Parts Cox TD-4

getback wrote:  Good Luck with the JB on the glasses I have tried that and not to good . I am surprised you found a adjustable engine mount for the TD  What kind of wing you going to build Plank or airfoil ?

So far, JB is doing his job. A little twisted perhaps but useable.

I might build both, Mark has sent me drawings and there is his instructional post. No way will I be able to approach his quality. Those parts should be here today. Curious, he had four sets for sale, I paid for one but tracking shows two different shipments heading my way.

I’m glad you’re leaving the faded blue on the fuse Bob, Would be my choice too…. It’s obviously been fueled and ran a lot, Probably flown a lot too…. Has earned its patina…. Nothing wrong with a mix of old an new parts, Adds character IMO….. You’ve got others that are all shine

I’m the same way as your readers repair example, Use it up, Keep fixing it, Wear it out til there’s nothing left….

It's a beginning.







Alcohol not really working on the brown stuff I will have to use Berryman's which will probably ruin the "Pilots." I think I can capture them from Marks thread and make replacements.

After the holidays....

I gave the engine and airframe a Berrymans cleaning. It removed the castor/grime acclumation but also sucked all the oil out of the plastic leaving it white. Some Howard Feed-N-Wax and fine steel wool removed most of it.









As expected, Berrymans removed the pilots. I wll have to do something about that. roddies rubber bands hold the horizontal stab on, part of the muffler/'63 Ford model that he sent me.

I'm not happy with it. Might paint it after all. I have yet to build Mark's wing and bottom wing attachment.

Nothing special just a real nice example of an early engine.

rsv1cox wrote:I gave the engine and airframe a Berrymans cleaning.  It removed the castor/grime acclumation but also sucked all the oil out of the plastic leaving it white.  Some Howard Feed-N-Wax and fine steel wool removed most of it. [...] As expected, Berrymans removed the pilots.  I wll have to do something about that.  roddies rubber bands hold the horizontal stab on, part of the muffler/'63 Ford model that he sent me. I'm not happy with it.  Might paint it after all.  I have yet to build Mark's wing and bottom wing attachment. Nothing special just a real nice example of an early engine.  

Bob, that earlier Babe Bee is a remarkable engine in its own right, a powerful sport .049 of its time, definitely out-performing other .049's of the day. An early 1970's BB powered my C/L Sterling Beginner Fokker E-III Eindecker more than adequately and super reliable start after start, just like my early Pee Wee's of the day on my single channel R/C aircraft. That's what makes these BB's (and Pee Wee's) very special.

And regarding your removal of the patina, the fuselage really cleaned up nicely. Regarding painting, I remember @Mark Boesen painting some of his roughest shape RTF's to restore a resemblance to what they were when new.

I for one think along your lines. Rather than a historic preservation in-use example, I preference a restored look.

Some 30 years ago on a planet far away:

Anyway, your clean-up looks good so far.

Berryman’s cleaned it up nice Bob, But I get it if it needs to return back to bright factory blue with a paint job…. Some models wear a patina better than others…. Very nice early Bee as was mentioned …. I’ve got a PeeWee that was gifted to me by a friend that has that same clear finish on the back plate …. That engine has the best compression of all my .020’s by the way….Lower photo references back plate finish in lower left corner…

I just used a little fine steel wool on the case and fuel tank, brought it back to new factory. I toyed with the idea of painting the backplate Krylon gold as I have done before. Lubed it with MMO and rubbed with a microfiber cloth.



I was hoping for something different, a W element or at least a crimpted (very rare) intake screen. I did save all the original gaskets and the reed. Very little to no fuel residue in the tank. PO must have ran it dry. It has that new engine pop.

I have to go to the local Hobby Lobby (a fifty mile round trip) and get some balsa for the wing(s). 1/16" X 6 or 8 ought to do it.

Berrymans to the rescue , and you have a hobby shop WOW to say the least . That makes it nice to go get in person what you want , Good start

getback wrote:Berrymans to the rescue , and you have a hobby shop WOW to say the least . That makes it nice to go get in person what you want , Good start

Yes, cheaper in store.  HL on-line is $8.59 per 6X36" sheet.  $5.99 in-store and you get to pick out your own quality balsa.  Still more expensive than I remember.  $18 buys me maybe two wings for the TD-4.  Also got my MECOA order, NVA for the Atwoods and Some Cox parts.

I get my balsa at Hobby Lobby as well…. Overall not bad IMO…. Most of the balsa in the store I visit is medium/OK and the other 25% is junk…. When I was still working I traveled a bit and would stop at the HL’s in the towns I went thru…. Sometimes I’d get lucky and they would have some pieces every bit as good in quality and weight as the “contest balsa” I used to order from Sig in the past…. Only complaint with HL is they let their stock run really low before re-stocking…. Or maybe it’s just harder to get(?)…..Not too much matter to me… I built up a good supply to keep me busy for a long while…. Only buy now if I see something special….

rdw777 wrote:I get my balsa at Hobby Lobby as well…. Overall not bad IMO…. Most of the balsa in the store I visit is medium/OK and the other 25% is junk…. When I was still working I traveled a bit and would stop at the HL’s in the towns I went thru…. Sometimes I’d get lucky and they would have some pieces every bit as good in quality and weight as the “contest balsa” I used to order from Sig in the past…. Only complaint with HL is they let their stock run really low before re-stocking…. Or maybe it’s just harder to get(?)…..Not too much matter to me… I built up a good supply to keep me busy for a long while…. Only buy now if I see something special….

I bet that you save your cut-offs too Robert.  It's sawdust before I toss them.  Many times I find near the exact size that I need among mine.  

I bet that you save your cut-offs too Robert.  It's sawdust before I toss them.

LOL!… You bet, Very same for me…. Along with scraps of music wire, fuel tube etc….
Have you noticed HL’s label on their balsa “Paul K. Guillow”? I guess they process the wood for HL….A little trivia on our balsa wood;…. Balsa is the Spanish word for raft (example; life raft) ….So a literal translation could be raft wood

It would be interesting to have a model airplane "build-off"-contest using only scraps from previously-built kits.

That could be fun Roddie, I’m sure we could all come up with a little chuck glider or something from scraps  

Awhile back I posted this picture of a spare parts balsa airplane that I intend to build as a test bed for "rebuilt" engines.  Something sturdy but expendable.



But something always seems to get in the way.

Portrait of an used up tired old man.  My "real" job that consumes most of my day.




Bramble bushes, stickers that puncture the skin and are a real risk to eyes.  My son and I always wear safety glasses, but they fog up to the point where you just can't see.



So he bought each of us a set of these.  Mesh screens that do not fog but still protect.  Ears help drown out the chainsaw noise.



What's the price of an eye!  Ask my friend and neighbor who lost one.  He's in that skid steer doing the job that my little John Deere tractor can't.  He get's along fine but has no depth perception.  Retired Army Sergeant Major.  

Cleaning out brush and tree limbs aint no joke for sure , your friend has the stuff with the grabbers on the front , I got a few boxes of extra balsa parts and pieces around some upstairs in on RC boxes .. Oh I was going to say Thanks for the offer on the wood But pretty good drive for a load LOL . Sons been working on ours pretty steady since I got the Stihl 290 top end replaced to a 390 , good power , But it loves some fuel ! Those Forest helmet's are nice and safety is a number 1 rule .

Thanks Eric, I love those Stihls.  Mine just never say die.

I got the front end parts for the TD-4.  Factory wrapped many years ago.  "Produced by an exclusive process."  I love that.  




If I don't use them on the existing model they will come in handy for the balsa build.  Saves me from building in balsa/Luan those complicated pieces.  I will have to add a trailing edge to the wing, if the seam shows I might transform it in to false flaps.



TD-1, TD-3, and TD-4.  TD-2 must have died on the drawing board.

Tagging on to “work” side of your thread Bob… I’ve been remodeling an old house lately…. Changed out one of the interior doors and harvested the nice Luan skins off the old one that was coming apart….3 ply - About 1/16” thick…. Not the paper thin lamented to cardboard like on the doors that are sold today…. Will be good for random things in the shop….

For years I rode my motorcycles with full face helmets. I had some very nice Bell M-2's and Bell Star's when Bell used to provide top notch helmets. In the winter, if you weren't moving, you had to control your breathing at a red light as to not fog up your faceshield. I would also flip the shield up a bit prior to stopping but this wouldn't always work. The cycle shop used to sell anti-fog in a bottle similar to a white out bottle. It wasn't applied with a spray nozzle, you poured it on and rolled it around and it would essentially evaporate in a minute or two, no wiping was required but I did it to spread it evenly. I see products all over the internet for this particular problem. The product I used to use was so good that I had no need to even consider using anything else. Of course now, I can't even locate it. I thought I had a small empty bottle left but I can't find it.

I wore one like this.  Vintage, back in the 80's.  



Necessary with my rompen stompen Honda S-90 that could reach all of 72 mph which I regularly pushed to the limit.  Had it when we lived within a couple of miles of Virginia Beach.  I rode it almost every morning to the Naval base at Oceana.  

My son sent me these pictures of a TD-4.  Colorful with a formed plastic wing I would guess.  Somehow I have to reproduce it.  I might have to make a buck out of a soft pine 2X4.  A lot of work.  

I found the juice from a potato kept my visor clear. I would cut a potato and rub it on the inside of my visor. People laughed at me but I didnt care as it worked.

Used fullface bellstar helmets for some years before switching to Arai full face helmets. Still got my last skid lid I raced in. Very different to the helmets of today. lol.

45 years ago, I wore a white 3/4 Bell helmet like Bob's but used a cheaper snap on flat wrap around clear visor (no chin protection), because as a college student it was affordable, provided head and eye protection while riding my 1979 Honda CB100 in Honolulu traffic.

I don't do racing, but have now full face helmets with the flip up chin cover, as well as full face bought on sales. I recall that something like over 35% of accidents involve the chin. The full face helps to prevent broken and scraped chins, and the flip up has the advantage of the chinless helmets. I can flip up the chin and drink, eat without removing the helmet.

Helmet with face shield comes in handy especially during wet weather riding. About 8 years ago, it was a wet year here in New Mexico. I remember riding back from Ruidoso, a 4 hour trip to Clovis. It rained every day during the motorcycle rally. I had good textile overpants and jacket, which were waterproof, too. Riding back on my 2001 Kawasaki ZG1200B15 Voyager XII tourer, with heated grips turned on, windshield deflecting most of the rain, rode back comfortably in the cold Fall rain, maintaining highway speeds.

I passed riders returning from the rally on their Harleys, with passenger. I could tell they had a hard, wet ride, soaked to the bone, traveling about 10 MPH slower than I. Leather chaps may help prevent knee scrape injury in a fall (but no butt protection), however they do little to deflect water, ditto with some "cool" looking leather jackets. My Joe Rocket gear kept me dry during those 4 hours.

Some use a beanie helmet, and although there are models DOT approved, they still provide less protection and as such I never bought any.

A friend in Pampa, Texas (60 miles northeast of Amarillo), Mel was one of those diehard motorcyclists that did not wear a helmet. However, since he retired, I noticed that now he uses a helmet. I guess he finally realized he needed a brain bucket.

rdw777 wrote:Tagging on to “work” side of your thread Bob… I’ve been remodeling an old house lately…. Changed out one of the interior doors and harvested the nice Luan skins off the old one that was coming apart….3 ply - About 1/16” thick…. Not the paper thin lamented to cardboard like on the doors that are sold today…. Will be good for random things in the shop….

]

Daughter bought a new TV console and was going to throw away the old one.  Not so fast.  I disassembled it on the spot and brought it home.  Lot's of uses.  Part of it volunteered to be the mounts for my Cox Ryan ST's.  Didn't even have to paint them.  



Old story, but I still enjoy telling it.

Looks like a case of modeler’s eye….We tend to see and look for things that could be useful to the things we enjoy….. Sometimes old furniture that is discarded can yield some nice hardwoods too….