Cheers,
It has been a so-so week. I am at the stage (cockpit's not in yet)
of fussing with the stabilator torque tube abd its fussy bearings. I took
great pains to drill and align the 2inch holes to house the bearings in the
stern of the canoe. Having inserted GraSing's sternpost and plastered that
with up to 12 layers (they overlap) of +/-45deg BiD, I have been satisfied
that the new tailspring and accoutrements have guaranteed a very stiff tail
section, and there is no room to manoeuvre in the torque tube department, so
it has to be right, time one.
The tube and all its bits needs to be inserted and retracted several
yimes and this is somewhat frustrating for the following reason. The drive
plates , with their two little teats each are a tight, slidy fit on the
tube, and each is the same fit into the bearings. Without some fine oil I
would be weeks assembling and dis-, if you catch my drift.
When the moment came to pin everything together, lo/behold, the
second drive plate would not settle properly. The reason - there is a tiny
"land" on its axle which matches with the outer face of the bearing - and
somehow I managed to epoxy the two bearings about 1/2mm too far apart, so
the last pin wouldn't insert. It's always the last pin........
I called in the reserves, a German pattern maker cum millwright
whose eye and hand are unmatched. We talked and agreed that the best
solution was to move the land out about 1mm. He offered to do this at the
museum for which I was most grateful. He said "ready Saturday" so I
continued. I was out Thursday afternoon and when I returned my bride said
Heinz had returned and fitted the drive plate to the torque tube. Sure
enough there sat the torque tube beautifully seated. A tear trickled down my
cheek - but not for long.
When I went to pin the bits together in situ, I had trouble from job
one on and puzzled the cause. Then the bell rang. IT had occurred to me
early in the op that the factory had produced a tight fit everywhere, and
that meant I should label each pin and fixture as to orientation because 1/4
deg out in the drilling will never reassemble scrambled. Sure enough, two
hours of juggling every combination finally recaptured that exquisite
assembly. Heinz had picked up the naked tube and inserted the port drive
plate onto the starboard end. As a further precaution, I have thankfully
drilled the TP10 nylon rings (which keep the drive plates out where they
belong) with a 15/64ths drill, and 'worried' the pins into place for a very
snug fit.
THE LESSON: Label each torque tube fitting as to orientation before
disassembling it for treatment. RENEW the label whenever necessary to ensure
the proper fit. and DON"T DROP any of the fittings, 'cause they go
out-of-round just before they hit the floor. It's a fear thing.
I realise I'm slow with this advice, but perhaps it will reach a few
in time.
Happy Landings
Ferg A064
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