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Fuselage Jig and Locator Blocks

June 16, 2023 by Mike Leave a Comment

Today, for a change of scenery so to speak, I picked up some aluminum blocks from the local metal supply store and I want to start fabricating some of the locator blocks that I’m going to need when I build the fuselage jig assembly.

In the plans diagram shown below, you can see that these locator blocks are sort of intricate, but nothing a little hack and slash with some filing can’t take care of. Just to add here on a side note, I absolutely love how the S-51 drawings are all hand drawn by Jim Stewart. These things are a work of art in themselves!

From the drawing above, the items below are 1.00 x 1.00 inch blocks, cut to 4.25 inch length for the # 2 and # 3 blocks.

I figure it’s best to start by drilling the holes in the blocks before I start to file down the surface angle. To help with the layout, I used some blue layout dye.

Next I marked a centerline, and then measured where the 2 holes need to be drilled. The located was then centerpunched.

Here’s my fab-shop setup, as I cut the pieces I purchased into the individual working lengths.

Here are some of the various blocks that I’m working with.

Here is my progress a bit later in the morning. Cutting those solid blocks of aluminum is quite something. These intricate shapes would certainly be easier if I had a milling machine, but I don’t. So I cut them as close as I dare to the lines and then I’ll be spending some time here and there when I feel the urge to do some filing to get these to the final dimensions. But for today, the novelty is starting to wear off.

That’s all for today folks! Please comment. I love to hear from my readers.  Thanks again for coming along for this ride, you make my work worthwhile.

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Profile Photo 1 Hello - My name is Mike and I'm a true believer that if you can imagine something, it's just a matter of bringing it into reality.

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