastic tubing trick