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Cox Engine of The Month
Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
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Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
I have been getting a few engines from my teenage years in the '70s running, and one issue I have been running into is missing prop retention hardware and drivers. Another issue is that a few were stored with nylon props, which now have bent blades due to sitting at odd angles in a box for decades. The wooden props got broken rather than bent.
When you see aircraft engines displayed, either full-scale or model engines, they are frequently shown with a stubby prop often referred to as a "club" ...a full size prop is expensive, bulky and distracts from the engine. Yet when I see the glamour engine pictures on this forum, they are usually propless. Often such display props are made to provide enough airflow to cool the engine for demonstration runs. (like this, for example) Lacking a throttle to limit RPM, and needing the flywheel, that is probably not a good idea for our little engines, but I still think airplane engines look more business like with a prop on them. A display club is sort of like when stores display clothes on one of those white or clear mannequins with no head or arms...it sort of says "person (or prop) goes here" and leaves your mind to complete the picture.
If you trim down a ruined prop to leave an inch or so of blade on each end, they will still clear the shelf if the engine is on a display stand, and doesn't take much room in a storage box. Just the hub is enough to keep the spinner/prop screw/nut/prop-driver from getting lost, and show spinners etc. in correct location, but leaving a little blade gives leverage for tightening and loosening the hardware. Most of us have an unfortunately large number of ruined propellers so the cost is only a few minutes with a razor saw and a sanding block to round things nicely.
If you are just a collector, not a pilot (I won't tell) you can probably find more than a few broken props in the trashcan at your local RC field. Most won't be 1/2 A sized, but for this purpose it matters little. Even electric props can serve as a fine display and hardware keeper.
If you sell an engine, a stub prop keeps the hardware from getting lost or bent in shipping.
When you see aircraft engines displayed, either full-scale or model engines, they are frequently shown with a stubby prop often referred to as a "club" ...a full size prop is expensive, bulky and distracts from the engine. Yet when I see the glamour engine pictures on this forum, they are usually propless. Often such display props are made to provide enough airflow to cool the engine for demonstration runs. (like this, for example) Lacking a throttle to limit RPM, and needing the flywheel, that is probably not a good idea for our little engines, but I still think airplane engines look more business like with a prop on them. A display club is sort of like when stores display clothes on one of those white or clear mannequins with no head or arms...it sort of says "person (or prop) goes here" and leaves your mind to complete the picture.
If you trim down a ruined prop to leave an inch or so of blade on each end, they will still clear the shelf if the engine is on a display stand, and doesn't take much room in a storage box. Just the hub is enough to keep the spinner/prop screw/nut/prop-driver from getting lost, and show spinners etc. in correct location, but leaving a little blade gives leverage for tightening and loosening the hardware. Most of us have an unfortunately large number of ruined propellers so the cost is only a few minutes with a razor saw and a sanding block to round things nicely.
If you are just a collector, not a pilot (I won't tell) you can probably find more than a few broken props in the trashcan at your local RC field. Most won't be 1/2 A sized, but for this purpose it matters little. Even electric props can serve as a fine display and hardware keeper.
If you sell an engine, a stub prop keeps the hardware from getting lost or bent in shipping.
kevbo- Silver Member
- Posts : 91
Join date : 2013-03-05
Re: Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
The club is a nice touch, but the problem is if you have fifty or hundred and fifty, trying to get matching 'clubs' is pretty hard. Nylon spacers work nicely and they're plentiful...and cheep.
Re: Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
Mark Boesen wrote:The club is a nice touch, but the problem is if you have fifty or hundred and fifty, trying to get matching 'clubs' is pretty hard. Nylon spacers work nicely and they're plentiful...and cheep.
Mark, Where do you get these Nylon Spacers. I see them in pictures all the time, but I have never seen one in person. I think it is a nice touch, and looks really good. Thanks, Andy
anm2- Gold Member
- Posts : 293
Join date : 2013-03-30
Re: Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
A quick google search answered my question. Thanks. Andy
anm2- Gold Member
- Posts : 293
Join date : 2013-03-30
Re: Use your damaged props to make storage/display clubs
I like the look of a "club" or Nylon spacer. I'm a "newbie" to this method of engine display/storage since joining CEF. Another CHEAP way to make clubs for say; a Cox .049 engine.. would be to buy a 7/16" dia. hardwood dowel, and cut pieces to length using a razor-saw/miter-box. Drilling a center-hole is easy.. if you have access to a drill-press. Clamp a pc. of suitable flat wood (1" x 2" x 8" for example) to your drill-press table and bore a 7/16" pilot-hole.. about 5/16" deep.. enough to hold your club-blanks. Insert your blanks in the pilot-hole and switch to a 1/8" drill bit. Keep the clubs from "spinning-out" in the fixture by applying downward pressure with an awl or small slotted screwdriver to the top of the club while drilling. You can leave the club "natural".. stain it, clear-coat it, paint it, "tool" it, wood-burn it... or whatever you choose for a custom look.
Re:use youre damaged props to make storage/display clubs
I like the club idea. Finding the right prop for a certain engine could be viewed as just another aspect of collecting. There isn't anything about collecting that's cheap or quick anyway!
Exsanitary- Moderate Poster
- Posts : 28
Join date : 2012-02-06
Location : Palominas, Arizona
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