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Oiling Fuselage Tubes

markc

markc

Registered User
Philippines
Folks

I am in a quandry. Have just aligned and straightend our Cub Frame here and am about to tack weld all the new tubes together.

I have been thinking ahead on the tube oil and have seen the posts on the folks who pressurize their tubes but am still confused about how most people plug the holes if one uses simple tube oil.

The thought of having a bunch of screw sticking out of the tube is not very enticing and I wonder if anyone has any opinions on the following options:

1. Using an Aluminum Avex Rivet - The Big issue here is corrosion
2. Using Steel Rivets - I cannot find any and if they are available, how do they work and where can they be sourced from
3. Welding the hole closed - the big issue here is burning the oil inside and losing some protection anyway

Appreciate any thoughts, feedback or experience anyone can offer

Regards
 
I use a special closed head aluminum rivet sold by Wicks just for this purpose. I dip the rivet in Pro-Seal before installing it.
 
Every hole is welded closed in my RMA fuselage and a local fuselage builder does the same. He leaves a little surplus oil in the tube which is redistributed over the inside of the weld by tilting the fuselage after it cools.
 
Any comments/info on what tubes to oil?.
Do you put oil in all tubes or just the longerons?
Any advise on what size drill to use and what is the easiest way to get the oil into the tube?
Any advise is greatly appreciated.
 
RYAN_WINGS said:
Any comments/info on what tubes to oil?.
Do you put oil in all tubes or just the longerons?
Any advise on what size drill to use and what is the easiest way to get the oil into the tube?
Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Stits Tubeseal

Put in in as many tubes as you can expecially the ones that lay flat in the belly.

Drill a little bitty hole, shoot it in with a cow syringe. The Stits can tells exactly how many CC's to inject for size and length of tube, so you don't need to drain it. Tack all the holes shut with the TIG, and tip the fuselage around to slosh it. After the oil is in, I try to remember to rotate the fuselage in a diffent angle before I leave the shop every night.
 
Mark,

Thanks, I'm not building an airplane right now, but I always wondered what the best way to accomplish this task would be, and what you've outlined sounds great.

Thanks again for great ideas.

MTV
 
Oil the inside of the airframe?

I am ready to paint the airframe of my Smith, and a thought occurred to me.
All the airplanes I have restored I have oiled the inside of the airframe tubing.
Anyone still doing that?
Thanks
PR
 
Seal

Tubeseal (Yes). Linseed (NO). It turns hard and then peels away from the tubing. Wish I had taken pictures of the seaplane airframe I cut up. Would have been worth a thousand words. Jerry B.
 
Oil on the Inside Surface of an Airframe

I have used a product called LPS 3 a few years ago for the inside of my airframe. It leaves a tranparent waxy film on the surface. Not sure if it is still in vogue or not.
 
Suppose there is linseed oil in there. Is the tubeseal or LPS3 capable of protecting the places where linseed pulls off?
 
howdy all, iam ready to paint my airframe so before i paint inject it or after. :help thank marc
 
Re: Seal

Jerry Burr said:
Tubeseal (Yes). Linseed (NO). It turns hard and then peels away from the tubing. Wish I had taken pictures of the seaplane airframe I cut up. Would have been worth a thousand words. Jerry B.
Click to expand...

Jerry,
What is tube seal, and where do you get it?
Thanks,
PR
 
I'd do it before. According to my instructor from years ago, you should wait until you are finish welded complete, put in the oil and plug the hole. (he used tire stem fittings as he wouldn't have to weld any more after he put in the oil) Then, wait for a while to see if any leaks out, to ensure your welds are tight. If any leaks out, you then address that cluster for bad welds.

This guy would also pressurize his tube fuselages with nitrogen, and attach a pressure gage IOT detect cracks and leaks.
 
I drilled small holes in the upper side of each tube that I wanted to oil and injected the oil with a plastic syringe. I then welded each hole with the tig welder and then had the fuselage powder coated. My old fuselage had screws sealing the oil holes in the lower longerons. Some use pop rivets. I don't trust either to seal out air and moisture over time.
 
......and if you oil it before powder coating, and when they bake it in the oven it might find some small stuff to squirt out that didn't leak just at room temp and normal pressure, but will make a nice mess & smell in the powder coater's oven for a while.... and they will remember you for it :).... seems my stuff takes longer and costs more to get done at the powder coaters ever since that one time .......... :)

mike
 
Have you ever thought about all the stuff that happens under the powder coat, that goes undetected?
Like corrosion or a fracture. I powder coat about everything except frames. Whether race car or aircraft.
If I oil the tubes before painting, I wonder if it will have an effect on the paint? Like not getting a good bond?
 
Fuselage Tube Seal Oil

Has anybody that has ever restored or recovered a perfectly good fuselage (not repaired or rebuilt, but inspected thoroughly) put new tube seal into the longerons for prolonged corrosion free life or just leave it alone and cover?
 
Josh-

My J-5 fuselage looked ok before I took it to get bead blasted. When I got it back it had severe corrosion covered up by the paint.

My friends took a UPF-7 fuselage over the next week after I had mine done, it still looked like new when they were done.

Thats just a bit of experience that I have had.

Tim
 
My old crop-duster friend used boiled linseed oil. He measured the quantity going in and the quantity he drained out. He was very careful about tipping and turning the fuselage to ensure thorough coverage of all the tubing. As i recall, he did this procedure every time he covered a fuselage.
 
Which tubes need to oiled? Do you drill holes in the longerons to allow oil to flow into the cross tubes? What size holes? Do the holes weaken the longerons?
 
Linseed Oil in tubing? (longerons)

I'm curious how others do this. Where do you drill into the tubing, how big of a hole......and what do you plug it with. Also, how much linseed oil do you put in. Thanks
Brian
 
HI Brian,
Stitts sells stuff called "TubeSeal" which is like linseed oil, but has some additive that makes it crawl better than plain oil. I bought a can & only used a quarter of it, I'll send it to ya if you want.

Drill your hole anywhere you like, but so that when you inject the oil into the tube it will run downhill (the plumbers rule) :)
Plug the hole with a screw, or weld it shut, and rotate/invert/etc. the fuse so it runs up/down the tubes. That's it. I think the can has instructions, but surely you can find them on the net.
 
I wouldn't bother with the oil. We cut into the lower longerons of our 50 yr old SC fuselage during restoration. Piper didn't put any oil in there and it was clean and rust free. Just make sure your welder is a Bob Eckstein clone who makes air tight welds every time. Then you don't need the oil.
Darrel
 
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