Sanding brackets and drilling holes (8.8 hrs)
I had already roughly cut the landing gear brackets, so today I sanded the big ones smooth, and drilled all the holes required in the plans. I spent some time leveling the bracket in the vise, to make sure the holes would be drilled perpendicularly.
I made all the holes 1/32” (0.794 mm) undersize on purpose, then used the appropriate size reamer to enlarge the holes to the correct diameter specified in the plans. This extra step is probably not necessary, but ensures that the holes are perfectly circular, and precisely dimensioned.
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| About to enlarge gear mount main hole. |
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| Reaming rudder cable pass-through hole. |
After all of the mounting holes were completed, I moved on to the lightening holes. I did not have a 3/4” (19.05 mm) drill bit, but I did have two end mills in that size, one of which suitable for plunge milling.
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| Plunge/side cutting mill (left), and side cutting only mill (right). Note the different head profiles. |
With it in the collet, I started cutting the holes in the first bracket as depicted in the paper template.
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| Removing weight, every ounce counts. |
Before starting on the other bracket I bolted them together loosely, so I could sand them smooth, and to the same shape.
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| Evening things out. |
Instead of relying on the paper template glued onto the second bracket, I aligned the uncut bracket with the previous one using bolts. I used this set up to position the cutting tool, thereby guaranteeing the symmetry of the pattern.
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| Lining up the end mill. |
I am pretty satisfied with the way they turned out, see for yourself below.
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| Finished brackets. |
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| Next to the plans. |
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