Empennage Hinges

Share photos of your Pietenpol, whether complete or project.
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danoliver
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:58 am
Location: Cincinnati

Empennage Hinges

Post by danoliver »

I really struggled with making the the empennage hinges per the plans. So I thougt I'd share the method (right or wrong) that finally worked for me. One of my biggest problems was trying to weld such tiny pieces successfully. To solve this issue I just made them bigger. Well not actually bigger. I made the components long enough to be cut into three finished hinges after welding. I also had trouble filling the gap between the two halves of the female hinge. The fillet would look alright but then when tested the weld was easily broken. So I wound up making a third piece, a thin strip to place between the two L pieces. The three were then welded with ease, even for a newbie such as myself. Lastly, since I am pretty good at making mistakes along the way, I bent enough pieces to make twice as many hinges as needed. I then picked out the nine best for my Piet and used the rest as test subjects.
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douwe blumberg
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 5:46 pm

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by douwe blumberg »

gorgeous work!!
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by taildrags »

Wow, I've got to agree... those are compact, VERY attractive, and probably lighter than the cast aluminum ones since they appear to be smaller.
danoliver
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:58 am
Location: Cincinnati

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by danoliver »

They are 0.58 ounces per set. Not counting any hardware.
Craig Aho
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:52 am

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by Craig Aho »

I also would like to say nice work.
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by taildrags »

Dang it, Dan-! Your hinges beat my cast aluminum ones, which are 0.64 oz/set. Yours are 0.06 oz lighter (a U.S. dime weighs about 0.08 oz). I guess I need to start taking more material off the mounting bases to get them closer to what yours weigh ;o)
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by taildrags »

Oh, wait... next you're going to say that you weighed them *after* applying the green primer on yours. If that's the case, I'd better hit the mounting bases of the cast aluminum hinges even harder!
fly4piet
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 6:55 pm

Re: Empennage Hinges

Post by fly4piet »

Beautiful craftsmanship.
Question, I have seen some builders use
I-Bolts. What is the opinion of the Group?
I know the gap would be wider but the use
of filler strips to close up the greater gap
could be easily made.
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