Landing gear...

I decided to start on the landing gear even though I have some small clean up items to finish i.e. finish some welding here and there etc...

I checked with Aircraft Spruce and Wicks for the 1 1/2" steel axles. These are lengths of 4130 that are threaded on the end. They wanted approx. $40 each for these and I just couldn't bring myself to pay this. I decided to dust off my lathe threading skills and make my own axles. The cost for this is less than $10 for both axles so I figured it was worth the 20 minutes or so it would take to make each of them.

My lathe is an old late 1930's LeBlond with a 13" swing. It does a great job and is easy to thread with. A lathe of some type should be one of your first big tool purchases. With the various Chinese lathes out there, you should be able to find a small used one for a good price. They're almost indispensable.

I don't always have time to start in on a big project such as making the jig for the gear so I try to accomplish smaller task until I can get a few hours to do the bigger stuff. You can always find something that will forward your project even if it's just cutting some plate stock or some small bushings. Anything you can do is something you don't have to do later!

Here I'm cutting the holes for the control column. I did use the mill for this as it's much easier to get the holes exactly where I want them.