Mantua, New Jersey
Original Site:
September 2004
E-mail: usav8or@yahoo.com
welding up the...Radial Fuselage.
October 20, 2008 The Spirit
Of Houdini... lives
on
Yesterday I started working my way into the "thick" of it...
some of that heavy tubing. Most of the stuff from now on
is .o49 with a few .o35s sprinkled in to make it interesting.
Tonight, after
I finished up a weld I had started yesterday (I closed
shop to go over Denise's for dinner), I moved my way
up to the wider section, the area where the longerons are
fish-mouthed from 1" x .o49 down to .75" x .o35. Basically
a tube that is .110 thick. The sleeved tubes are
very thick. It's a lot of metal to preheat before running
a puddle.
Thickness of this one area aside, I thought that the wider
section of the fuselage would be easier to weld. Well, I
threw that idea out the window. At least, at the moment...
that isn't the case.
Unless
I'm working at the stations where the seating is, there
are a lot of intercoastals that I need to bend over, arch
under, climb over, step through, and bang into. That jungle
gym of metal I call a fuselage has a lot more cross tubes
than I thought it did. Last night I was trying to set myself
up in a good position to weld a cluster. I felt like a magician
performing the watch-me-fit-myself-into-a-small-cube trick.
The thing was... it wasn't an illusion.
Think before you venture into that spider web of tubing.
Chances are you'll end up needing something once you've
wedged yourself in there that isn't within arms reach to
retrieve. I usually try to stick in my pockets (which
isn't always a smart thing... unless it's your back pockets),
or within reach, the "tools" that I need when welding. Not
a long list, but if you forget one thing, add a few minutes
to your build time. (and believe me... I've added on
quite a few)
I always try to remember:
- a few lengths of welding rod (1/16 and 3/32)
- a file/cleaner for the torch head
- igniter
- my drop light within reaching distance
- goggles and hat on my head
Not a long list. But... if you forget one of the few...
Another
thing... I've mentioned it before. You need to map out how
you'll be welding up the cluster. Come to think of it, you/I
should write it out on a piece of paper; a diagram of sorts.
It's hell when you've finally made your way inside of that
small cube only to find out that it's not the place you
want to be. (that weld line needs to be run the other
way... not the way you've set yourself up to run it.)
All you need to do now is extricate yourself from this chamber.
After you've finally set yourself up where you need to be,
think before plunging head first into welding. Remember
the basics that you learned, oh those many hours just a
few months back. Ya can't just go jumping in there thinking
you're going to run that golden puddle as soon as you put
the torch to it. That chunk of metal just wants to suck
every last drop of heat from the end of that flame. It's
a little bit different than the two small tubes you practiced
on.
You're going to need to play that flame
over the metal surrounding the cluster for quite awhile.
No... more than that. After you think you're there, try
to run that puddle. If it's not forming within a few seconds
go back and heat the surronding area more... maybe you forgot
the underside, or maybe further out on those spidery legs.
Don't rush it. It'll be ready when you get it good and hot.
I'm just about a quater of the way through welding up the
fuselage. A lot of tricks to learn along the way. I just
hope that my last trick in building my 'bolt isn't being
tied up in one of those straightjackets like Houdini.
An interesting thing...
about
Houdini
In 1909, Houdini purchased a Farman-Voisin biplane in Hamburg,
Germany. On a trip to Austrailia he decided to bring it
along so that he could fly it while doing a tour down there.
In doing so, he made the first controlled powered flight
of an airplane in Australia. The place, Digger's Rest in
Victoria, Australia.
A photo of Houdini with his Voisin in Hamburg, Germany,
December 1909.
His flight in Australia. March 18, 1910
Another photo of Houdini's flight in Australia. March 1910