Welding MLG

[Ed T]

Thought I'd share some recent experience building the gear legs for my bolt. Actually rebuilding because the originals were the short gear. Gear was tacked in a fixture that exactly matches the fittings on the fuselage. After tacking everything together I removed the alignment tube that was telescoped through the axles. I also followed the builder's manual suggestion to allow extra room for welding in the area of the axle clusters except that I added about another 1/2 inch clearance. The photo included in the manual seems to have more room than the dimensions given in the manual.I expected the welding heat would cause some distortion, but I did not know how much. Here's the result so others will know what to expect. The tubes were TIG welded. The outboard end of each axle moved downward about 1/4 inch, butdid not move fore or aft a measurable amount. The distance side-to-side from the outboard ends of the axles decreased by about 3/16 inch. Not sure if things will change againwhen I weld on the reinforcement straps, but I'll save that for a later update.Worst case, I've got some positive camber, and that may be a good thing as long as the toe stays at zero.










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