Straightening bent gear legs

[Fritz]

Hi All,

I've heard of people straightening bent gear legs on a Sonex/Waiex. Has anyone here done it or have any suggestions on where to find someone who might be able to do it?

I'm really trying to avoid having to drill a new set of gear legs.

Thanks
Fritz

[tx_swordguy]

have absolutely no experience but would think a machine shop would be able to accomplish that for you unless they are severely bent. I would think they could press the majority out and once they got close roll it to find the high spots or dial it in a lathe once it was close. I would not think it needs to be accurate to .0001" because they will flex independently according to load.

[sonex1374]

Several people I know have straightened bent gear legs using a hydraulic press. In one case a 30 ton press was used, in the other a 10-ton was sufficient. In any case, it takes a lot of oomph, but is rather uncomplicated.

Jeff

[peter anson]

Yes, have done it and it's not too hard to do, as long as they are not bent too much. When motorcycle front fork legs were skinny thick walled tubes it was quite common to straighten minor bends using a hydraulic press. These days most bikes use larger diameter thin walled tubes which tend to kink so it's probably not done as much but I would guess that many motorcycle repair shops could do them for you.

Peter

[Mark_Souza]

Just a word of caution. The metal has deformed once, which means it's been weakened. Straightening means deforming it a second time (more weakening). It might work fine for uneventful landings, though surely the number of cycles you can count on the legs has been reduced. How much? You'll never know. And for a hard landing, will it deform next time, or give way?

[Msing48]

Robert Barber said he can straighten them for you. He has done it a couple of times.

[fastj22]

In my off field landing, I bent my Tracy Obrien steel legs slightly. He told me they could be rebent using a hydraulic press without an issue. I used the excuse to buy the 20 Ton press from Harbor Freight. Cut a vee holder out of a 4X4 chunk of scrap lumber. Did it in small increments. I assume you could do the same for the titanium legs, but might need more press.

[Msing48]

Robert Barber said he can straighten them for you. He has done it a couple of times.

[Fritz]

I sent Robert a PM. I'll see what he says.

[Fritz]

Just a quick update: Robert Barber did a fantastic job of straightening out the gear legs. They went back in without a hitch and fortunately they don't appear to be twisted.

Thanks again Robert!
Fritz and the gang at Chapter 555