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Cutting up and go doors

Fans and Thermals.
Elliot Howells
Posts: 333
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 08:18
Location: West Wales
Contact:

Cutting up and go doors

Post by Elliot Howells »

Folk, what’s best practise for hacking a door out of a beautiful moulded fuz?

I’m thinking new Stanley blade and a metal straight edge?

Ell :)
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Jolly Roger
Posts: 573
Joined: 30 May 2015, 20:35
Location: Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Jolly Roger »

Bet you're nervous as Ell! ;)

My first step would be to parcel tape over the whole area and lay up a few layers of 300gsm cloth as a female mold. This way if anything goes wrong you can always make replacement doors. And of course, once you've take this step the door-cutting will go like a dream (as in, it never rains when you take a brolly).

I've never cut up-and-go doors but for uc doors I use multiple strokes of an X-acto razor saw drawn along a metal edge taped securely to the fus, with 1mm pilot holes in corners. The blade cut is about 1mm wide, but you need this clearance for hinging anyway.

Hope it goes well. What's the model?
Elliot Howells
Posts: 333
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 08:18
Location: West Wales
Contact:

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Elliot Howells »

Hey Rog,

thanks for that, I don't currently own an Xacto saw, not a sharp one anyway! I'll have to try and order one.

I'll definitely take a mold, there's not much to be lost there.

The model is a 1:3 Valenta Inteco 213, I've had her for yonks been meaning to get her on the table, then a bargain Up and go EDF came up which has forced my hand - no thermal machine but definitely something to show off with :)

I'll take a few piccies as I go.

Ell :)
Jolly Roger
Posts: 573
Joined: 30 May 2015, 20:35
Location: Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Jolly Roger »

Gorgeous model Ell... although as you know, it can bite if the speed drops. Good luck with the conversion. It will go like a train with the weight of batteries etc in it.
Elliot Howells
Posts: 333
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 08:18
Location: West Wales
Contact:

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Elliot Howells »

I'm hoping it won't be too heavy Rog, my ASH conversion ended up the same weight, replacing lead with batteries, and with the Capacitors on board, I'll be able to shift the batteries right up front...

I made a mould of the door area, it worked out really well and have nearly cut the whole door out, think I'll have it one piece and mounted to the top of the fan housing... The moulded part will make a perfect ledge for it to sit against.

Piccies tomorrow.

Ell.
Last edited by Elliot Howells on 09 Jun 2020, 08:58, edited 1 time in total.
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Antonia
Posts: 139
Joined: 17 Mar 2015, 22:30
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Antonia »

Hi Elliot, I’ll be be back later with the how I do it, got to go to work now, stand by one!..
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Antonia
Posts: 139
Joined: 17 Mar 2015, 22:30
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Antonia »

First off I reinforce the doors and a good amount around the proposed hole before cutting. Clean back any roughness along the seam on the inside, then abrade the internal surface to provide a key, laminate in 2 layers of 200g/Mtr at 45-45 bias.

I use the Schambeck method. Mark out as you done, then tape on a steel rule, ensure that the edge of the rule is 90 degrees to the vertical centre line of the fuselage, pack out as required, if the fuselage is highly waisted a flat rule will produce a curve that could prevent the power unit going through the hole. I then use a No. 26 scalpel blade, I blunt the cutting edge and apply a few layers of masking tape over the blunted edge to be sure. Draw down blade inverted i.e. scalpel upside down, from the intersection of the fore or aft edge of the door to about the middle of the door, and repeat from the opposite edge for all straight cuts. I'll come to radius corners later, but if you have a radiused corner you need to come from the centre of the radius where it intersects the door lines. You score through with multiple strokes, this is similar to using a skin knife when making patching holes in metal skinned airframes, don't rush, lots of progressive cuts on the cut edge, you will go through and it may take a number blades as well.
Up-n-Go straight cut.jpg
Up-n-Go straight cut.jpg (13.6 KiB) Viewed 6767 times

To cut a radiused corner find a washer with the correct inside diameter for the radius you require, tape down and score through as per the straight lines with multiple score cuts.
Up-n-Go radius cut.jpg
Up-n-Go radius cut.jpg (12.72 KiB) Viewed 6767 times

Photos taken from the Schambeck installation manual.

Sometimes once you have scored deeply, you could use a new razor saw blade to cut through any undulations in the thickness of the composite, the razor saw blade is the same thickness of the No. 26 blade. Once the doors are free lightly sand the edges and hinge by your chosen method.

Below are a couple of images of my latest small scale DG 1001M with the Up-n-Go doors cut as described above.

DG 1001M Up-n-Go doors closed.jpg
DG 1001M Up-n-Go doors open.jpg
DG 1001M Up-n-Go doors open front angle.jpg


Hope this helps, happy cutting ;)
Elliot Howells
Posts: 333
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 08:18
Location: West Wales
Contact:

Re: Cutting up and go doors

Post by Elliot Howells »

Thanks Antonia,

that's fascinating, so you just use a blunt blade? I must confess to being a little confused by your description, which I have no doubt is my fault not yours.

I spent quite some time scoring the outline of my door and seemed to be getting nowhere. I used a razor saw to make the cross fuz cuts for and aft and even that was incredibly difficult as the fuz closed on the blade, much like ripping timber length wise can do. In the end I got my dewalt oscillating saw out (butchery I know!) and this went through very easily and leaves a neat straight line, the cut being only fractionally wider than the razor saw.

I'l grab my phone from the car and post the pics.

Thanks again for your time and trouble :)

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