Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

[btbell]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Clearance, Clarance?

What's the vector Victor

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

What's the vector Victor

OK; now we're beginning to get out of control - must be folks anticipating the weekend - MikeH

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

I always get a kick out of seeing repairs to something like this... 9 times out of 10, it would be less work to just replace the whole tube... like has been said, it will be apparent how the weld is done as you cut the old one out. That weld should be no more intimidating than any other.... and no less or more critical than a weld on a splice.
JH

Tell you what I"m gonna do.
Tonight I'll take a close up pic of the weld I'm talking about, just to make sure we're communicating. Then I"m going to ask you how you'd cut it out, then maybe my concerns will become evident or I"ll sit back and say "oh..." - MikeH

PS - we still have the problem of locating the correct sized tubing.

[Guest]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Tell you what I"m gonna do.
Tonight I'll take a close up pic of the weld I'm talking about, just to make sure we're communicating. Then I"m going to ask you how you'd cut it out, then maybe my concerns will become evident or I"ll sit back and say "oh..." - MikeH

PS - we still have the problem of locating the correct sized tubing.

Consider not cutting out the old one but rather removing the old one by grinding off the welds then peeling off the old splice.

Dave

[NY86]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

What's the vector Victor

OK; now we're beginning to get out of control - must be folks anticipating the weekend - MikeH

Roger...

[btbell]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Roger...

Surely you can't be serious.

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Tell you what I"m gonna do.
Tonight I'll take a close up pic of the weld I'm talking about, just to make sure we're communicating. Then I"m going to ask you how you'd cut it out, then maybe my concerns will become evident or I"ll sit back and say "oh..." - MikeH

PS - we still have the problem of locating the correct sized tubing.

OK - here are some pics of the weld. This is the weld at the non-bolt end of the only piece of streamlined tubing on the landing gear. Do we agree this is the weld we're both talking about? - MikeH

[Guest]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Hi Mike,

I think it is but; if you are just learning to do welding and are finding challenges with the splice on the cabane then that weld is gonna kill you.

Yes people say and are correct it will be prettier to weld a new piece in at that joint but its not for a novice it is more difficult than doing a simple splice.

Welding into corners with gas is harder than a splice in open air.

Also if you are/were not able to remove a splice how will you remove that weld?

Have Forrest, T-craft, Mike R.,... someone with a license... give you a price to do it and send it to them. It will give you less headaches.

No offence intended to anyone, Dave.


P.S. I assumed the original cold weld you showed was yours, if not then much of the above is not relevent.

[Guest]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

I think I solved the problem.
I had another damaged gear with that streamlined strut in good shape for most of it's length. The bushing was for a smaller bolt (around 19/64ths) while the 'ears' on the gear I"m attempting to repair had been enlaraged to 3/8ths. I pushed the small bushing and replaced it with one with a 3/8th ID.
Now all I have to do is cut that tube so it mates with the existing/original strut and apply an external splice. Back to one splice.

Now - Forrest has mentioned replacing the complete strut several times and that's probably the best way to go; however, I have been unable to locate any illustration showing how the weld at the top end goes together. Can't see anything in the Greene CDs. Further, has anyone been successful locating the original size streamlined material? - MikeH

Okay, so here is a stupid question; what are these CD's. Complilations of drawings? If so where do I get some? Dave

[N96337]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Yes Mike, that's the weld...and I do agree with Dave... if you are questioning your ability, by all means get someone else to do it.... someone here on the board, a licensed mechanic, or maybe your buddy from EAA. I'd just rather see a good tube replace that one that's already spliced, than see another splice put in. I've got one sitting right here in the hangar now that has 2 splices on one side, and one on the other.... sure not the way I'd have done it, but it's held up great for more than 20 years, so why mess with it now? Personally, I put more time and energy into a good splice than I do into replacing, so I'd rather go with the replacement, but I've had more than one structural engineer tell me that even a marginal AC43 style repair is much stronger than original.
JH

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

I'm sure glad we came to an agreement on this weld.
On one hand I couldn't see myself welding deep into a trough and on the other, several folks saying it's a simple weld. Now that I don't have to spend the weekend tearing apart an old landing gear just to see how that weld was done, I can work on the splice (external sleeve).

This morning was taken up by driving to where my wings are stored and seeing if the attached hardware on my new spars matched up with the brackets on the wings. It was a nice feeling to watch that piece of spar go up/down when I pulled the cables. I did refrain from making engine noises. MikeH

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Roger , Rodger!!

[Len Petterson]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

If you are unsure of your own welding skill hire a fellow for this one and pay close attention to what he is doing and learn from it.
Good Luck Mike.
Len

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

If you are unsure of your own welding skill hire a fellow for this one and pay close attention to what he is doing and learn from it.
Good Luck Mike.
Len

I think that's the direction I'm headed - MikeH

[mhorowit]

Re: Is there a prohibition on two splices on a landing gear strut?

Welcome back to this thread
I set this repair on the back burner while I worked on other parts of the project and now have an opportunity to continue with the landing gear.
As you can see, there is a bend in that streamlined tube. I know how to straighten tubing along the flat side, but how do I straighten a bend along the other axis? I could build formed blocks and possibly bend it using a big "C" clamp, but anyone know of an easier way?

Since I'm going to splice this piece to another (external sleeve), and considering the stresses on this member, can I correct this bend with an adjustment in the splice, ?- Mike