on the scrounge

[eric]

Hi All;

I'm looking for a piece of aluminum, approx. 4" square and around 1/8" thick, to finish off a motor mount I'm fabricating for a plane. If anyone has an odd piece they don't need kicking around I'll gladly buy it off them. I've looked all over town here and no one sells aluminum in a small size, or any size for that matter.

I was fortunate enough to have an 84" wingspan, Sal Taibi Powerhouse (designed 1939) bestowed upon me. It is LARGE, heavy and the flying weight will be about 7 1/2 pounds. I don't dare trust a wooden plate glued in as the front end is still a wee bit oily from the IC engine its sported for the past few decades, hence the metal motor mount.

Here's a few pictures of the beast, one with my indoor champ on the fuselage for scale. Like I said, she's a large lady.

Thanks!

Eric

[pmackenzie]

I can probably get you a chunk, I will check the scrap bin at work.
FWIW, you can buy small pieces from Metal Supermarket, but probably not 4"x4".
Lots of locations, you could try walking in and asking for some scrap.
http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/

Also Aircraft Spruce sells smaller pieces, 1/8" x 24" x 24"  6061 T6 for ~$35
http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/mepages/alumsheet_6061t6.php

1/8" might be overkill, 3/32 would probably be thick enough. (We would probably only have 1/8" at work)

Pat MacKenzie

[eric]

Thanks for that Pat! I only need that one small piece. I agree 3/32" would be big enough - the x mount that came with the Power 32 was 1/8", so I used that as a figure. I'll check those sites out.

Thanks again.

Eric

[pmackenzie]

We did not have any 1/8 plate at work, other than some soft stuff (1100 or 5000 series).
Lots of that, but it is not really suitable for making mounts.

If you have no luck elsewhere I can add some into my next order.
McMaster sells a 4" x 12" piece for about $5.

Pat

[eric]

Hi Pat;


Thanks for looking for the piece of aluminum for me; I appreciate it. I managed to find a HobbyKing mount that I butchered, adapted and re-painted. It turned out great (see picture).


I also checked out the "Metalsupermarkets" website; that's a great resource and easy enough to drive to when I need some sheets.


Thanks for the help!


Eric