Warped four star elevator
 

I accidently "misgroved" my four star's elevator where it accpets the wire joiner. The leading edge is not straight at all, leaving some nice gaps where it hinges to the stab. I tried to compensate the warped LE by bending the joining wire, but the wire doesnt want to bend easily. Any ideas on how to fix my problem, or should I build a new elevator from scratch. If so, should I enlarge it, and how much?

Warped four star elevator
 

Cereal:

Don't fight it, making a new one is too easy. Just be more careful with the next.

Enlarge it? Why would you want to? Fine as it is.

Warped twins are like fleas, they'll drive you to your knees.

Bill.

Warped four star elevator
 

Bills right, no biggie just do it again better next time.
Now that your maybe resloved to rebuilding, go ahead and grab the old one, without worry and see if you can twist it into shape.
Dont feel bad, I just built two right sides to a 1/4 scale cub, but, a couple bad words, $10 worth of lumber and 3 hrs latter, I was back on track again.
Lesson learned the hard way is NEVER forgotten.

Warped four star elevator
 

Build a new elevator,tare your time,make sure everything fits perfect,then use slow epoxy getting some in the groves and holes,make sure all is correct then lay on some weight,then don't touch until the next day.

Warped four star elevator
 

Thanks for the help, I think I'll build a new one. While I'm at it, I might try to heat the old wire with a blowtorch and then try to bend it.

Here's a suggestion....
 

If you succeed in softening the wire without burning the elevators, you will have effectively taken the temper out of the wire, and as a result it may not be able to cope with the torsional loads imposed upon it in flight. On the other hand, heating the wire will tend to melt the epoxy that's holding it to the elevator. If you can get enough heat transfer down the wire where it's embedded in the elevator, you may be able to remove it without causing damage. Then you can fit a new wire. Heat guns are used to remove bonded aluminum doublers on full size aircraft. Epoxy will breakdown with heat, and it doesn't take very much either...just don't breath the fumes!
As previously mentioned, what have you got to loose?

Good Luck, Nigel

Warped four star elevator
 

Don't start the elevator on fire! :D :eek:

Warped four star elevator
 

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I'd like to share what I did to fix the problem. I used a heat gun to soften the epoxy, allowing me to remove the wire without damaging the wood (worked in a minute too). I then cut out the grooved elevator portion and sanded it flat. A balsa stick was then glued in its place, and then sanded to restore the original bevel. Everything turned out really smooth, ending the need to build a new elevator, as long as I don't screw it up again.