Shop Talk

Miscellaneous ideas.

Brake caliper without safety wire.

You're not alone if you've been flummoxed or frustrated when trying to decode technical drawings or blueprints. They seem to use a language all their own, one that many of us are not privy to. Fear not. Author Bob Fritz will give you the tools you need to visualize the item being described, and hell make such documents intelligible to the uninitiated.

For some builders, the prospect of flaring hard-line tubing is daunting. Ishmael Fuentes demystifies the process, and shows you how to get good results every time.

Many factors go into designing and building good engine mounts, including consideration of the engines thrust line and gyroscopic precession effects. They deserve our respect.

Maintenance matters.

With a panel full of glass and diodes turned into all the colors of the rainbow, the poor old VHF com sitting over in...

Gauge blocks are the foundation for pretty much everything. At least everything that has to do with precision measuring and manufacturing. I use parallels,...

In my April 2021 column, I described making custom rivet nuts to replace self-tapping screws for the wing root fairings on my Jabiru. While...

Nearly every kit aircraft will require a large, flat worktable for some part of its construction. Large and flat are the important qualities that...