RivetBangers.com

Hi all -
I would appreciate a little help / advice here.
For the 9A aileron bellcrank installation - the directions say to ream the WD-421 bushing to accept the AN 4 bolt.
My question is - should I spend the extra $$ and buy a .250 reamer - or just drill it out with a 1/4" bit in my drill press??
What did you do - and how did it work??
Recall that the bellcrank assembly rotates around the bushing - not the bolt....
Thanks, Lorin D

I have a .250 reamer now, but didn't at the time. The 1/4" bit worked just fine for me. However, I would say go ahead and buy the .250 reamer. You'll need it in the future several times.

That bushing is probably easier to ream straight than drill straight.

My advise: Get the reamer.

I'd say get a reamer also. I use them all the time. I have them for #40, #30, #19, #12, 1/4" (Aileron Bushing), 5/16" (Rear wing spar) and 3/8" (engine mount). Check out mscdirect.com - they ship quickly and have great prices.

I used the drill method myself also. Just use lots of oil, the brass loves to seize. Although not as bad as lead.

I used a regular drill bit on mine, along with a flowing stream of cuss words. The reamer sounds cool. Anybody got a web link to that product?

i drilled mine but had to use a dump trucl load of pressure on the bushing to keep it from spinning in the holding fixture( a piece of wood with a hole drilled through it cut in half). a reamer would make this a non event.. you local machione shop should have the popular sizes...fastenal comes to mind.

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-bee ... P-080.html

I guess they even use reamers for draft beer...

Yet another use you can have it for....lol..
Seriously though, I wish I had bought the reamer at that stage in the build. I have them now in the sizes I need for the rest of the plane.
It really is the way to do it.

I use a #40 reamer on all pre-punched holes now, rather than the bit. Makes a really smooth, straight hole!

Great guys!!
Looks likeI get to buy a new bunch of tools

Thx, Lorin D

Used the take a piece of 2x4 drill a hole in it and split it with a band saw to about 1" past the hole method. Then clamped the split end with a c-clamp. This held the bushing just fine. I used the 1/4" drill bit and that worked just fine. I just kept working the bit up and down to clear out the powder.

A piloted reamer would even be better.

Brantel wrote:Used the take a piece of 2x4 drill a hole in it and split it with a band saw to about 1" past the hole method. Then clamped the split end with a c-clamp. This held the bushing just fine. I used the 1/4" drill bit and that worked just fine. I just kept working the bit up and down to clear out the powder.

THAT is a good idea. I ordered two extra bushings with my last order from Van's because I wasn't happy with how the first turned out (irregularities on the inside and overall poor fit of the bolt). I'm not sure why the first one was bad because I did it with a drill press and a reamer, but...
That seems like a great way to hold it steady and vertical...

Thomas

Yup, it works well...



More pics here.

Well,

I bought several reamers from MSC Direct (Thanks for the reference Mike!).. clamped the parts using the "Brantel method" (great suggestion!)... and completed the setup by following Brads steps (simple & accurate!!).
After adjusting the drill press to the slowest speed - and a using a little boelube... it was a no-brainer. 30 minutes and I was done with both bushings. The fit came out perfect.
I can't believe I was sweating tihs one!!

Thanks to all!!

For those of you who have not gotten here yet - BUY THE REAMERS!!!

Lorin D.
9A Wings
N194LD reserved

Good deal Lorin! Glad it worked out great! The reamers are really worth having around.

Not my method, I think I stole it from Brad so it is the "Brad" method.

Glad it worked out though!

Lorin Dueck wrote:Well,

I bought several reamers from MSC Direct (Thanks for the reference Mike!).. clamped the parts using the "Brantel method" (great suggestion!)... and completed the setup by following Brads steps (simple & accurate!!).
After adjusting the drill press to the slowest speed - and a using a little boelube... it was a no-brainer. 30 minutes and I was done with both bushings. The fit came out perfect.
I can't believe I was sweating tihs one!!

Thanks to all!!

For those of you who have not gotten here yet - BUY THE REAMERS!!!

Lorin D.
9A Wings
N194LD reserved

Brantel wrote:Not my method, I think I stole it from Brad so it is the "Brad" method.

Yes, and I want royalties!!!

RV7Factory wrote: Yes, and I want royalties!!!

oh, i see how its gonna be, you guys have put me on the ignore list or dont want to share any of the moneywith me

weezbad wrote:i drilled mine but had to use a dump truck load of pressure on the bushing to keep it from spinning in the holding fixture( a piece of wood with a hole drilled through it cut in half). a reamer would make this a non event.. you local machine shop should have the popular sizes...fastenal comes to mind.

i used a vise instead of clamps.
i did however drill the hole parallel to the split in the wood. after reading "brantels method i see he mentioned not cutting the block completely in half. which IMHO would help even more?
i really feel sorry for the people trying to build a plane and dont have internet access. there is so much to be gained from the net its ridiculous.

I'd say get a reamer also. I use them all the time. I have them for #40, #30, #19, #12, 1/4" (Aileron Bushing), 5/16" (Rear wing spar) and 3/8" (engine mount). Check out mscdirect.com - they ship quickly and have great prices.

Mike,

Thanks for the link and the tip! I ordered all the reamers you suggested, except for the #30 and #40 (already had those). Great prices, and they arrived here in two days. I'll be using the .250 soon for my aileron bushings!

Bruce

Ok, we are going to have to call it the "bradweezbad" method. Or the "weezbadbrad" method.

You guys can fight over who's name comes first.

weezbad wrote:

RV7Factory wrote: Yes, and I want royalties!!!

oh, i see how its gonna be, you guys have put me on the ignore list or dont want to share any of the moneywith me

weezbad wrote:i drilled mine but had to use a dump truck load of pressure on the bushing to keep it from spinning in the holding fixture( a piece of wood with a hole drilled through it cut in half). a reamer would make this a non event.. you local machine shop should have the popular sizes...fastenal comes to mind.

i used a vise instead of clamps.
i did however drill the hole parallel to the split in the wood. after reading "brantels method i see he mentioned not cutting the block completely in half. which IMHO would help even more?
i really feel sorry for the people trying to build a plane and dont have internet access. there is so much to be gained from the net its ridiculous.