{"id":6111,"date":"2023-04-07T19:29:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T18:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rv-7.dk\/?p=6111"},"modified":"2023-04-12T20:26:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:26:35","slug":"propeller-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rv-7.dk\/?p=6111","title":{"rendered":"Propeller assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have spend the last couple of weeks working on my propeller.
\nI primed the hub with epoxy primer, then gave it a matt silver topcoat.
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Before painting the blades, I checked the balancing.
\nFor that I used a piece of tube that with some layers of masking tape, fit into the blade butts.
\nIn the center of the tube, I drilled a small hole, so the tube could hang by a string of safetywire.
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The blades were perfectly in balance.
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I then primed the blades with epoxy, then painted them with a special propeller topcoat.
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Finally I added white stripes to the forward sides, according to the instructions in the McCauley Standard Practices Manual.
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Finally I could begin putting it back together.
\nI had previosly bought new hardware, like all the bolts, pins, bearings and seals.<\/p>\n

First I installed the new attach bolts and nuts.
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With those installed, I could fit the hub to the hub holding tool.
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To install the outer bearing races, I put them in the freezer overnight, then heated the hub to 100 \u00b0c in the oven just prior to installation.
\nThat made the bearing races drop right in place, without the use of press tools.
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The bearings use 32 steel balls and separators each. A small amount of AeroShell Grease 5 is used to lubricate the bearings.
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The inner and out bearing races a matched sets. I made sure that the serial numbers matched…
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Like the manual recommends, I used popsicle stick and rubberbands to hold the bearings in place.
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A set of blade collars is used to attach the blade to the inner bearing races. These are also matched sets.
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Here the first blade is in position, with the collars in place. On the outside, shims and a locking ring hold the blade in position.
\nThe blade needs to be shimmed just enough to rotate freely, without having play.
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To firmly hold the blades in their outboard positions, I made this wedge block set according to the manual.
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The wedge set is placed between the blades and presses the blades outboard. It is required to properly shim the blades.
\nI was able to shim blade #1, but I need a slightly thinner shim for blade #2.
\nI have ordered a shim, once that arrives I should be able to final assemble the prop within a few hours.
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