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Here is a corner not to paint your self into. I didn't quite -- but I was about to. i'm hoping I swerved at the last moment :-)
So I have all the rudder parts basically fabricated. Both hinges - two slip rings and the horn. Before i did this -- I mashed the tip of the post and fish mouthed it for the 5/8 top tube. Now i am ready to slide on the horn, 2 hinges and the bottom stop ring.
But then i got to thinking---- If I slide all those parts on -- then weld on the bottom ring (which is only 1/4 inch wide) --- what if the weld on that ring causes the tube inside it to warp and then the bottom hinge will no longer rotate freely on the tube ? Then I can not slide the loose hardware off the top because of the flattened tube up there. So I think it would be much better to flatten the top of the rudder spar AFTER the bottom stop ring is welded on fully.
Then- if you needed to you could cut the ring and tube off the bottom and make a 2-nd try on the other end of the main tube. ( if it did warp out of round- I don't know how far up the tube to expect the out of round condition to extend.) I may make the stop ring a bit wider to get the weld further from the hinge. Also have to worry about the horn that way too-
I will definitely try to make the weld on the bottom stop ring as tiny as I can get away with - and make it in short segments after about 6 or 8 TINY tacks.
Possibly I could make another mandrel to slip inside the end of the rudder tube to help hold it round-- ( ???)
Tim
So I have all the rudder parts basically fabricated. Both hinges - two slip rings and the horn. Before i did this -- I mashed the tip of the post and fish mouthed it for the 5/8 top tube. Now i am ready to slide on the horn, 2 hinges and the bottom stop ring.
But then i got to thinking---- If I slide all those parts on -- then weld on the bottom ring (which is only 1/4 inch wide) --- what if the weld on that ring causes the tube inside it to warp and then the bottom hinge will no longer rotate freely on the tube ? Then I can not slide the loose hardware off the top because of the flattened tube up there. So I think it would be much better to flatten the top of the rudder spar AFTER the bottom stop ring is welded on fully.
Then- if you needed to you could cut the ring and tube off the bottom and make a 2-nd try on the other end of the main tube. ( if it did warp out of round- I don't know how far up the tube to expect the out of round condition to extend.) I may make the stop ring a bit wider to get the weld further from the hinge. Also have to worry about the horn that way too-
I will definitely try to make the weld on the bottom stop ring as tiny as I can get away with - and make it in short segments after about 6 or 8 TINY tacks.
Possibly I could make another mandrel to slip inside the end of the rudder tube to help hold it round-- ( ???)
Tim