I would like some tech help on cutting the spinner for my yellow zero, its alluminum, i'am sure that somebody
has a great way to do it. thanks Ian

Bluffman,

I use a cone shaped stone in my 3/8 drill to get the rough shape and size. The stone does a pretty good job itself but I do finish it off with my Dremel tool and a fine stone. Once finished I use rubbing compound to clean and shine the surface. The finishing touch is with a car polish. Gives you that mirror finish. I'm sure there are other and probably better ways but this is how I do it and it works for me.

One that works for me.

I get a pattern (plastic, card stock , ect) for the shape I want to cut, draw the shape onto the spinner at the needed locations, and if thin alum, rough cut the spinner with a metal shear and then use a Dremel tool with the sanding drum to shape as needed. If thick, use the Dremel bit that looks like a die grinders bit. Forgot the bit name for that one.

Not high tech, but works.

Use eye protection.

steve

I don't cut spinners because they are balanced from the factory. I'm sure if you look around you will find the spinner already made that will work for your Warbird. If not the ways the other gentlemen said will work but try to keep each cut exactly the same.

Gibbs

I have a yellow zero, and I have first-hand experience with the yellow-supplied spinner for this kit. I'm not going to tell you about the best way to cut it, because I never figured that out. The cone is so thick that a grinding stone will overheat and disintegrate before you make any progress and snips will not even scratch it. I tried all kinds of methods but the only method that afforded results was using a reinforced cut-off wheel. Of course, that leaves you with a series of straight, rough-cuts. I finishing the shape of the cut-outs using a series of metal files (flat, half-round and rat-tail). It was all very labor intensive. However you choose to proceed, BE SURE to take your time and be extra careful!

The reason to be careful: As you may have noticed, the yellow zero spinner is by design very heavy, which is good because this plane needs so much nose-weight (depending on the motor, of course... I'm using a G-38). But because the spinner is so heavy, if you are not extremely accurate with your cut-outs, and your drilling and tapping, this thing will shake your plane apart and significantly shorten the life of your motor. Be extra careful that it's dynamically balanced before you fire up that motor! Be sure it is very well balanced. Can't stress that enough.

My ultimate solution, and perhaps an alternative for you, is to get a Zero spinner from Gene Barton in Missouri (www.genebarton.com). He made some of the originals units for the Bert Baker Zero, which is the design on which the Yellow Zero is patterened. So, Gene's Zero spinner is accurate and matches the scale of the Yellow airframe perfectly. You can get a great spinner, accurately cut (just tell him the prop size), drilled, tapped, mounted and bead blasted (so it's ready for paint) for ~$80.

Good luck.

By the way, I have two Yellow Zero spinners on my shelf. If you (or anyone else) want to take a stab at trying to get them balanced, PM me and we'll work out a deal.

Noah

One other option, but it's not as scale as cutting the supplied spinner, or ordering one from Gene B (who is a great guy to deal with!), is to order a TruTurn P51 spinner that is closest to the correct size. The shape is not exact, but it's close .. but they are so nicely made :-)

Dave

I draw from a cardboard cutout, as scalecraft does, to get the shape. I use a dremel reinforced fiber cut-off wheel to rough cut it, then rough shape it with a rotay carbide bit in my dremel. I clean it up with a fine round rat-tail file. Be sure to leave a radius at the back side high point of the cut-out (on the vertical side). I have seen several squared off here, and they will crack out and fail.

Jeff

thanks for all the info, getting it ballanced, looks like a pain, i'am using a 3w75i and i
don't want to damage the motor, so i will give gene barton a call. Ian

Ian,

If you already have the Yellow spinner, it might worth giving it a shot. Can't hurt to try.

Regarding the Gene Barton spinners: Gene is a highly skilled machinist, and his cut-outs will be very accurate, as will be the distribution of the screws that mount the cone to the backplate. However, you must also verify the balance on his spinner, too. It won't be far off, but again, due the mass of this unit, even a slight imbalance could cause potentially serious and costly problems.

Good luck.

I just realized what you had written... Man, that's a big motor for the Yellow Zero!!

Wow.

Let see some pictures of that cowled motor installation (if you have a chance). Seems like most of the motor would be hanging out in the wind!

yes my motor will be staying cool, i havent mounted it yet probably tommorow then i will post some pictures. ian