Hey all,

Is it smart/safe to glue a standard servo to plywood? 'Cause wiht the project I'm working on, theres no room for a servo tray.

Thanks a bunch,
IBrakeForNobody

You can glue a servo to plywood, HOWEVER, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of before doing this.

1. 99% of the time this is a PERMANENT thing. If the servo goes bad, forget it.

2. Be sure you use a GOOD adhesive .

Since you will be most likely laying the servo on it's side to glue it in, why not make or buy some "L" mounts for the servos ? They are very easy to make from some 1/4" basswood. Screw the servo to the L mount, then screw the L mount in position. They use no more room than the servo itself.

I agree with Campy.
There has to be a way in which you can add some bass or light ply so that you can screw the servo down.
They need the rubber vibration dampers and if you hard glue it will most certainly go bad. No reason...Muphy's law. I have had many go bad over the years....always easily removed.

The other reason for removal is it is much cheaper to buy new gears if they strip or wear than to buy a new servo.
...easy to remove for servicing, testing, looksy at gear teeth, etc.
My 2 cents.

Don't glue it in!!! There has to be a better way. Take a bit more time and look it over good, you can come up with a better way. Check with some of the more experienced folks you fly with they can look at your situation and probably come up with a solution, but don't glue it in!!!!

I have used double sided foam tape in 1/2A more than once and it worked great. Clean the servo with alchohol then seal and clean the wood and it should stick fine. If you need to take it apart you can pry it off and the foam will probably split before the adhesive lets loose. I've never used it on a larger plane but in my experiences it should work fine at least up thru 40 size. I can't emagine a servo creating more force than it took me to get it loose. The adhesive sticks better and better over time. I think it would be wise to let it sit for a few days before putting it to the test.

About the L braces, this is the situation I have



Thanks for the help

The servo is held with packing tape right now until I figure out a better way...

The fact that it has a cable vs a pushrod attached leads me to believe it's probably a throttle servo. I think smedsky's suggestion is 'right on'. You could paint a little epoxy on the wood and let it dry before applying the foam tape. That would provide a non-porous surface that would probably make it stick even better. You get vibration protection and the ability to remove it if necessary by cutting through the foam. A little adhesive remover from an auto paint supply house would get the tape off of the wood and servo.

Yep, double side tape. Cover the whole side of the servo if you can and even a second side if available.

3M makes some incredible double sided tape. IT is pretty thin, maybe 1mm or 1.5 mm so the servo doesn't twist and deform the tape and brake loose. And the adhesive is great. And the tape does provide some shock insulation from the airframe vibration. The tape can actually be cut larger than the servo just to insure good adhesion to the wood.

Yup...it is a throttle servo...thanks for the help, I'll try the epoxy and double sided tape idea.

Thanks again [8D]

Take a closer look and see if it is possible to install servo rails. Usually made from bass wood about 3/8" X 3/8" and glued to supports that are glued to the fuse sides. I never use servo trays; I find rails are simple and efficient.

DaveB

It would take a little work, but I think I can see a way to make mtg rails for it.