As a fairly new guy at this Im still trying to sort out the must-do's from the should-do's from the the don't bothers. Anyway, I bought MA props (glass filled nylon or whatever, you know, the black ones) to use on my trainer with a TT .46 Pro, sanded the "jagged" edges off and Im wondering how to balance them. Can I use a door nail or somthing or should I hike back to the L.H.S for a gadget? Should I even worry about it if there seems to be no significant vibration? Thanks. Randy

Many people say sanding a propeller is OK. I do not agree. I add some paint or epoxy to the light side to add weight. I always add the weight to the back side.

A nail will not work as it will not be in the center of the whole. Probably a trip to the hobby store is in order for a balencer. They come in a variety of configurations depeding on your budget. Once you get the balancer then you can use Geistware's method to get the prop balanced.

After I got past training where I didn't break props on a regular basis, I switched to APC props because I hated balancing MA and the like. But for training, the MA job you have is perfect and it's pretty tough.

I bought a finger balencer for about $3 bucks.Its basiclly like the nail thing but a little more acurate.
BONEz'

Bonefrost,
I have the nail balancer and I suspend it from the ceiling with two loops of string. I have found that this works great and it is CHEAP!

Thanks everyone, not a better group of guys in the world than the R/C dudes.

Fly long and prosper

Always check the balance of your props. The only props I've found that need almost no balancing are the Zinger woods. The simplest balancer is basically a short rod that fits neatly through the prop and has pointed ends to hold between two fingers. The trick is to hold it as lightly as possible so it doesn't quite slip out of your fingers.

HOW to balance is another thing though and everyone has their own opinion. First thing of course is to get rid of any moulding flashing (including at the tips). Then check the balance. If it's out then the first thing to do is sand off any paint (if any) from the heavy side. From there on, make up your own mind how you want to go. Personally I sand evenly over the entire curved surface of the heavy blade. Now for the other opinions

The painting option makes since opposed to sanding, but what about the times when you're at the field? Should you take a bottle/can of paint with you each and every time you go flying? Maybe making sure your props are balanced before reaching the field would be idea, but not practical.

I sometimes use light bright colors to mark each tip of my prop to act as a safety feature. Since most of my change outs are at the field I find that sanding works best for me.

In order to balance a prop you need a no wind environment if you are at the field then maybe inside the hanger or the inside of your vehicle would be idea. The way I balance which works great for me is the small finger tip balancer sold at your local hobby shop. It is a piece of small all-thread that tapers off to points on each end and has two thread nuts that are designed to fit your prop as they are tightened up on each side of it.

Randy

Giestware, that's a great idea with the fingertip balancer......I usually use two small blocks of 2x4 and rest the balancer on that......I'm going to try the string idea!

Mike

Just to put this in perspective, (now I know a million people are going to jump all over me) I have a prop balancer because the guy at the hobby shop told my wife it would make a great Christmas present. I have been flying for 40+ years, and I have used it twice (mainly because it was the dead of winter and I was bored). Sorry if I upset anyone who thinks their engine won't run, or their plane will crash if their prop isn't balanced.

Of course it will run/fly but geez I like things smooth.The better its balanced the better your engine will run.Think of tire balancing;they wont let you drive your car if your tires arent balanced.
just a little info to chew on.This is just one mans opinion.I dont wanna cheez anybody off.
And that string idea sounds awsome!thanks!
BONEz'

I'm with MinnFlyer. Sometimes I balance, sometimes I don't, and to be honest, I really can't tell the difference, and I don't think my engine can either. I used to balance more with wood props, but a manufactured nylon composite prop like the MA's I use now really shouldn't be far out of balance.

Why not just use a drill bit or something and hold the ends. Move the prop to any position and let go. It should stay there if it is balanced. Move it to 3 other positions and make sure it doesn't spin when you let go.

Thats what I do but I have yet to buy an out-of-balance prop.

That's right gpmike, If I saw a difference, I'd do it all the time, but the bottom line is, I don't!

BTW, a funny little story... Last winter I had nothing to build, and since my workshop is the only place in the house that I can smoke, I spent a lot of time down there with nothing to do. So just for the hell of it, I started balancing a prop that I had cut down from an 11" to a 10" (which, by the way, ran fine after loping 1/2" off of each tip with a razor saw while at the field). So, every now and then, I would sand a little, then scrape a little, then add some CA to the side of the hub, etc until this prop was 100% balanced in every direction (Ok, so I was bored!) Then Springtime came! I was going out to the field for the first time all year and I was bring my plane up from the basement, it slipped and one side of the prop hit a stair and snapped off! All I could do was laugh!

A drill bit would work if you have a heavy propeller (MA) if you ahve a wood propeller, I think the flutes in the drill will be an issue. Now what you can do is use a pin gage and that should work. Make sure that it is straight.

For a long time I didn't balance propellers either. It was not until I went to APC and MA propellers in the 20" range that I started doing it. Now I just balance them to make sure that I keep vibration to a minimum