Texas 3D

My Feedback: (16)

Let's hear some of your techniques on how to install pinned hinges ? I am curious if somebody else has had a hard time doing this, and maybe can give us a good tip !
Do you just glue them in there, or do you install the pins also ?

AndyF

My Feedback: (2)

Back about 1974 when we used the hinges with the metal pins between the halfs, we used to glue them with epoxy shove a couple of straight pins through each half with a pair of pliers and then cut them off with a pair of side cutters, of course back then we called them dikes.

Then I got out of the hobby for while and when I came back they had things like CA glue and hinges.

I haven't pinned one since.

Andy

trailingedge

My Feedback: (1)

I like to drill a small hole and shove a tooth pick and a little epoxy through the hinge. The extra insurance gives me a warm fuzzy when I max the throws. Some people don't and that's fine too. Whatever works....


Just my $.0000000002

Gbee

I glue them in with 5 min. or 15 min. epoxy. Prior to glueing, I rough-up the nylon with coarse sanpaper, then I fold the hinge closed, and dip just the hinge in heated vaseline (keeps the epoxy out of the hinge joint). I do not use pins or toothpicks to secure them. I've never had one come unglued in 20+ kits I've built. On some of my crashed planes, I purposely yanked as hard as I could to remove an elevator or aileron. The structure/wood rips and comes with the hinge. Never just the hinge. I gotta say, I used CA hinges for the 1st time on a H9 UStick 60 and I love 'em. 100 flights or so, and the CA hinges are fine. I didn't pin them either.

MrScott

Like Robart hinges? Those are easy. The key is perfect alignment of the hinge points.

Step 1: Drill the holes in the LE of the control surface, and lightly tack the hinges in with CA.

2. With a scrap piece of balsa that is 1/2" X 1" X the length of the control surface, mark the approximate location of the hinges along one side and drill a quarter inch hole. (Like you were going to hing your contorl surface to the scrap)

3. Lightly CA the other end of the hinges to the balsa scrap. Move the control surface so as to work the hinges. The ones that are not lined up perfectly will break loose. Reposition them as necessary, reglue and try again until the surface moves freely. It will take a few tries, the trick is to use less glue on the stick than on the control surface so you dont have to pull the thing apart every time.

4. When perfect, glue the hinges to the scrap balsa so as to be able to break the hinges out of the control surface and leave your perfectly aligned hinges on the scrap balsa. Pull the control surface off the hinges. Clean up the portion of the hinge that goes into the control surface, LUBE the hinge point (so your epoxie glue doesn't stick there) and epoxie the hinges into the control surface.

If you recesses the hinge point into the control surface, you can get almost gapless, with a huge amount of throw... here some pics for proof:






Have a nice day,
Scott

gfinan

I use a GP hinge slotter with a homemade table. Just lay your control surface on the table and push into the blade. Then you have a perfectly centered slot. Make sure you use the blades for pinned hinges. Greg

gfinan

Here is an example of the finished product...you can't get throws like this with CA hinges. Greg

ptarp

You sold, me. I had that model (SE Extra?). And with the stock CA hinges, I wasn't able to get nearly that throw without the CA hinges outer side starting to stretch, causing binding. What brand do you use? Great Planes, Du Bro?

MrScott

Robart #307 hing points, are what is on the red, white and blue plane above:

http://robart.com/pages/control.html#hinge

gfinan

Yes your right, it is a Somethin' Extra. I used Great Planes hinges on it, but DuBro would work just as well. They are more work than CA hinges but I prefer the smoothness of the pin type hinges and they don't bind at extreme throws like the CA type. On my scale models I use Robart hinge points with equally good results. Good luck.