January 2, 2012
       Change...
                         leads to more changes.

Nope... I'll never learn.
The back tube for the landing gear... when I made the cuts, they were angled slightly back. Not a big deal I thought. I thought.

Tonight... ahhhhh, I'm just going to go out to the garage workshop and make sure the plates to box in the back fittings are tight and fit correctly to make the 1 1/8" wide "box." After making spacers and fitting all the pieces up... all I needed to do was take the file to the one plate and both boxes were 1 1/8" wide... perfect, until I looked at how the strap would weld onto it.

With the cut of the tube at a slight back-pointing angle it skewed the entire box, which I didn't think would be an issue until I looked at it tonight and saw that the straps wouldn't align correctly on it... hmmm, thinking about this now. I could... naaaaaa, I shouldn't be thinking those thoughts. Not gonna go there, 'cause that change will then cause another change causing another... and so on and so forth.

I took an angled-measurement and will make a test cut on some scrap tubing tomorrow. If all looks good, I'll cut the two "good" tubes and check the plates for alignment.

Just now, I knew what I had to do.
Wanted to do it...
without having to do it.
Shortcuts are always bad cuts.
Adding to the waste.

I guess I am learning.

by the way... Happy New Year !!

January 4, 2012
       You just need to fall in it...
                         sometimes... it's the only way.

Went out to the garage workshop wodering how I was going to cut, or should I say re-cut, the angle on the back two tubes for the main gear. From my past experiences of re-cutting an existing cut with the 14" chop saw... it tends to veer off the mark. Not gonna happen on these two tubes guarr-un-tee... Options, or, what else can I do to make these cuts ???

Had the angle I needed to cut them at and figured I'd cut a test piece (with the new, improved angle). Got to making the jig and when I laid the marked tube on the jig so that I could mark where the holding blocks were to go... the heavens opened and a choir of angels began to sing... The line that was marked on the tube turned out to be on the top side, facing away from the jig fixture, and when I aligned the marked line with the vertical edge of the jig and flipped it over, it gave me the mirrored mark of what I needed to mark for a complete, perfect, symmetrical line around the entire tube.

Damn !!! sometimes you just fall in it...

Took the tube over to the grinding wheel and within a half hour was looking at a beautifully cut tube... (DAMN nice job, Jer). Kind of did the same thing with the tube for the other side... Had both tubes marked and cut in an hour without any f-bombs being dropped.

It's a beautiful thing when you figure things out, even if at times... it's only when you fall in it !!!

January 6, 2012
       Is the push going to be...
                         more than just going through the motions ??

I got home from work tonight and I just wanted to kick back and relax. Felt the urge to go and work on the biplane, but just didn't really... Sometimes (a lot when you're first starting to get into the build) there's a day or night when you don't want to turn on the light, pick up the tools and start working on the biplane.

It's kinda like a New Year's resolution... promises promises promises... you just need to nudge yourself over that edge just a weeee bit and you're either back on track or working on the biplane again. I've pretty much got my weight under control, so... it's back to work on the biplane.

I'm not calling my commitment to the biplane a "New Year's resolution", ohhhh noooo... it's so much more than that. "New Year's resolutions" are pretty much a joke, aren't they ? yeah yeah yeah... January 1st is a new slate for everyone and the past year is completely wiped clear... you're ready to start anew. Hey, if it works for you... God bless ya. Actually, I think every day is a chance for a new start... but, I won't get a diatribe about that.

What the hell was I talking about again ??? oh yeah... sometimes it's just a small push to get you to work on the biplane and you're thanking yourself every day after that... for putting forth that little bit of extra effort.

Was kinda like that for me tonight. Not that I didn't want to work on the biplane, but, I just thought that kicking back and relaxing on a Friday night might be the way to go... tonight. Ya know, get home around 6:30, feed the pup, do a workout, get a bite to eat and then it's relax or work on the biplane. (this is where the little push comes in)

If I change into my "workshop clothes"... by the time I'm tying on my work boots I'm mentally ready to work on the biplane. by the way... Which leads me to up to the point of all of this (yeah, all that stuff about resolutions and pushing through was just a lead in...). I needed to make the two front sides of the back two box fittings for the main gear. Not a problem, I've done it several times before and it's my second time on this second set of gear. Took the back two sides, made duplicates... all I needed to do was notch the top sides to fit the angled tube leading into the box.

I spent about 3/4 of an hour re-cutting these pieces. Not much time, but the notching to the tube would take quite a bit of time of running up and down the steps fromt he garage work shop to the basement work shop; a lot of fine tuning of the fit. It was pretty late as it was and I didn't want to be working into the weeee hours of the night. I made the decision to stop at that point. Actually, I made the decision to stop when I realized that I would only be "half" there; going through the motions per se. Which kinda negates what I originally started off saying.. about that little push.

If the little push isn't going to put you in the right state of mind, you shouldn't be working on the biplane (unless it's one of those mindless tasks - which there aren't many when you build a biplane).

If you're just going to go through the motions of it... you'll probably be re-doing the exact same thing you were going through the motions on the next time you go to work on the biplane... if ya know what I mean.

January 8, 2012
       What evil lurks...
                         The Shadow knows !!
                         And it ain't gonna kick my ass !

hmmm... the last piece of the puzzle for the landing gear ? Mmmm... not quite... notched and fitted the two remaining pieces for the sides of the box on the back attach points.

Okay, yeah... last piece of the puzzle, but not the last thing that needs to be done before welding it up.

Looking at the gear... I think I need to go back over it with an investigative eye; find some evil that lurks waiting to bite me (again.) A check list is in order... kinda appropos for aviation. We have a check list for everything !

You can't check something too many times, other than, ya gotta get on with the build. I did one helluva lot of checking to make sure things were lined up before I even made the first notch for this set of gear. I've been down this path once before and I don't want to be back here again, at least for this biplane.

Hope to only have one or two more times out in the shop before it's ready for welding. Give it that one last "once" over... and I use quotes on that word once... it may be more than once.

Been seriously thinking of doing all the welding myself again. (thinkin' that the gear will have definitely kicked my ass if I don't weld it up) Making jigs to hold things firmly in place ? I should. Keeping it on the fuselage as long as I can ? I will. Making a reference jig to show where the axles need to be and using it all the while I'm welding these puppies up ? I will. Kinda reminds me of signing up for the Air Force out of high school with all these "I will's" and "I do's." Matter of fact... if I signed up for the military when I started the biplane, in another two years I could retire with 20 years under my belt. (I digress...)

Enough rambling for tonight... tomorrow's another day (sounds like a Bond movie, doesn't it ?)

January 10, 2012
       The Laws of Attraction...
                         finding women ??? or...
                         making the build a little bit easier ??

Funny... today during lunch I was going back through my web "favorites". I just recently got my work computer back from a crash and they were able to recover my favorites today... long explanation as to why I was purusing my favorites. Anyway... I had saved a page titled "The Law of Attaction", and no... it's not about finding a woman.

It basically talks about what you think about, you attract. aka... bring to reality. As Steve Pavlina states: "Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest." Hmmm... it's kinda how I think things work. Thinking, knowing and understanding something are all parts of the ladder to be climbed. You can think it and know it, but if ya don't understand it... it's all just believing. (ya still with me? 'cause I ain't)

If we can begin to understand this "Law of Attraction"... we wouldn't need to make our landing gear a second time 'round, our radial engines wouldn't leak oil and we'd all be getting unlimited gas mileage with our cars... Ahhhh, but where would all the learning be, eh ?

oh yeah... worked on the biplane again tonight. Squared it up with a few little tweaks where it looks like I bumped it a few times. Still doing a few final tweaks to the streamlined tubing (griding it down just a little bit more). Still a little bit more to do.

January 11, 2012
       Watches or biplanes ???...
                         what am I making ???

Gotta make sure that the center of the axle is 2.375" in front of station 5.o and that everything else is squared up.

I'm out there dropping, not f-bombs, but plumb bobs. Taking measurements from the tailpost to the axle. From the axle to the center at station 0.o. Striking lines 2.375" in front of station 5.o and making sure the axles fall on that line.

I've got a pressing rhetorical question (can a rhetorical question be pressing ?? really ??)... am I making a finely crafted watch or a finely crafted biplane ???

My point ('cause I always have one) is how close does one need to be to a measurement ??? I'm within fractions and wondering (not really) if it's close enough. I'm not saying I'm settling for "good enough" 'cause good enough isn't good enough... I'm just stating an obvious. I'm getting my measurement close, real close. But if I'm off just a wee bit I've decided that I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

If I was making a watch in Switzerland (get it... Swiss watch) I'd be getting my measurements dead on for all those cogs and gears... but the wheels and gear on the biplane, in my opinion, arn't as critical. I'd never get it "perfect". And I'm not striving for perfection... I'm striving for excellence. Spent near an hour and a half working toward that excellence tonight and feel pretty good about getting there.

I'll just leave that .005" to the watch makers.

January 12, 2012
       I'm thoroly [sic]...
                         enjoying myself

Being to the point of anal... aka, just this side of perfection, called striving for excellence. A few more drops of the bob. A few more measurements and it appears to be all squared up; all measurements mirror the other... which is a good thing.

Being careful this time. (maybe over careful ???... no such thing) There's a fine line between being over careful and procrastination. I'd like to think I think things through (alliteration - love it) thoroly [sic] (or thoroughly as most would spell it - ya didn't know that they spelled thoroughly as thoroly now, did ya? Spending way too much time on thoroly...).

I'm happy, to say the least. I'm happy with the "squareness" of my fuselage. (listening to The Cranberries right now - great group!) Guess I'm ready to weld it up. Make that... I'm ready to weld it up.

This day was a long way off just not too long ago. (follow that ?) It was taking forever to get here. Not that I wanted to rush it... but the decision to start making a new set, instead of twisting the first ones back into the correct alignment took a looooong time. I think the big thing was to just get over the fact that I twisted the first ones and it was a learning experience. (I didn't want to accept that learning at first... wanted to have things made correctly the first time... wanted to learn "my" mistakes by seeing what others did wrong and avoid what they did. Looks like someone got to learn vicariously through me this time.) We're all teachers... students...

It only took about ten minutes tonight... to confirm a few measurements by dropping the bobs and rolling out the tape measure. I spent another 30 minutes in there thinking of how I wanted to approach the weld this time. I spent that same 30 minutes with a smile on my face looking at the "rail dragster" sitting in front of me.

I'm thoroly [sic] enjoying myself with the build. Just thinking... wished that I had a friend building a plane right next to me in the same hangar... the stories we would have...

January 14, 2012
       The gear is ready...
                                    but, I'm not.

Out to the grarage work shop tonight. Wanted to ramp up for welding the gear; ramp up meaning... practice a little before doing the real stuff.

I was a little rusty with the first few lines... started coming back after that. Yeah... the cliche' "...just like riding a bike" could be inserted here (matter of fact I did.)

Need to order a few of those expensive 7/16" bolts... can't find any at Home Depot or Lowes. What's up with that ? The 7/16" bolts are for holding the bushing for the front attach points. Right now I have my 7/16" reamer holding the one bushing and a sanded down 7/16" piece of 4130 tubing in the other; neither a good idea to have holding the bushing when I tack a few welds.

A few more practice sessions with the welding. Some thicker stuff next time. I've got some REALLY thick tubing for the gear; .o83 and .o95. TO the novice... it ain't thick... to the guy with an O & A system it's mighty thick tubing !

I'm looking forward to welding the gear, flipping the fuselage and making a few airplane noises as I'm pushed around the neighborhood. Just another one of those goals I can check off the list...

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

January 16, 2012
     Great debates...
     Even though it's that time of year... .
     We're not talking about the Iowa Republican Caucus..

I'm out there practing again... practice practice practicing my welding technique (guess you call it technique).

I'm in that gray area of making a decision on this gear; to weld or not to weld... yes, that is the question. Man, I would love to pick up a TIG torch and weld the gear up; not much heat so this beast wouldn't do a Chubby Checker on me... aka "The Twist."

Threw the question out to the guys on the biplane forum about the learning curve going from O/A to TIG. Yeah, there's the learning curve and if I don't borrow one, to learn on and to weld up the gear, it's going to run me a minimum of $1600.00, maybe $2500.00. That's cash I don't want to put out for a TIG unit that I don't know if I'll even be using again.

Okay... so I won't be TIG welding the gear... maybe I'll O/A it again. (yeah, pushing my luck again after the last attempt... actually I pushed my luck doing it the first time.) Okay... next question to the group "So... has anyone jigged the gear on the fuselage to keep it from moving ? And if so... what did you do ?"

Just posted it, so it'll be a few minutes before I get a response. And yeah, these guys are quick to answer.

If I can't jig this from moving on me I'll be farming it out to someone who can TIG it for me. It's not the answer I want to hear, but it just may be the right one.

So... the debate is still up in the air. To weld or not ? I'm sure I'll arrive at a solution before the GOP arrives at a decision.

January 23, 2012
       12 swings and a 285 yard hole in one...
                              for the decision...

I'm learning... continuing to re-learn the art of being patient. Always wanting to move forward, maybe a little too fast; faster than I should.

Watching the end of "Tin Cup" the other night, I confirmed to myself that I'll be welding up the gear myself.

Not sure if you've seen the golf movie with Kevin Costner (one of my favorite actors). Great film... ya should see it. Anyways... he's on the last fairway of the US Open with a long 285 yard shot to clear a water hazzard to land it on the green. He's been here before (they play three rounds on the same course) and every time he tries to make the shot (the same 285 yard shot) instead of taking the easier "lay up" for an easy hit over the hazzard. The first two rounds he'd make the attempt, hit it in the water and take the drop at the hazzard and an easy shot onto the green from the drop.

On the last day he's in contention to win the US Open if he can get it onto the green and make it in with (I think) three more swings of the ball. Roy McAvoy(Costner) decides to try the 285 yard shot with one swing again. Takes the swing and lands the green... only for the ball to be blown into the water by a slight gust of wind. He tries repeatedly to make the shot, either landing in the water or rolling back into the water. With one ball left in his bag (and if he doesn't make it on this 12th shot he'll be disqualified for not having any golf balls to play with) he goes for it again. After an incredibly long period of time (in slow motion) the ball clears the hazzard, lands on the green and slowly rolls into the cup.

That scene got me to thinking that I've got to give it my all and be happy with the results knowing that I've given it my best. And... if I need to remake the gear again (after learning to TIG) it's something that I may just need to do. (another one of those striving for excellence deals?)

A rather long explanation as to why I'll be welding up the gear... again.

okay... with that decision made I now need to make a jig to sight the gear... making sure that it doesn't move, and if it does move it will show me what I need to do to bring it back. Well, it won't show me how to do it, but it will show me where it needs to move back to...

Needed to sit on it for a few days... and this is where the re-learning of being patient comes into play. I've been wanting to get on with the build, or should I say welding up of the gear, but haven't been happy with any of the jigs that I've thought of. The design came to me tonight. Not that it is anything spectacular... just a good, simple solution to making something that will work.

Looks like I need to make a run to the Home Depot in the next day or two to get things moving again on this project.

January 24, 2012
       A few extra 2x4s...
                              isn't always the case.

Seems I always have a pile of 2x4s until when I need a few of them. I always seem to pick up at least one or two extras for the just in case.

Back from work 'round 6:30PM tonight. First thing on my agenda tonight is to find a few of those 2x4s. Looked in all the possible places and... nuthin'. About a half hour later I'm pulling in the drive way with five 2x4x8s; just the right amount.

The weather was beautiful today, and tonight was no different. It was so nice I ran the extention cord outside, marked and cut the pieces I needed for the jig (see previous post for what the jig is for). After cutting the wood up for the jig and a quite a few extra pieces I had one 2x4x8 and one 2x4x6 left. (a change in how I'm building the jig lead to the overage).

I still need to screw these together and mount to the fuselage before I can start welding up the gear. I'll get there eventually...

January 25, 2012
       A little work...
                              and just as much to write.

Just a weeee bit of work on the project tonight.

Didn't even make it out to one of the work shops tonight... instead, I brought the 2x4 pieces into the living room to drill and screwed them together while watching a PBS show on NOVA; "Mystery of a Masterpiece." It'd be more exciting telling you what I learned about in the investigation of a chalk drawing bought for $22,000.00 and the possiblity of it being a da Vinci piece worth over $100 million.

Let's just say, I wish I had bought that piece for $22,000.00. Peter Silverman, the collector who bought it, has already been offered $80 million for it and it isn't 100 percent certain that it is in deed a da Vinci.

by the way... learned that there aren't more than about a dozen paintings around by da Vinci.

January 28, 2012
       A little bit of work...
                              to save a lot a bit of work.

Finishing up the jig today. Add another drill bit to the inventory.

Screwed the jig boxes together today... out in the garage work shop (for some reason it always sounds better than just a garage). Basically these boxes hold up a 2x4x8 stud. On the end of the stud I need to attach the caps with 1.25"OD tubes running through them. I aligned the tubes with the 1.25" axle support tube. Remember this is all for reference when I'm welding up the main gear. Any movement that it makes I'll be able to heat it and bring it back to where it's suppose to be (in theory.)

Oh yeah... the additional drill bit was for drillilng the 1.25" holes in the caps. And it ain't no regular drill bit... it's a forstner drill bit, brutha !

This jig should keep me from making another set of landing gear.

January 29, 2012
       A little more work...

FINISHED the gear jig today. Didn't get the caps on it last night. With some back-and-forth moving of the upper 8' 2x4 I finally got it in the right position and locked it in with two screws.

Looks like I can't push off welding the gear any longer.... UGH !

January 30, 2012
       Yep, took that first second step...

Started welding up the back, right box fitting. I aligned and tacked the sides of it on the fuselage (unlike the first time where I took it off the fuselage and tacked it in a jig.) What a pain in the ass... (aka time consuming). A LOT easier taking it out and tacking in a jig... not sure if is better or worse to do it like I did or like I'm doing (aka is it going to be untwisted this time?). (make any sense?)

All welds are good... one not so pretty looking. But, I'm happy with the work I did tonight. Tomorrow I'll tack and heat, tack and heat, tack and heat the strap that goes on the fitting to make the box. I'll weld it up too.

January 31, 2012
       Step-by-step...
              inch-by-inch...

ahhhh... moving right along ? I'm supposin' things are... things are getting completed.

Heated, tapped, wrapped and tacked the strap... then welded it onto the first box.

The first box attachement bushing something or other has been welded up... FINISHED !!! All I need to do is ream the bushing and re-attach to the fuselage to make sure it hasn't twisted any. Sounds like a good plan; weld something and then check right away to make sure nothing has moved. If I can keep it in check on a step-by-step basis I'll be looking good in the end (fingers crossed.)

More Main Landing Gear Making on the next page...