pizza

My Feedback: (24)

just want to start a thread to see how modelers are balancing their big wooden props step by step thanks

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

A high Point balancer from B&B.

Enjoy,

Jim

BBW Walt

My Feedback: (11)

Do a search, This has been covered pretty well in the past, Walt

NavyE6FE

Check out down on the deck (Take the spaces out and add www to the front and dot com to the end) for some reason when the addy is typed in it comes out as ****. ?????

platero

I make my own balancer with two rare earth magnets and wood stand, this magnets has the sufficient power to maintain a 28´wood prop. And I never deform the prop, I do it adding lead in the center, making holes and overturning the melted lead, if the desbalance is small I do it with painting. Because defforming the prop you will lose power.
Good luck!

pizza

My Feedback: (24)

Mainly I am interested in balancing the hub, been taking off wood on one side of hub, but am worried this might weaken prop. I have never seen anyone add weight to the hub but think this might be way to go? should you balance hub first then tips?

JoeAirPort

My Feedback: (41)

I balanced the tips first using thinned epoxy painted on one tip. Then I did the hub using non-thinned 5 minute epoxy. It's best to keep pushing the epoxy back into place until it starts to set or it keeps sliding off. After a couple of minutes it stays in place. The prop points straight up and down to balance the hub. It should stay in place once it is balanced.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The Windsor prop balancing system uses a jig that one slides about the hub location until the balance center is found. Then a drill bit is run down through the jig to relocate the hole.

You need a jig with center holes the size of each prop shaft diameter you are going to use...

Enjoy,

Jim

pizza

My Feedback: (24)

thanks joeairport, the key is that prop should always stay where you stop it regardless of angle - bought a new one last week - it is hard to tell in hobbyshop which one is ok - I sanded off nearly 1/4 of hub to balance it - had to throw it away too dangerous. I am wondering if I should be adding weight rather than sanding it off? I have always sanded on back side of tips with flat sanding block then I apply thin ca using my finger w. a glove spread it around to re seal the wood - dries in 3 minutes ready to go. I always have to take off a little more wood to allow for weight of ca.

stomper

My Feedback: (20)

Hey Jim

Is the B&B balancer any better then DUBRO tru-spin prop balancer of what looks like the same design?


TIA

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The Dubro and the High point are very much alike. Now days, one is about as good as the other. The old original high point had a thick steel plate base and would set rock solid on a table. The current one has a plastic base that weighs almost nothing.

Enjoy,

Jim

JoeAirPort

My Feedback: (41)

You're right, when you're all done it should stay no matter where you stop it but I believe you have to balance the tips first then the hub. The tips are done with the prop perfecty horizontal. The hub is done with the prop perfectly vertical. At least that's the way I always understood it. If this is wrong I'd like to know the correct way. I prefer to add a gram or so of glue rather than shaving off wood. Also I use little pieces of masking tape to balance it before adding glue. I like to see how far off it is.

What brand prop was that anyway? I bet the hole was not drilled in the center of the hub for it to be off that much.

abacro

Dubro prop balancer and clear laquer spray, just spray the light blade .let dry,check balance. repeat this till both blades are balanced. You should NEVER scrape any wooden prop to balance them.

min

What you mean by balancing the hub?? I've always balanced my "glow engine props" from the tips.

Is Gas engine props any diff.??

If yes, whats the procedure of doing so, couldnt understand how to do it.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays


P.s "Honorary Professor Emeritus of the CutFinger Institute of DirtNap University" <---- LOL

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

As already stated, try to balance the prop horizontally (tips). Then check it vertically andm som off the heavy side of the hub. Glow and gas props both need to be balanced both ways.

Enjoy,

Jim

PlaneInsane

My Feedback: (5)

I just drill slightly undersized holes and pound in bb's. For instance the last prop I balanced took 4 bb's to balance the hub. Using masking tape you can find out how many bb's it'll take before you drill and then you can lay them out nice and neat beforehand. Oh yeah, drop in some CA before you pound in the bb's.

Personally I always balance the hub first. Once the prop hangs dead-on vertical I then proceed spraying on Defthane Clearwood Finish Gloss Lacquer on the light blade till perfect balance is achieved.

For that custom look I prime with white paint and color the tips, put on custom vinyl graphics and then use Nason Clearcoat to seal and balance. Props look better than Bielas and cost a whole lot less. I put my balance rod on, spray, check for balance, spray, recheck until balanced. This is all done AFTER hub balancing.

pizza

My Feedback: (24)

from what I understand if a prop will stay horizontal and you flip it over and it stays horizontal tips are balanced then you move it to a more verticle position and it moves from this point on its own hub is out of balance. now with the prob facing you on balancer if you move the left ear up slightly and it keeps moving up untill close to verticle the top of hub is heavy. if you move left ear up slightly and it moves down back to horizontal then bottom of hub is heavy? prop is not perfectly balanced untill you can release it at any angle and it will stay and not move from that angle when you bump it slightly in any dirrection it should slowly come to a stop and not move backwards from that point and come to rest at a different angle. I have a 27X10 wooden prop after many hours of fine tunning It is perfectly balanced but when I turn it over on my balancer where I am now looking at the backside of prop on the bench it is way off - what would be causing this?

a friend of mine from snap on tools tells me that if a props hub has a heavy spot (10 grams) for example you should take away 5 grams of weight from two equally spaced points apart from this heavy spot rather than to take away 10 grams from that point - can anyone explain this? he claims it is more efficient but cannot explain why.

pizza

My Feedback: (24)

you guys miss the point, it is not which prop balancer is better - they are all good - just get the one your local hobby shop has in stock, the problem is they don't come with a step by step prop balancing protocal. just how to attach and remove a prop - maybe they cannot recommend wood removal - liability could be too high?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

All prop balancers are not created equal. The top Flight Balancer is the best one for your 6-3 prop. For the props we are talking about , you need something with a little more capacity.

The tool man is talking about the way car tires are balanced. They are often done this way. This would bebecause one weight you have is too small and the next is too big or one is not enough and two's too many. You just spread them out on the wheel and you can get very accurate with your balance job.

Enjoy,

Jim