Drilling ca hinge slots
 

I am drilling 1/16" holes through the middle of my ca hinge slots and find it difficult to control the alignment of the drill to the plane of the slot. Is there a better technique to do this especially for the triangular section control surfaces ? Can you use a pin vise and control the drill bit by "feel" . Thx for the inputs......... :)

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

After marking the center line I just use a #ll Exacto to cut a slot. The Ca hinge is a nice tight fit and thin Ca wicks nicely, I use three to four drops on each side and have never had a failure.

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

Yes, you can use a pin vise and go by feel.

hinge stiffening
 

Thanks guys. I have heard of the effect of hinge stiffening (by cured ca) on servo loading and hinge life. Is this an avoidable issue ? :( It will be quite difficult to prevent ca along the hinge line when you are dropping a 4-6 drops of ca ON the hinge line itself !! Somebody in another thread mentioned marking the hinge center with crayon. I have tested this on a hinge and yes it does prevent the absorption of ca. However this will also cause an imbalance ca flow and wicking into either either side of the hinge slots as you drop ca. Can I get some comments on whether hinge stiffening is an issue and how to prevent it ? Thx.............. :)

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

People get WAY too technical with these damn hinges. Here's all you need to do:

Put a pin through the center of the hinge and install them into the stab/ rudder/ wing/ whatever.

Add the control surface.

Remove the pin.

Add 4 drops of THIN CA to the top and bottom of each hinge.

That's IT! I have CA hinges that are 10 years old with no signs of any problems. The slight amount of pressure they put on the servo is NOTHING compared to the pressure applied to the servo from the airflow over the control surface. So don't worry about it!

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

I'm with Minnflyer, I do mine the same way and have never had one come out. I have some huge control surfaces on some of my stuff to!!

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

Also you see where Minnflyer wrote in capital letters "THIN CA''? I think thats where most folks mess up at. Thick ca will NOT work. You have to use THIN.........

Drilling ca hinge slots
 

I also agree with Minn Flyer. I have never had a ca hinge fail and I have them on some planes that are 8+ years old. I recently hit a wire cow fence with my H9 Edge and it tore an aileron off. The wood around the hinges gave way and the hinges were intact. I use the Great Planes slot machine to make the hinge pockets.