[Geno Mancini]

I didn't like the mushy feeling when torquing the 5 bolts to 14 ftlbs.
So I milled off a 1/16" on the top wood filler blocks.
And milled off 1/4" on the bottom wood filler blocks.
And replaced them with 1/16" steel and 1/4" aluminum plates.
Now the bolts torque up nice and solid and the steel straps don't dig into the wood filler blocks.
Also the blade straps are straight and not wavy, because the bolts, when torqued, warp the straps.
Put a straight edge on length ways, on top of your straps, you'll see what I'm talking about. See less

[Orv Neisingh]

Great idea Geno.

[Homer Bell]

It’s over kill and not needed. These bolts are in shear and should only be torqued to 14 ft pounds . The hardwood used can dry out over long periods of time in dry climates. If you keep looking for things to change, You’ll never fly the machine.
Some people don’t like the end bolt causing the strap to have nothing holding that corner down. So they drill another hole and put a bolt there making six bolts holding down the straps. This is a definite No NO. Now you have 2 holes straight across the spar creating a weak point.
The important points on the straps is , are they straight across the aligner blocks out to the end of straps where the main bolt is. They should not be tight on the thrust blocks, or be excessively loose. If you measure the thickness of the thrust block you’ll notice they are less than 2.250”. This allows for easy installation of the blades over the blocks.
Back in the early days we had to build up the root end of the blades. Glue on the doublers and the wood blocks, then mill the blocks down to the 2.250 plus or minus .010”
In the 80’s I built up many sets of blades for people and I always stayed on the high side of that dimension. Why, because the wood blocks always compress slightly when everything is tightened down. This hurts nothing.
Most builders don’t have a mill to do this kind of critical work. Don’t pay someone lots of dollars to do work that isn’t needed.

---

When building up your blades, never paint the straps or wood blocks with a slick hard paint where the two parts are together and then assemble. Straps and blocks should be roughed up and then glue should be applied on final assembly to this area.
Under no circumstance let any glue remain on the root end of the blade. This can cause problems when trying to install blades on the machine later. Common complaint is I ca get the main bolt in or the blades won’t feather.
Also be sure to remove any wood or glass that may hang over the end of the metal spar before you even start, you’ll thank me later.
I’ll stick my head out and bet I’ve built up more sets of blades than anyone since these came out in 1983. Even built up a few sets of the old symmetrical blades as well.
Built up about 6 sets of all metal Helicycle blades, too.
For the record, BJ said the fiberglass on the RW blades were doing nothing, needed to be metal.