How is everyone getting the steel tie rods for the under cylinder baffles threaded???
I've got mine cut to length, and was trying to thread the first one today...busted it. The rod twists, work hardens, and SNAP! Yes, I am using lube, and the correct 6-32 thread nut...so now I have to find at least one more piece of rod to replace the one I broke, and now I'm afraid to do the rest!
I did this just a few weeks ago. It was somewhat of a bear, but I didn't have the issues you were when using the die's to thread the rods. What is your technique for using the die? I typically do one clockwise rotation, followed by 1/2 counterclockwise rotation (to clear out the chips of metal), followed by another full clockwise rotation. Basically, you are only taking 1/2 rotation bites out of the material.
Mike Bullock http://www.rvplane.com RV-7 | Superior IO-360 | Whirlwind 200RV Garmin GTN650 | GRT Dual Sport SX EFIS
Status: FLYING!
Yeppers...that's what I'm doing as well. I'm even getting the guys in the shop to scratch their heads on this one. Shouldn't be this tough, so something isn't right...I'm just pissed that I have to get another piece of steel rod to finish now. I suppose I can use something from Ace Hardware's aviation dept. though...
Chad, I busted my first one too and it ruined my expensive dye. I saw another neat solution involving tying the baffle ends with safety wire. Works great!
I ran the tristed safety wire through a section of tubing as seen here...
Safety wire has worked well for me. I used some nylon tubing to keep it from rubbing which seems to be holding up okay. I had the lower cowl off to change oil a couple of weeks ago and everything was okay. We now have 58 hours on N 784TB since its first flight on 5/9/09.
