2" Spinner for an APC 11" or 12" Two-Blade Prop

[Colin McRae]

I am looking for a 2" spinner (plastic or aluminum) that will fit a 11" or 12" APC 2-blade sport prop. Dubro plastic spinners don't work on my specific model (Vector 40 w/ OS 40LA). Spinner has to have a flush backplate. And I really don't want to file the spinner to fit the prop. May affect rotating balance.

Thoughts welcome.

Thx in advance.

[Dan McEntee]

I am looking for a 2" spinner (plastic or aluminum) that will fit a 11" or 12" APC 2-blade sport prop. Dubro plastic spinners don't work on my specific model (Vector 40 w/ OS 40LA). Spinner has to have a flush backplate. And I really don't want to file the spinner to fit the prop. May affect rotating balance.

Thoughts welcome.

Thx in advance.

     Well as a sign of the times, you are looking for something that you can't get anymore. Most of us used Tru-Turn products (who you could call and tell then what you want and you would get exactly that) but they no longer produce model related products. Great Planes had a line of nice spinners but Tower Hobbies went bankrupt and they are not available any longer. I really liked their adapter hardware. Randy Smith makes spinners but is refquently out of stock on stuff. Brodak makes spinners but no custom order for the slots. There are some off shore companies that make spinners but again, you just get the basic spinner with basic slots. Modifying slots is not difficult and can often be done with a file. The APC props and their hibs makes this skill almost mandatory. I usually leave the front edge alone, and do what I have to do to the rear slope of the slot. When I am satosfied with the first slot, I'll take some card stock and trace the out line onto it, cut it out, and then trace around that on the second side. With some practice it does not take long, and you can check and rebalance the spinner if nexessary on most of teh available prop balancing rigs. The last option is lucking out and finding what you need in a used one on eBay or a model swap meet.
  Type at you later,
    DAn McEntee

[Colin McRae]

Thx Dan. Kinda what I thought.

I do have an old 2" plastic spinner (might be a Veco, not sure) that does have a flush backplate and fits a 11-5 Brodak BY&O wood prop. Hub area on the BY&O smaller than the APC (see pic). Both in the pic are 11-5's. Have no idea if the 12" BY&O has same basic hub area dimensions a the 11". The BY&O props are actually pretty nice in my opinion. So maybe I can try the wood prop on my Vector 40.

[kevin king]

Oh man, I just had the same problem but worse because i had to deal with a 3/4" Shaft extension. Getting the prop tight on the engine so it rotates to level, matching up the 2 holes in the backplate to get the cutouts correct on both blades is a real thrill too! It is easier if you cut out a bit extra on the spinner behind the trailing edge of the prop, and mark the backplate where the TE of the prop is to help position the prop for future reference.

[Dave Rigotti]

https://rcdude.com/products/spinners/gemfan-spinners.html

[Dan McEntee]

https://rcdude.com/products/spinners/gemfan-spinners.html

   I would have questions as to whether these electriic spinners would hold up to a strong .40 much less a .60. The only plastic spinner I can think of that had a flat back plate was the SIG line of spinners. Everything else I can think of in semi-recent production plastic units have some sort of offset in the back. Sometimes ypou can sand some of the offset off until you get down to the retaining nut, then balance becomes a question because with no center hole in the cone you can't balance them. A real conumdrum to add to the growing list of them for model aviation.
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[Dave Rigotti]

These are fine spinners!  Direct copies of the Great Planes ones.  I'd have NO issues with running them as OP mentions.
Dan....Do you have actual experience with the spinners I linked to? (I have, both with electric and glow).

   I would have questions as to whether these electriic spinners would hold up to a strong .40 much less a .60. The only plastic spinner I can think of that had a flat back plate was the SIG line of spinners. Everything else I can think of in semi-recent production plastic units have some sort of offset in the back. Sometimes ypou can sand some of the offset off until you get down to the retaining nut, then balance becomes a question because with no center hole in the cone you can't balance them. A real conumdrum to add to the growing list of them for model aviation.
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[Jim Svitko]

Yes, Dave, those spinners look to be just like the Great Planes spinners.  If they work as well as the Great Planes product, then get 'em while you can.  They will, of course, soon be discontinued, right?

[Dave Rigotti]

Dunno 'bout that......I do KNOW they are great spinners at a great value!  Hold up just fine on my Fox .35 stunt  powered speed plane doing 100MPH at 14,300RPM for example.

Yes, Dave, those spinners look to be just like the Great Planes spinners.  If they work as well as the Great Planes product, then get 'em while you can.  They will, of course, soon be discontinued, right?

[Colin McRae]

https://rcdude.com/products/spinners/gemfan-spinners.html

Dave, do you know if the stock 2" spinner will fit a 11" or 12" APC sport prop?

Thx in advance 

[Dan McEntee]

These are fine spinners!  Direct copies of the Great Planes ones.  I'd have NO issues with running them as OP mentions.
Dan....Do you have actual experience with the spinners I linked to? (I have, both with electric and glow).

       No, I have looked at the Dubro units that are similar, just seems kind of flimsy, and if you need to use a electric starter on occasion, how well to they stand up top that. I have always used the aluminum spinners I mentioned for that reason plus I like the polished look. For a beater model I usually put on whatever will fit. Most plastic spinners will not allow you carve out a space big enough for some APC props. The APC 12.25X3.75 is a tough one to fit on anything other than a SIG sp[inner in my experience. I don't know how much strengtyh you might loose on the epectric spinners if you have to really carve out the slot.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Steve Dwyer]

I have been carving Dubro spinners for years to accept APC props. Recently I tried Randy Smiths Thunder Tiger Cyclone prop and discovered the hub is 1/8" thinner and the blade root is narrower compared to the APC. The Thunder Tiger drops right into a Dubro with the thick backplate and no shaft extension or carving is necessary. This works great with the older short shafted Fox 35s where an added extension adds undesirable force on the front bushing. I have heard there has been some criticism with the Thunder Tiger, but not sure why. I have used 10x5s to 12x4s on OS FP and LAs with no issues.

Steve

[Dave Rigotti]

99.99% sure as I don't have an 11" prop on hand. The 2" blade opening is 20mm wide by 17mm deep.  My APC 8X9 prop has about 2 1/2mm clearance all around the blade.  Works fine with an electric starter too!
Get the $6.99 spinner...you won't be disappointed or need to alter it......

Dave, do you know if the stock 2" spinner will fit a 11" or 12" APC sport prop?

Thx in advance

[Colin McRae]

99.99% sure as I don't have an 11" prop on hand. The 2" blade opening is 20mm wide by 17mm deep.  My APC 8X9 prop has about 2 1/2mm clearance all around the blade.  Get the $6.99 spinner...you won't be disappointed or need to alter it......

Thanks much!

[Jim Svitko]

I tried an 11" APC prop with the 2" Great Planes spinner.  No way that fat prop hub would fit without enlarging the blade notch in the spinner.  If the spinners that Dave recommends are duplicates of the Great Planes spinners, then I would bet you have some cutting to do.

[Dave_Trible]

Maybe try these:

[Dave_Trible]

..

[Dave_Trible]

..

[Colin McRae]

I tried an 11" APC prop with the 2" Great Planes spinner.  No way that fat prop hub would fit without enlarging the blade notch in the spinner.  If the spinners that Dave recommends are duplicates of the Great Planes spinners, then I would bet you have some cutting to do.

Thanks much

[Colin McRae]

99.99% sure as I don't have an 11" prop on hand. The 2" blade opening is 20mm wide by 17mm deep.  My APC 8X9 prop has about 2 1/2mm clearance all around the blade.  Works fine with an electric starter too!
Get the $6.99 spinner...you won't be disappointed or need to alter it......

Dave, the APC 12-4 sport prop I have measures right at 20mm where the prop exits the spinner. So the spinner you mention may work. I will get one and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, I can always use it on another model so no loss. They look line nice spinners and will give me an option over the Dubro spinners I typically use.

Thanks much for the heads up. I did not know of these spinners.

[Colin McRae]

I happened to have an XOAR 12-4 wood prop. The prop hub area measures 19mm. So, the 2" gemfan spinner at 20mm wide will work.

[Steve Helmick]

From my experience (over the last 25 years or so) is that your spinner of choice will fit over about 5% of the props that would actually work decently on your model. I would suggest testing props before you get to the point of selecting and fitting spinners. I'm terrible at it, but some card stock and patiently making templates would pay dividends...or dividents (sic), whichever comes first.

IF you decided on the plastic/aluminum backplate spinners from r/c dude, do yourself a huge favor and replace the "phillips" head (probably really JIS) screws with socket heads...and make some spares, since you'll likely have to shorten them. They should be metric thread. Any good LHS or Ace hardware store should have them.  Steve

[Colin McRae]

From my experience (over the last 25 years or so) is that your spinner of choice will fit over about 5% of the props that would actually work decently on your model. I would suggest testing props before you get to the point of selecting and fitting spinners. I'm terrible at it, but some card stock and patiently making templates would pay dividends...or dividents (sic), whichever comes first.

IF you decided on the plastic/aluminum backplate spinners from r/c dude, do yourself a huge favor and replace the "phillips" head (probably really JIS) screws with socket heads...and make some spares, since you'll likely have to shorten them. They should be metric thread. Any good LHS or Ace hardware store should have them.  Steve

Thx Steve!

[Jim Svitko]

Maybe these spinners are just like the ones Dave referenced:

https://www.nexusmodels.co.uk/aircraft-accessories/plastic-and-metal-accessories-spinners-aluminium/alloy-backplate-spinners-from-irvine-j-perkins.html

[Jim Svitko]

Get a set of the JIS screwdrivers and you will not have to replace screws on spinners or engines.  You might end up using the JIS screwdrivers more than you might imagine.

I have no idea who supplies screws with the JIS head design so if you lose those screws you might have to go with the socket head fastener.   And, remember that JIS and Phillips are not the same.  Close, but not the same.

[Steve Helmick]

The reason for changing to socket head screws is that they stay put on a standard hex (i.e., "Allen") wrench instead of falling off the JIS screwed-driver and getting lost. This is a proven fact!

The Nexus models link is interesting, but since the prices are in pounds sterling, I gotta assume that they're in England. It makes no sense to order Chinese made stuff from England, IMO. The spinners are interesting, but did anybody else notice that they're "simulated" carbon fiber? That raises flags for me, especially since the "more information" button gives virtually no information on anything I looked at (mostly propellers).    Steve

[Colin McRae]

Dunno 'bout that......I do KNOW they are great spinners at a great value!  Hold up just fine on my Fox .35 stunt  powered speed plane doing 100MPH at 14,300RPM for example.

Dave, I received the 2" Gemfan spinner in the mail today. They look great, however, one problem. The plastic reducing adapters that came w/ the spinner don't fit the OS 1/4-28 shaft. ID too small.

You mentioned that you have used these spinners on a Fox 35 which also has a 1/4-28 shaft. What did you use as an adapter for the 1/4-28 shaft?

Thanks in advance.

[Dan McEntee]

Dave, I received the 2" Gemfan spinner in the mail today. They look great, however, one problem. The plastic reducing adapters that came w/ the spinner don't fit the OS 1/4-28 shaft. ID too small.

You mentioned that you have used these spinners on a Fox 35 which also has a 1/4-28 shaft. What did you use as an adapter for the 1/4-28 shaft?

Thanks in advance.

   You need to add a prop reamer to your tool box. Most are usually stepped in the most common shaft sizes, and they come in standard and metric. Don't use drill bits unless you absolutely have to. These shaft adapters and a lot of time plastic prop holes are just a tad under size. It's not a good happen to spin or screw a prop onto a crank shaft. If you are flying with some other people, ask them if they have a standard prop reamer that you can borrow. Sometimes you have to put the shaft adapter in the spinner or prop with just a dab od C/A and when set, ream the hole out and then check the fit.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Colin McRae]

   You need to add a prop reamer to your tool box. Most are usually stepped in the most common shaft sizes, and they come in standard and metric. Don't use drill bits unless you absolutely have to. These shaft adapters and a lot of time plastic prop holes are just a tad under size. It's not a good happen to spin or screw a prop onto a crank shaft. If you are flying with some other people, ask them if they have a standard prop reamer that you can borrow. Sometimes you have to put the shaft adapter in the spinner or prop with just a dab od C/A and when set, ream the hole out and then check the fit.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

Thanks Dan. I do have a prop reamer. Just did not think of that solution. Was too simple !!

[Steve Helmick]

As I recall, there are step reamers available in both metric and English sizes, so look out for what will actually work for your task. That aside, I hate those miserable things. What I remember is that they're soft and not sharp to start with, and get dull very quickly, to the point that they're just terrible. They'd do on wood props, but remember that most plastic props have glass fiber reinforcement, which is very abrasive. And of course, CF props are much more abrasive, dulling cheap prop reamers almost instantly.  Steve

[Colin McRae]

Thx Steve. The prop reamer did the trick. I was able to get a 12-4 XOAR wood prop w/ 2" Gemfan spinner on my Vector 40. Did not have to trim the spinner. I did try an APC 12-4 sport, but it was a very tight fit. I just did not want to trim the spinner. If the model flies fine w/ the wood prop so be it. If not, I can change gears and try the APC w/ trimmed spinner.

[Dan McEntee]

Thx Steve. The prop reamer did the trick. I was able to get a 12-4 XOAR wood prop w/ 2" Gemfan spinner on my Vector 40. Did not have to trim the spinner. I did try an APC 12-4 sport, but it was a very tight fit. I just did not want to trim the spinner. If the model flies fine w/ the wood prop so be it. If not, I can change gears and try the APC w/ trimmed spinner.

    If you decide you want to trim the spinner, start with applying some sticky masking tape to the back of both slots, so you can lay out a line for removing material. I never touch the front of the slot of I don't have to, it's kind of your main reference point top measure from. Mark out how much you want to remove on the back of one slot, and using a file or what ever you are comfortable with, remove material up to your line. Don't try to go too fast if you are using a  power tool, that is how things get away from you. On aluminum I usually just use a file, may work on plastic also. A sharp knife may work on plastic also, just carve it carefully. When satisfied, sand it smooth and lay a small piece of stuff paper along the inside and trace the outline. Cut along the line so you have a template for the line for the other slot. Match up the front of the slot, and trace the outline of the back of the slot onto the tape you put down, then repeat the carving process. Being careful and precise is the key here. I have done serval plastic spinners like this and also use the same method, more or less, on aluminum spinners. The thing with plastic is you can't balance them, at least I don't know of a way to do it. If you are careful with marking the outline, carving the first slot , making the template, then marking and cutting the second slot, you will be pretty darn close, good enough for a sport model. The ones I have done this way don't show any severe tendencies for vibrating, just make sure your prop is balanced well. That will help things. If you get used to this procedure, you will find that if you make a spinner fit an APC prop right off the bat, it will work with just about anything after that.
   Good luck with it,
  Dan McEntee

[Colin McRae]

    If you decide you want to trim the spinner, start with applying some sticky masking tape to the back of both slots, so you can lay out a line for removing material. I never touch the front of the slot of I don't have to, it's kind of your main reference point top measure from. Mark out how much you want to remove on the back of one slot, and using a file or what ever you are comfortable with, remove material up to your line. Don't try to go too fast if you are using a  power tool, that is how things get away from you. On aluminum I usually just use a file, may work on plastic also. A sharp knife may work on plastic also, just carve it carefully. When satisfied, sand it smooth and lay a small piece of stuff paper along the inside and trace the outline. Cut along the line so you have a template for the line for the other slot. Match up the front of the slot, and trace the outline of the back of the slot onto the tape you put down, then repeat the carving process. Being careful and precise is the key here. I have done serval plastic spinners like this and also use the same method, more or less, on aluminum spinners. The thing with plastic is you can't balance them, at least I don't know of a way to do it. If you are careful with marking the outline, carving the first slot , making the template, then marking and cutting the second slot, you will be pretty darn close, good enough for a sport model. The ones I have done this way don't show any severe tendencies for vibrating, just make sure your prop is balanced well. That will help things. If you get used to this procedure, you will find that if you make a spinner fit an APC prop right off the bat, it will work with just about anything after that.
   Good luck with it,
  Dan McEntee

Thanks Dan for the 'how-to'.

[Jim Hoffman]

here is an old article on spinner rework.  Nothing scarry.  Work slowly and methodically

[Dan McEntee]

here is an old article on spinner rework.  Nothing scarry.  Work slowly and methodically

  The hard part might be in finding one of those contour duplicating tools! I  haven't specifically looked at the hardware store, but I wonder if stores still carry those. I never thought about using one this way, but a goo substitute would to just meadure with a small ruler, lay out the cut out on card stock, and see how that fits, adjust as needed. Thanks for posting Jim!!
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee