abufletcher

For biplane builders the fact of life is that it's not all balsa and tissue and a competition quality scale model will almost always have a few bits made of metal. Sometimes quite a few pieces. There are assorted fittings and brackets but also entire panels. So I'm hoping that people will post here their favorite tools for cutting, bending, shaping metal and perhaps also some of their techniques.

abufletcher

Wouldn't it be great to have a company like this ready to do your every bidding!

http://www.thinmetalparts.com/

abufletcher

Does anyone has a source for odds and ends small metal parts? I did find this one:

http://www.smallparts.com/

abufletcher

Question: Does silver solder work on stainless steel?

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I use pretty standard (and a few non standard) tools in the shop. I recently finished making strut ends and center strut brace for 1/4 scale J3 and L4. Some of it was done in brass most in aluminum. The thin stuff was cut with hand cutting shears and in some cases sacraficial sissors depending on how thick. My most used tools are a powered hack saw and verticle 1" belt sander for detail shaping. Gotta use pliers to hold the work and dip in water regularly. I plan on grinding out a tail wheel mount for the J3 and L4 later on. For really fancy stuff I use my lathe and mill. One of my jobs at work is prototyping, I have a small sheet metal shop I run at work. A 24" bending brake, 24" finger shear, corner cutter, power metal band saw, drill press and various hand tools. My most used tool is a dremel.
Edwin

phatbob02

My Feedback: (126)

My tail wheel retract for my Corsair made with a Drill press, Dremil Rotary, and my fine German milling machine.

pd1

A hand seamer works great for precise bends of thin aluminum.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...andseamer2.php

I use this to deburr drilled holes.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...s/speeddeb.php

saramos

Heres' a site I came across.

http://www.soligen.com/customer.shtml

Scott

allanflowers

A nibbler is great for cutting metal. There are many versions of these.

RedTwilight

Were can I locate a rivet gun for micro rivets? I've looked all over!

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

??? Micro rivets? How small are these? Never thought of that before.
Edwin

RedTwilight

http://www.microfasteners.com/catalo...cts/TNMRVL.cfm
http://www.microfasteners.com/catalo...cts/TNMRVB.cfm

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Interesting, learned something new. I never considered rivits that small.
Edwin

pd1

Rivets
http://www.rivetsinstock.com/rivet01.htm

Aircraft rivet identification
http://www.engineersedge.com/hardwar...act_rivets.htm

tools
http://www.averytools.com/c-2-riveti...ing-tools.aspx

Most general aviation planes use 1/8 inch shank rivets for exterior sheet.
Military would use next two sizes up.
Vans RV's use 3/32 rivets.

summerwind

i thought spikkkkk was really good at showing his craft at this....just one of his examples,

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_81...tm.htm#8406594

abufletcher

Question #2: Is lithoplate actually and different from the thin (0.1-0.5mm) aluminum sheet that is available in hobby shops?

RcerMike

I tested some K&S 3/16 stainless tubing to possibly build a Cub gear, the silver solder, Ungar 50w iron and Sta-Brite flux worked for me...............Mike

fokker fan

Yes


Are you sure that was silver solder? The silver solder I'm familiar with doesn't work with with a soldering iron as it's not hot enough. Soft Solder melts at below 400 deg C and Silver Solder at above 450 deg C. The silver solder I use isn't interested in anything less than a butane torch. I use a Hobbico Gas torch for small parts.

abufletcher

Here is Japan we have a real MAN'S MAN kind of silver solder. The kind that state that it melts have 650 degrees Celsius. Not that namby-pamby stuff that melts easily with a soldering iron!

Seriously, I couldn't live without my StayBrite type silver solder (3% silver I believe) that flows easily with a 100w iron. No more butane torches for this boy!

pd1

I dug up a sheet of lithoplate. It's only 0.005 thick.

The aluminum I used for a full sized plane was usually between 0.020 and 0.032. I once used some 0.016 for skin on the vertical surface of a plane, but that was the thinnest piece I've ever used.

I don't know how thick the sheet aluminum that's available in some hobby shops.

Paul

abufletcher

0.005 inches would be 0.127mm so that's about the same. I suppose I'm really wondering whether lithoplate is somehow softer than other hobby sheet aluminum. As I said, I can buy 0.1mm through 1.0mm locally. I can't imagine where I might get "lithoplate" here where I am.

TFF

I think the big thing with lithoplate is it is cheap or free; the hobby stuff is probably the same except for the printing chemicals on it. Annealing makes it much easer to work with if it gets hard again re-anneal.

cimara

Yes you can silver solder stainless steel .Dont let the stainless get red hot or it wont stick. you will just have to play with the temps to get it to flow and stick.If you do get it to hot just clean off the black residue and try again at a cooler temp it takes some practice to get it right

Mode One

Having stamped parts from many different types of aluminum (back in my Tool and Die maker days) to really know what type of aluminum is being used, you need to know it's alloy number: 2024, 5052-H32, 6061-T6-T4, etc... For our purposes if your using it for panels some type opf soft aluminum is preferable (Beer Can stock) for functional fittings a hard aluminum should be used, such as 6061. Many hardware stores carry aluminum strip, and structural shapes such as angles, channels, Hs, Zs boxes etc. Whether the alloy is given, I don't know. Generally, a shaped extrusion would be a harder alloy, as strength is a requirement.

For metal working tools, I have an Aircraft Snips, Machinest Files, a drill motor and drills, various solders, soldering gun, pencil and torch and a vise. I also have a couple Ford Cutters for deburring holes. You can dump far more money into metal working tools, however, the above has done all I've ever needed in this hobby.