Cutting out landing brackets

[airman]

Do you cut out the 4130 landing gear brackets and wing fittings by hand or have a machine shop do it? If anyone has had a machine shop do it how much was the cost?

[Tom H]

I made all my fittings/parts by hand.  Seems that it is more common lately to hear of someone drawing a part in CAD, then sending it out to be laser cut.  Many of the parts can be made by hand using tools in the shop.  Hack saw, drills, files, grinder.  Sometimes use the lathe.  Old school.

[Steve]

I made all my fittings/parts by hand.  Seems that it is more common lately to hear of someone drawing a part in CAD, then sending it out to be laser cut.  Many of the parts can be made by hand using tools in the shop.  Hack saw, drills, files, grinder.  Sometimes use the lathe.  Old school.

My fittings were sent out to be sheared and I liked starting the hand forming from that point - it went fast...

[Hugh Sistrunk]

I never thought of sending parts out to be machined - guess that would have been quicker... I found a grinder, small cut-off saw, Drill and metal band saw pretty much did everything I needed for the build.  It was the only way I could figure out how to build more 'character' into the  XL build and it worked  :-)
Happy building no matter which direction you decide to go.

HughS.
NightEagle
BlackHutOps
XL-A30

[scottiniowa]

I made all my fittings/parts by hand.  Seems that it is more common lately to hear of someone drawing a part in CAD, then sending it out to be laser cut.  Many of the parts can be made by hand using tools in the shop.  Hack saw, drills, files, grinder.  Sometimes use the lathe.  Old school.

To follow up Tom's good answer and perhaps give a perspective from the other side of the fence.

• If you send out your work to a laser shop, and are just not exactly sure what dimensions you want cut-someone is going to pay for the time in deciding what they are.
• If you spend the time in detailing all the part dimensions, someone still has to create the files that the machines use, again, not the shop
• often time spent in doing the above two items, you can have what you need made by yourself with your own tools/time.

That being said:

• if two or three go together, often parts can be made very cost effective manner for several, i.e. it cost about the same to make 8, as it does 16 or 32 and so on. So your cost per part, greatly falls
• Knowing exactly what you want done, and having exactly the dimensions in hand is a HUGE + for the  shop owner.
• Never say, "just make them" because in the end, you will also say, "that is not what I wanted" or " I didn't think they would cost that" 

A busy shop is generally busy because they are good. And they are good because their customers know what they want and how to order the parts and come back for more.

Most shops like mine, have simple price quote formulas, but they are never used unless all known parameters are presented, until then, the part cost will always be quoted "safely high" to ensure no loss or at least to cover expected development time.

cheers

[CHARLES DEBOER]

I made my fittings with hand tools to the drawing.  BUT, these fittings are installed onto the fuse at station #2 & #3 and if you make gorilla welds like me they will not fit without a lot of tweeking to get them to align properly.  I had to make paper cut outs for each location on the fuse and transfer them to the fittings.

[airman]

Thank you for the replies. I will fab them myself.

[joecnc2006]

I will be cutting mine out this weekend on the CNC Machine.
Here's a link to the ones I will cut and in Solidworks they seem to fit much better allowing room for the cross members.
http://www.eaglersnest.com/forum/index.php/topic,1054.msg5633.html#msg5633

[hawkaleuge]

I cut mine out on a wood bandsaw - burned a few blades because the blade goes to fast for steel.  If I did it again I would buy a Harbor "Fright" cut off saw the small one that stands vertical like a bandsaw. I  bought one years later after building my LE and now wonder how I got along without it.

Ed L.

[okdonn]

Ed, is this the saw you have? 
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

[Bob S.]

I cut mine using a Jig Saw with a metal cutting blade then used a grinding stone & right-angle hand grinder to finish corners, etc.

[hawkaleuge]

Ed, is this the saw you have? 
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

That's it I waited till it went on a coupon sale - Northern tool has the same one might check them for coupons or sales.
Ed L

[Steve]

Ed, is this the saw you have?
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

That's it I waited till it went on a coupon sale - Northern tool has the same one might check them for coupons or sales.
Ed L

Read this tool review - guy lives near Leonard:
>
By Dragonheart
from Katy, TX
About Me Professional
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Chicago Electric Power Tools Professional Series 5 in. 7.5 Amp Heavy Duty Double Cut Saw:
I purchased this double saw from HF for $49, to use for cutting metal. First those that say the saw burns up on the first use, it very well may, if you don't first break the saw in. To break the saw in I put Hi Temp Lithium Grease with Teflon between the blades then ran the saw for about 10 minutes with NO Load.

I also found that the main problem with this saw is it does not have a base plate so cutting a straight line for any distance is not going to happen unless you have a hand far better than mine. To remedy this problem, I constructed a custom stainless metal base plate to fit the saw; being able to TIG weld was definitely an asset. Then I attached my baseplate to a "Kreg Rip-Cut" adjustable saw guide, which allows me to make accurate straight cuts up to 24" wide. I have now used this saw to make numerous cuts on metal, completely using up a 4'X8' sheet of 16 gauge steel. I have also cut many feet of 1/8" aluminum plate and 18 gauge stainless sheet. So far the saw is still going strong and the blades still zip through 16 gauge steel like butter. I understand these saws will cut through much heavier steel, but for those purposes I just use my chop saw, torch or plasma cutter. I purchased this saw because I wanted a quick and easy way to make straight cuts through sheet and for that it works great. The two counter rotating blades must be lubricated using included lubricating sticks, which look like some type of polymer. With this blade design there is no kick back. When making long cuts the blades get hot so if you don't keep them properly lubricated I am sure you will end up ruining the blades and probably the saw. For my use the saw has already paid for itself and if it does fail one day I will buy another.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
<

Link to HF catalog ad: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-75-amp-heavy-duty-double-cut-saw-68316.html

[XL-C-100]

For me it was a $30 angle grinder with a cut off wheel and then a grinding wheel to smooth them out. Nothing fancy but it worked great for just making a few pieces, in my mind it's the cheapest way to cut metal for a small scale project.

[914pete]

Ed, is this the saw you have?
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

That's it I waited till it went on a coupon sale - Northern tool has the same one might check them for coupons or sales.
Ed L

I've had this saw in my shop at work for roughly 10 years.  Only gets used a few times a month but has held up very well through multiple business moves as well as sitting in 2' of water for two weeks after Hurricane Irene.  The stand is a little flimsy and it takes a bit of adjusting to get it cutting square but the motor has held up very well.  It even has a flat removable plate so you can stand it up and cut small pieces of steel vertically.