Hi Greg, Was wondering if you have referenced homebuilthelp.com videos for your build. Enjoy watching your videos, I am building a Cruzer 750 and though I would in a heartbeat love to scratch build to save money not having any of the metal working machine tools or knowledge of them would kill me mentally (Delays and Setbacks). I would love to learn, but watching you does let me experience the steps, so THANK YOU.
Robert Engel I purchased the Scratch-Building Basics DVD a long time ago, but haven't purchased any additional videos. I do follow their RU-vid channel and am considering some additional videos for plumbing and wiring. I also follow the EAA Hints for Homebuilders videos, and I went to Zenith's rudder workshop several years ago when I was going to build the 601XL. I've learned a ton from all those sources. You can do a surprising amount of Scratch-Building on a Zenith without a huge tooling investment. You can also purchase some parts and scratchbuild others. I love the flexibility that building a Zenith offers. Thanks for watching!
Hey Greg, I emailed you last week with some questions, but figured I would just post here so that anyone can see... Just curious what method you used to flange your lightening holes, and also how you track/log your build hours.
Hi Troy, I used carbon steel flanging dies in a 20-ton press or a 1-ton arbor press to flange the holes (I have a video on flanging that I still need to edit). I wasn't happy with other methods that I tried. Luckily, a local machinist (who is building a701) already had 3 of the 4 dies that I borrowed, and I commissioned him to make the 4th die (51mm). However, You can easily make them out of other materials, especially if you have a lathe. You can also use a "Bob" stick, and Aircraft Spruce has a couple different hole flanging tools. Here's a link to my actual build log, which you can copy and customize for your own use if you like: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GSlR8soMAsv6pG1RcUfN2VXNXkyktCUYm-Yuoa3OCIk/edit?usp=sharing
