theKAT

My Feedback: (1)

Somehow, the tip of the rudder on my OMP GS540P made contact with the ground. No damage to the structure, but I ended up snapping several of the Robart 1/8" hinges right at the hinge joints.

Any tips or techniques on removing or replacing them? They were installed with epoxy, and I have my doubts about being able to remove the stubs.

Karl

CafeenMan

I had to do the exact same thing. Carefully cut the rudder from around the hinge points leaving a lot of material on the hinge points at first.

Then go back and pick off the glue from the hinge points. Epoxy doesn't stick to the plastic which is why they have barbs.

Then build a new rudder and use the existing hinge points for attachment. I just posted this link in another thread, but it shows exactly what you need to do.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...ints/index.htm

Flypaper 2

Another option is to cut the old hinges flush with the surfaces and replace with new ones beside the old ones.

fw190d9

My Feedback: (1)

Guys, If you have to replace robart hinges and you want to use the original locations, there is an easy way. Get a 4" long piece of brass tubing(cant remember the size) that just fits over the barbed end of a robart hinge. Use your dremel with the cutoff wheel and make cutting teeth in one end of the brass tubing. On the other end of the brass tube, stick a 1 inch piece of round metal(I used a bolt with the head cut off) inside the end of the tube. Chuck the tube into your cordless drill and carefully drill around the cut off end of the robart hinge(the hinge point will go inside the brass tubing) in your control surface.(the 1 inch bolt section shoved into the tube keeps the tube from collapsing when its chucked into the drill) The teeth on the end of the tube will cut thru the epoxy holding the hinge point in. Once you get to the end of the hinge point, it will stick inside the brass tube allowing you to remove it. You will be left with a nice perfect hole to install a new hinge point in the original location.
Hope this helps
Evan Q.

theKAT

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions. Here's what I settled on:

I cut the hinges away and ground them down with a Dremel tool until they were below the contour of the triangle stock on the rudder and post. I then filled them in with balsa filler. Next, I covered over the whole thing with a strip of covering. The filler supplies support where the old slots were. Then, I cut new holes and slots 1/4" lower than the originals. So far so good.

Karl