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Author Topic: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.  (Read 1168 times)

Offline Dennis Toth

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Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« on: June 17, 2021, 09:04:28 AM »
Just wondering if anyone has some photos and description of the process/equipment used for cutting model wood props? I know the basics of how one could hand carve a prop but would like to know how they are done commercially.

Best,    DennisT

Offline katana

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2021, 09:14:09 AM »
I'd suggest for one off's or limited production runs, a 4 axis CNC Mill could carve the majority with a CNC sander used to finesse the final profile. If a bigger production run is required then I'd guess a pattern duplicating machine would be faster?

Offline Paul Wescott

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2021, 10:27:55 AM »
I’d be interested too.  Without investing several $K in CNC equipment.

A template to cut out the profile wouldn’t be too hard.  Then I figure it would take a custom router bit for the front surface, another one for the rear or just a flat cutter, and a complicated fixture to rotate the prop to give pitch, following some kind of template of course, as the router cuts along the blade length.  If we got really fancy we could shape both blades at the same time.

Then a curved sanding drum to replace the router bit and do most of the sanding?

I wonder if this theoretical would require a custom curve for every size of prop, or if one longer “French” curve could cut different size front surfaces at different locations on the cutting edge.

Fun to think about.  Probably frustrating to actually try it.

Did anyone buy the Zinger tools when they closed up shop?

Paul

Online Dick Byron

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2021, 10:35:02 AM »
I stopped by the REV UP plant in Manhattan Ks. many years ago. His wife had passed and he told me he had thrown out most of the tooling. This was the most heart breaking news to ever get. He did give me a REV UP hat (RED) I sold it to a gentleman in Japan.     

Offline FLOYD CARTER

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2021, 11:46:45 AM »
Some years ago, I toured the shop of Clarence Bull, who produced Y&O props at his home in Harrisburg, OR.  I took photos and wrote an article published in STUNT NEWS.  Clarence used the same equipment made by JC Yates for the "Yates & Orwick" series of props. 

After sawing the blanks, the props were shaped on a machine having a router mounted on slides, which were angled to cut each side of the wood blank.  Final sanding was done by hand using sanding drums mounted on soft air bags.  As a high school student in the late '40s, I had a job sanding props for Y&O.  The sanding machine was in my garage.  I made enough money to pay for my balsa wood and glue!
89 years, but still going (sort of)
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Offline dale gleason

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2021, 01:57:40 PM »
  I met Clarence at the VSC one year when his frisky little dog jumped into George Aldrich's lap, tipping him backwards only to hit his head on the curb. Clarence was really happy to get his doggy back, George, not so much...but I digress...

Some years later I called Clarence at his home and ordered some BYO props from him for my OTS plane. In the background, I heard the loudest, most awful scream I had ever experienced. He said it was just his propeller machine cutting hard maple.

They are really, really, good props.

dg                       i

Online Jim Hoffman

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2021, 07:21:11 PM »
I saw a prop carving machine work during a tour at Brodaks in 2011.  It was a one-of-a-kind machine the used some features of a tracer lathe. 

There is a massive difference in the process to mass produce wood props vs. small quantity for your personal use.   

Offline David Russum

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2021, 11:50:21 PM »
Skip to about 1:36:30 in this video for a demonstration of Brodak's prop making machine.


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Offline Air Ministry .

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2021, 11:10:14 PM »
 ;)Uncle had a home cobbled commercial ornate chair leg ' repeater ' device similar ( vaugely ) to this video .

A pattern in the center had a scrible that folled it , lifting two arms running sawblade / chain saw blade ' repeaters . v heath Robinson Biike spockets & chains for drive with bird @#$% No8 wire welding .
But his machines out performed expensive commercial ones ( it was said , in the 70s ) unless a baboon was used as an operator , in which case the collapsed .

So three parralel dual spindles - like a wood work late x 3 , Horz. not Vert  . Pattern center . Manual load & disload . One in the video, smaller would be a prop basher outer . Guess its program loaded .

 

Egad , like this.






Offline Paul Smith

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Re: Wood propeller manufacturing photos and description.
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2021, 07:09:16 AM »
I have been told that the Scientific hollow log fuselages were made on a Kellering machine like this.   Reportedly, it was originally built to make wooden gun stocks. 
Paul Smith


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