buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

I need to shape some 1/16 Ply to conform to the contour of the Wing for Gear Doors, what is the Best way to accomplish this?
thanks for all replies/
Buchtes

mikegordon10

Why 1/16th ply?
Generally speaking;
Tto build gear doors one would temporally cover that portion of the wing with same scrap plastic covering material then lay up some fiberglass over that section larger than what the gear doors are going to be, 2 or 3 layers or whatever ya think will be ridged enough.
Then cut out the openings in the wing for the gear doors and trim the fiberglass to fit. The plastic covering is so the fiberglass resin doesn't stick. I'm not sure how you could get 16th ply to bend and then hold that shape forever.

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

My inner Doors are from Aero Tech and I did not want to use the CF outer Doors, I'd rather use my own made from Ply. Surely there is a way to bend these, Steam- Acetone- ???

limeybob

My Feedback: (6)

Laminate out of 1/64, or even 1/32.
Fiberglass is the way I would go
Bob

BMatthews

Laminate from 4 layers of 1/64. That'll give you the best shape conformity. The cross plies and glue quality in 1/16 ply will make it very hard to achieve a stable shape.

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

I'm sorry Guy's, I misinformed you. The Ply I'll attempt to use is 1/32 thick, not 1/16. I may have to epoxy a former or some other shaping device to the inside of the skin to get the desired contour, what do you think?

eagledancer

i am in total agreement, you would have much better luck with fiberglass. ply unsupported will change its shape in time.

BMatthews

Glass and epoxy would be my suggestion for the optimum solution as well. Just make it up over the wing near the location of the gear door and use two layers of something like 4 oz cloth to get the thickness you want. Use layers of plastic stretch wrap such as Saran over and under to both act as a bond separator as well as a wicking surface to ensure a nice smooth exterior finish. Make the raw layup about 1/4 to 1/2 inch bigger all around and cut out the part from the center. Making it bigger will aid the surface tension between the layers of plastic wrap to pull down tighter. Well... that and a layer of 1/2 to 1 inch thick sponge rubber pressed over the area with some magazines for weight wouldn't hurt either....

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

Not sure what covering/finish you will be using in the end, but you might be able to use 1/32 ply for the first layer, then laminate a 1/16" or 3/32" sheet of balsa on that and sand the balsa layer to match the wing.

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

I'm trying to keep the thickness of the doors to a minimum, may go with glassed 1/16 Balsa , Glass on the inside to meet the inner Door, Balsa on the outside for a finishing surface. Have not decided how to finish the P-51, either FG w/ paint or ultra cote.

buchtes

My Feedback: (7)

Here are some pic of my first trial of shaping plywood with steam, I'm happy with the results, conformed to the inner gear door shape really well, also matches the contour of the Wing very close. After all the replies suggesting to use Fiber Glass I just had to try to wood, and it came out with excellent results. I steamed the Ply 4 days ago and so far it's holding it's shape , next step is to epoxy the skin to the inner door.

BMatthews

You'll be far, far happier with ply for the doors instead of balsa. Balsa just dings too easily and the chance of holding a sharp edge over time is somewhere between slim and nil. On models where I have balsa hatches such as nose "canopys" on gliders I use a facing of 1/64 ply on both the fuselage and the nose hatch. Since doing this the separation line remains crisp for years instead of getting progressively rounder and more V like from handling.

Boomerang1

Why bother with wood at all?

For gear doors I use thin aluminium, curves no problem.

Take a look at the pic, same place, same problem, easy fix. - John.