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A few builders have asked me questions about the tools and methods that I have used in my build so I’ve responded with this section. I’m not suggesting that all the tools listed here are essential to complete a Rotorway kit but I make stuff for a living so I’m fortunate to have all these things to hand. I must confess though, to being a tool ‘nut’ and I often find myself spending far too much money on the right tool for the smallest of jobs. But I figure, if it does it properly and easily, then it’s worth it. For my Automotive friends and site watchers, these tools will be just as useful to you.
So here they are, in no particular order. I’ll add to them as I have time.
When I was an apprentice, my first Vernier Caliper cost approximately two weeks wages. These modern Digital Calipers cost only £25. You can switch between Metric and Imperial at the push of a button and take inside and outside measurements to better than one thousandth of an inch.
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When your close-up eyesight begins to struggle this Centre Finder makes it simple to mark spot-on Centre-punches for drilling holes. It consists of a machined aluminium holder with two accurately machined holes, an Acrylic Lens/Rod with an engraved spot and circle in the bottom and a magnifying lens at the top plus a hardened steel Punch Rod of the same diameter. The method of use couldn’t be easier.
Simply look down through the lens and line up the spot and circle with the marked cross on your workpiece. Then lift out the lens rod, replace it with the punch rod and give it a tap with a hammer. Brilliantly easy and incredibly accurate
I’ve featured the Powerfile in a few other sections but it’s worth a mention here. The simplicity of the idea belies it’s usefulness. Unless you’ve used one you can’t believe how good they are. You can remove vast amounts of GRP material quickly but with control, plunge right through a GRP panel to make square holes, radius and de-burr edges and fettle aluminium and steel components and castings. It’ll never completely replace the accuracy of a sharp hand file but it’ll take the hard work out of bulk material removal.
Step Hole Cutters. These are mentioned in the Rotorway Manual and they really are the best tools to cut neat accurate holes in GRP and Sheet Metal. They usually range from 4 mm to 30 mm in 1 or 2 mm steps. Imperial sizes are also available. It’s best to run them slowly and use some thin oil when drilling metals.
This is my Rabone Chesterman Engineers Spirit Level. It’s only the baby 6 inch version but it’s far more accurate then the Digital level supplied with the Exec Kit. I don’t have too much faith in the Rotorway level - mine seems to wander around too much and it’s impossible to calibrate so that I get exactly the same reading when I turn it around 180 degrees on a flat surface. With the Rabone, what you see is what you get. Calibration is easy and the markings on the phial are as clear as day.
However, I not convinced that such fine accuracy is entirely necessary when setting up the Rotorway components. The stresses and forces in the drive train components and the welding-induced distortion in the air frame make it almost impossible to achieve spot-on perfection. Attempting to set it all up with the Rabone would, I’m sure, frustrate me into submission. So I use the Rotorway level and just check it occasionally with the real one.
This is my Universal Milling Machine. It was once used for making prosthetic limbs in a hospital lab and I find it very handy to have around. Its digital readout makes accuracy a doddle in Metric or Imperial. The old girl works hard in our day to day car building but, in truth, although it gives me a leg-up in the build process it’s a luxury I could live without, for the Rotorway, if I had to.
A medium sized lathe like ours pictured here is much more useful although still not indispensable for a Rotorway build. This one has Power Feed in both directions, Quick Change Gearbox, Digital Readout, Coolant system and a large bore through the head stock and represents remarkable value for money. There are however available, smaller bench top Lathes with Milling/ Drilling attachments at unbelievably inexpensive prices. If I didn’t have my larger machines I’d certainly consider investing on one just for the Rotorway.
This is a Nibbler attachment fitted in a battery drill. If you haven’t got a sheet metal guillotine, then one of these could save you a lot of arm ache. A round, oscillating punch removes a moon-shaped sliver of material on each stroke, cutting a neat slot as you draw the nibbler across the sheet.
The Battery Drill pictured above is a relatively expensive 18 Volt one with a maximum speed of 1100 rpm and plenty of power. Cheaper drills just aren’t up to the job.
The cutting head can be run along a wooden or steel guide clamped to the material. With a little practice you’ll get clean, straight lines. I used this nibbler to cut away the tail boom skin for clearance around the tail rotor assembly, finishing off the edges with my Powerfile.
Files are relatively inexpensive tools so it makes no sense to buy cheap, poor quality ones. I have a collection of dozens ranging from coarse ‘Bastard’ to fine Needle files in varied shapes and lengths but although they’re all good quality, they still get thrown away and replaced as soon as they lose their bite.
Here are my two most used files. A ten inch 2nd cut flat file and a fine jewelers needle file.
Here are the three sheet metal snips in my toolbox. All are over twenty years old and all have been resharpened many times. At the top is a small pair of lightweight sheet metal Tin Snips. Below are left and right hand cut Gilbows.
One of the problems many users find when using snips is that they tend to curl the material as they cut. It’s impossible to avoid material curl but it is possible to keep it all on the waste side of your cutting line.
This picture shows the incorrect method of using snips. The only point of contact between blades and material is where the blades join. This method will form a curl downwards on the far side of the material and a curl upwards on the nearest side.
The correct cutting method is to hold one blade flat and stationary against the material surface while only the other blade moves. In this picture the material in the background will remain flat whilst all the curl will be formed on the material in the foreground. Having a pair of left and right hand cut snips will allow you to select the correct hand for each cut you make ensuring that the curl is always on the waste side of each cut.
This is the Bench-Top Sheet Metal machine that I used for making the Heat Shields. It’s a 3 in one tool featuring a 30 inch Guillotine at the bottom, a Box and Pan Folder with removable fingers and a set of Rollers at the top for forming cylinders. It’s great for aluminium and steel under 1 mm thick but struggles with the heavier stuff. Another imported machine at a fantastically cheap price.
This one may seem a little unusual. It’s a Cast Iron Toolmakers Surface Plate. With the demise of Engineering in general in UK there are plenty of these around if you know where to look. I find it invaluable for accurate measuring and marking-out of smaller components and as a general assembly surface if precision and cleanliness are required.
I’ve had this for decades and I haven’t a clue where it came from. It’s a proper DZUS driver, shaped to perfectly fit the slot in DZUS buttons. It works perfectly every time without damaging the slot and minimising the risk of damage to the surrounding paint work.
I believe I’ve mentioned these before somewhere on the site. Carbide Countersink Bits I like the single flute version. They’ll make a clean countersink in any material, even 4130 and last for ages - I usually lose them long before they wear out. 1/4 inch on the left and 1/2 inch on the right. Expensive but well worth it.
I haven’t really used imperial drill sizes much at all since my Marconi days so I bought this set of Letter, number and fraction Drills especially for the Rotorway project. They’re not the worst quality set money can buy but they’re not the best either. We have a ‘Drill Doctor’ drill sharpener in the main workshop that will renew the cutting edge when required.
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