Rudder brake pedals and Plastic block

I'm trying to mount the rudder and brake pedals (WD 655L and WD655R) in the hard plastic blocks(F6116) The pre drilled holes are really tight. Does a person use a hammer to tap them in or should I sand down the WD 655L & R so that the fit just slides together. Also if I tap it together will it become loser with time.
Thanks
Russel Koch
RV9A QB fuselage

Hi Russel...

....we just went throught the same thing on our -7 yesterday. If the tubes are rust-free, the fit is still snug but you'd be surprised at how little foot pressure it takes since you've got quite a bit of leverage. Yep, they're snug and sometimes it takes some tapping.

Regards,

Make sure they are not powder coated there

The ends of the weldment going into the block should not be powder coated. This has been a problem in the past. If they are, simply mask off and remove the powder coating with paint remover. This will give you the clearance you need.

rkochcyxh said:

I'm trying to mount the rudder and brake pedals (WD 655L and WD655R) in the hard plastic blocks(F6116) The pre drilled holes are really tight. Does a person use a hammer to tap them in or should I sand down the WD 655L & R so that the fit just slides together. Also if I tap it together will it become loser with time.
Thanks
Russel Koch
RV9A QB fuselage

Click to expand...

On my 7 they were tight but I could drive them on by hand, oh and the holes are not normal to the surface so it went a lot smoother after I got em aligned.

Yep make sure you take Sully's advice as these are angled to match the shape of the fuse.

Make sure there are no burrs/rough edges on the tubes.

One thing I did was found a socket that was just too large to go into the hole. I heated the block up with a heat gun and inserted the socket. Once the block cooled, I pulled the socket and the brake tubes slid right in and work nice. Don't overdo it with this method as you don't want sloppy holes either.

Good luck.

These blocks are near impossible to put on the rudder pedal tubes with just your bare hands. So I remembered how my Dad would used his rubber hammer to gently put kitchen cabinet parts together with his rubber hammer. Here I put the first Bearing Block on the floor and positioned the rudder pedal tubes over the holes. Then I gently tapped the end of the tubes into the block.



Same thing here. I flipped the rudder pedal tubes over and gently tapped the other block on to the other end of the tubes.



Here my log entry:
http://www.smittysrv.com/more_stuff.asp?ID=586

or the other approch

I like to polish the ends of the steel tubing until they slip into the plastic block. I like reduced friction.

Check dimension first!

Hello

Check first that there is no burr on the plastic and on the steel tube. mesure the dimension of the tube on up to 4 positions, you will find the tube is NOT round. This due to the welding process. I just remove a bit material with a fine file and cloth on the "high" spots, untill the tubes rotate more freely in the plastic, but dont overdoo it!

Also you should NOT use mineral oil as lubricant on plastic, but sorry, I cant remember the right stuff, silicon based or syntetic ... not sure.

regards, Dominik