The UHMW guide blocks for the elevator control rod will squeak at the two extremes of the motion. The hole in the blocks are a straight bore. The control rod moves up and down slightly with the mounting pivot arm. Dan’s solution is to bevelthe bore slightly to allow the change in height of the control rod. The rod is still supported and no squeaking due to interference.
Welding Control Rods Bolt End Style
Dan has some experience with ox-acetylene welding. He purchased a new small tip. We had purchased a bunch of left over drops of 4130 tubing from Wicks to practice on. I cannot find this item on their website right now. Dan tells me that the thicker tubing is easier to weld. The thin wall sizes are tricky since you can melt a hole in the tube if not paying attention.
One end of some of the control rods have a Grade 8 bolt welded into the tube. The tube is cut so tabs can rest on the hex head faces.
Control Rods Welding
We purchased the 4130 rods from Wicks Aircraft. Dan is good at Oxy-Acetylene welding. Here are some images of welding the ends of a couple control rods.
