Brake/Rudder pedals - part 1

The original pedals (4.0 hrs)

Some time ago my friend Walter gave me a few parts from his leftover bin, and one of them was an original left brake/rudder pedal. This unit is over 30 years old, and the guys who made it are no longer in business.

Original Brock's pedal

Owning just one pedal is pretty useless, but making a matching unit would be a good beginner welding project.

Lucky for me, I had the same size material in my 4130 steel tube collection (frequently drawn upon in the past for welding practice), so I cut a few pieces at a mostly 45˚ angle and went to work.

My inability to cut a 45˚ angle correctly caused me to have to weld across small gaps

More across-the-gap welds

Right pedal minus the tabs

The tabs were made from a 0.050” thick 4130 steel sheet.

Tabs pattern drawn on the steel

Cutting the tabs

Rudder cable tab tacked in place. Short end hammered down to follow the contour of the tube.

Rudder cable tab welded (note the awesome welds on the original).

Checking symmetry

Locating the outer hinge tab (top of the picture)

Outer hinge tab welded

Outer hinge tab opposite view

Inner hinge tab completed

Pedals completed, and positioned as they should go in the plane (down is forward).

Although these pedal are 100% ready to go to work, I had already decided to come up with my own design.

Here's an unfinished rendering of what I have in mind.

Brake/rudder pedal design

UPDATE

The pedals were donated to CSA (Central States Association) to be raffled at Rough River 2014, and were won by another Long EZ builder :-)