Wing Pulley Covers

I need to get a couple of covers for the pulleys that stick out of the top of the wings. Wag has some plastic ones for 2.50 each. Univar has the metal ones for 44.00 each. Thats a lot of difference, or I could try a junkyard. Anyone used the Wag ones? Are they any good or do they look cheap?
Also, any recommendations for the wing tank fuel drains?

Thanks.

By the way, the cub is coming slow, I will try for an update soon. The dog is coming along nicely. Sit, stay, heal, kennel, potty, no, fetch, here, and drop are pretty well started. Did water retrieves today. Did OK for 12 weeks. Have not yet introduced feathers or guns but will do so soon. Takes a lot of time.

Bill

Pulley covers

Buy plastic from Wag-Aero. Buy 1 qt bondo from Auto-Zone. Put waxed plastic in bondo, let dry, pop out. Take soft aluminum and small ballpien
hammer and pound out two in ten minutes. Make extra for buddies. Less than $44.00 apiece and a lot of saisfaction to boot. Sand and polish if you want to show off.

These are the all-time simplest things to make. Borrow one from somebody, and make a form in a small cardboard box, using plain old cement. Even concrete will do, but those little rocks get in the way.

Find some dead-soft aluminum - probably 3003-0 will do, but I have had great success with 7075-0. .025 is a good start point, but the originals were probably closer to .016.

Hammer the aluminum with a steel hammer - forget about the leather bags with lead shot; these things are non-structural. You don't care if you over-stress the aluminum. Once you get good, you ought to be able to pop these out one every ten minutes, not counting the slot. Use a Dremel tool with cutoff disc to cut the slot, and use good eye protection. The discs are not designed for aluminum.

I use aluminum for the sandwich inside the fabric - the part that those #4s screw into. They are actually a little harder to make, since cutting the hole always seems to distort them. I need a Whitney punch!

Also, try a layer of shellac or something in the concrete form. I did an entire cowling using this method - after 4000 flight hours, it is still looking good!

I made a fiberglass reverse out of a metal sample. I plan to make fiberglass versions.

bob turner said:

Also, try a layer of shellac or something in the concrete form. I did an entire cowling using this method - after 4000 flight hours, it is still looking good!

Click to expand...

Bob-

Have any pics?

Yes, but not digital yet. Give me a few more months and I'll have the hardware, and will post. I do a lot of magazine articles (model trains) and my publisher wants digits. Cowl is J-3, exactly as original with all seams rolled, only .032 aluminum. Original was .025, and only lasted 17 years and about 1500 hours.

Bob, how do you roll the seams, does it take a special tool, and is there any shrinking that has to be done to the nose bowl or mostly just stretching.

Thanks, Ryan