The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hi Mark, I think the heat treat was about $200. Maybe it is cheaper here in AZ. We used .080 2024T0 for both the main fitting and the doublers. We got all of the changes (ED and material thickness) preapproved on a 337 before making the parts. When the parts come back from heat treat you need to massage them back into shape as they tend to twist a little.


Larry

Jim,

Stay with the 2024. Your piece might have been 'old', and therefore age hardened. A true piece of T0 will form to your mold nicely. Maybe next time you'll want to get it very warm, not hot, and work it slow.

Here are some pictures of my tooling. (you should be able to click them to make them bigger)
Jimmy, you'll see a tear in my first attempt as well. I decided that it was a result of the manufacturing technique rather than reaching the metals failure point. I used the pieces of pipe to form the curves on the second attempt with no problems. I also had the channel, block and springs installed while doing the forming.
The AC43.13-1B has the recommended minimum 90 degree bend radius for 2024-T3 .064 at 3t-5t and .128 at 4t-6t. It also says that alclad sheet may be bent at a slightly small radius.
I used the big deadblow mallet to keep the hammering to a minimum and I'm within the minimum bend radius so I don't feel to concerned about the longevity of the parts but as I said, time will tell.















lcranton,

Could I trouble you for the contact info for the heat treat facility and the source of your 2024-0 stock?

Thanks

Mark..........Thanks for posting the pictures,I really appreciate it. I took a few of them over to my woodworker buddy ( fishing partner ) and we'll work at the form this week.Your system looks like it will work better than mine.
Seeing the one of your bird in the air has given me a little burst of energy
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks.......................