Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

[T-Rex]

I need one jurry strut adjusting screw for t-rex. Durring my strut install I was cleaning and lubeing the adjustor screws and found one to be a drilled bolt with a mounting tab welded on. This only gives me about 3/8in. of thread contact with the barrell. If anybody has one I would be happy to take it off of your hands.

Thanks, Brad

[flyguy]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Brad, since you don't have any replies yet I will make a suggestion. Put this in the main thread. That is where everyone looks even when they don't check any other part of the forum
Also, I have a spare that at first glance looks ok, but has a corrosion problem. I'll try to describe it. The screw and base are ok. The little tabs where the bolt goes thru are the problem. They are rusted to the point where you can see the difference in the thickness. The bad part is not that they are overall THAT thin, but that one of the holes is tapered down by the rust so much that it looks like it is counter-bored. The inside diameter is still maintained, but it is very thin.
I have been trying to figure a way that it could be salvaged, such as brazing, (not brass welding) a reinforcement thin sheet over the tabs and redrilling them. I think it could be done if a person is in a bind.
If you want it I can send it to you as I have enough good ones. If you think you will not really use it, let me keep it, as I would like to try to fix it sometime.
Let me know.
Darryl

[T-Rex]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Darryl,

I've gotten a few replies and thanks for the advse. I'me a little tenative on putting things in the main forum as to not overload it. Is there any way you could attach a picture of the screw. I am wondering if the top of the tab is also severly coroded. Overall it sounds repairable, how mutch $$$ would you want for it. I could trade you a wing strut that puffs brown smoke out of the vent holes when turned end for end

Thanks for the reply,

Brad

[flyguy]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Hey, you HAVE to tell me more about that strut. LOL.
Anyway, I could send you a photo, but it would not help. It just looks like a regular adjust screw with a rusted surface. Doubt if you could see the details.
I can send you it for the postage and a coupla' bucks. Say five would cover my trouble. I am a bit concerned that you may not be able to find a good way to beef it up. It looks like a challenge to me.
I would use pattern files to smooth the inside surface of the two tabs and then acid etch away any remaining rust. Then braze a thin piece of mild steel on the inside surface of each tab. Redrill and shape with files. It will not be easy to make it look good and be solid. The tabs are the only questionable areas, the base and the screw part are solid.
Up to you.
Darryl

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Brazing doublers on the inside sounds like a lot of work for a questionable part (that would get challenged by any inspector who knew what he was looking at). I don't have the drawing here but looks like it is just a piece of thick wall tube with a thread cut on the outside, welded to a piece of sheet steel bent into a low flat bottom "U".
We need to get a drawing posted and just make the darned things. Bet a lot of us would replace them just to be safe if they were available. Nice little bit of easy profit for a Taylorcraft factory.
Too bad we don't have one.
Hank
Set up the owner manufactured part line guys

[Ron Greene]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

All,

The below links will take you to L-2 drawings for the jury strut adjusting screw. Is it the same as a BC-12, I don't know but suspect it is.

Ron Greene

http://taylorcraft.org/l2_blueprints/cd1/images/A-8011.jpg

http://taylorcraft.org/l2_blueprints/cd1/images/A-8051.jpg

[T-Rex]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Ron,
Thanks for the drawing it will be verry helpfull. We've got an enginer puting togther a 180 in our shop who can fab about anything. He's got acces to a waterjet and all kinds of high buck equipment.

Darryl,
I think it sounds like somthing I can work with. I could send you a payment of one rusty left front wing strut off of T-Rex. The strut looked fine in outward appearnce, just a small bit of pitting on the lower foot or so. I poked it hard with an awl in several places and could not penetrate, and even tried the maule tester. After I took it off to replace them with Airframes Inc. struts I shook and rattled it arround and was really surprised at amount of matrial rolling arround in there. I dont know if this is common to have so mutch coroded stuff floating arround in there but I think it's kind of scary. And to think all of thoes rough water landings, sometimes you look out the window and thoes wings are just bouncing away. I'me temted to cut it open to see whats inside. I will PM you with my adress and stuff.

Thanks Guys,
Brad

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Brad,
Instead of cutting it how about doing a pull test first. A test rig would be pretty easy to set up and then we would know how much strength a rusted strut actually has. Once it breaks (if it ever does) you could still get a good look at the interior.
I REALLY want to pull one of those struts from out back at the factory! Funny as H**L to see the FAA guys face when a rusted through strut has enough strength for safe flight in tension.
Hank

By the way, I have designed several test rigs and this one would be a snap.

[T-Rex]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Hank,
A pull test? So this will test the strut in tension? Like maybe a cumallong and a big fencepost LOL. Please explain sounds interesting. I'de like to know what this thing could take. Do you think with float and skiplanes and the jaring involved with landing they are subject to any shear loads also?

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

What is needed is a fixture to take a compression load while the strut is in tension. You could do it with a come-along and a couple of fence posts, but it would be hard to get good data from the test (and dangerous when the strut breaks). Better would be a large "I" beam with a set of lugs on one end to hold the outboard fitting and another at the opposite with an "L" shaped piece pivoted on it. The short leg of the L hooks to the strut with the long end along the "I: beam. Stack weights on a pad on the end of the long end to measure the strength of the strut. The key to a safe test is to design the fixture so when (if) the strut fails the weights only drop a short distance to the beam.
If the struts are pinned properly at the ends there should be no shear loads. That's why you should NEVER clamp down the fasteners and pinch a pivoting joint.
If we want to test struts we should probably find some central locations for test rigs and send every strut we can find that fails the AD. We pull them to failure and have a solid database to prove the residual strength and maybe get the AD lifted for those struts that remain (pull the worst ones first!) or at least get it extended.
If there is real interest the detailed design really isn't that hard and test results should be very repeatable.
Hank

[pete]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Brad,
I've got a few good adjusting screws here. They are off an F19. I can send a pic if you're interested.
Pete

[T-Rex]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Pete,

I am definately interested please send a pic.

Thanks Brad

[colinc]

Re: Jurry strut adjusting screw needed

Just adding the info for the benefit of anyone searching for one in the future: Auster brackets are, perhaps unsuprisingly, identical - we just obtained one here in the UK.

The difficult job was digging the remains of the old one out of the wing, but that's another story.

Colin