Steve H -First I mount the prop in the holder, then start with a separate steel jig that aligns the prop to a true 90 Deg to the prop holder. EricV
Eric...Thank you for your detailed response. Any chance you could post a picture of the device that aligns the prop to the 90 deg to the prop holder?
It sounds like you use a heat gun to pitch your props?
First thing I do is number the blades and put chord lines along the "blade" at the stations I'm going to change, using the silver Sharpie. After I'm done and the prop is cool and dry and I am checking the pitch at each station, I write the measured (estimated) pitch adjacent to each chord line.
I have a very advanced technique, using our induction heating electron-burning hot water pot (made in PRC for an outfit in Ontario or Quebec, as I recall). I pour boiling hot water into a 16 oz "pounder" beer glass and drop the one blade in. If the tip hits bottom, ok fine. If not, ok fine. I let it soak for about 60 seconds. I need a timer of some sort...egg timer, maybe, doesn't need to be real accurate, but does need to be quick to set, start & shut off. After a minute, the blade is kinda rubbery and I give it a twist and then lay it into the pitch gauge. While holding it all together, I turn on the cold water in the sink (an extra elbow would be handy) and use it to cool the blade as fast as possible. After a minute or so, it should be set. The reason I like the water method is that it's pretty sure you're not going above 212 degrees.
Like you, I have a model rack that carries the plane(s) flat, with nothing mashing on the prop. It's new, and I should post some pictures, but there are a few details I still need to finish...and a few I'm still pondering. That has to wait until my bum knee gets fixed in a week or two. Meanwhile, I spend my days reading old PAMPA CD's and trying to find something interesting on TV. Bleak. We've got a "Pineapple Express" here right now. Not nice, but not as bad as you guys are having in the SE. It's pretty warm (60F at 5:30 PM), except for the bag of frozen corn on my knee.
Steve