Several months back there was an article in Sport Aviation's Experimenters section, that I can't be bothered to dig out of the "Morning ritual graveyard", covering how to make very low cost Cleko caps.
I liked the idea of not spending as much for a rubber cap as the Cleko it was going on, so I decided to give it a try.
First off both the article and video on the EAA's site don't make it clear what exactly you need to order.
If you're starting from scratch, like I was, this is the critical information.
Step one... Order the following.
Go to McMaster-Carr and order..... (price in USD as of 5/17/17)
9753K16 Flexible Vinyl Round Cap 1/2" Inside Height, Fits 5/16"-3/8" OD, Packs of 100 $4.00
19195A22 Awl with Plastic Handle $7.15
2894A64 General Purpose Drill Bit for Wood 7/16" Bit Size, 1/4" Hex, 6" Overall Length $3.17
Step two... The execution!
The idea is that you drill into a block of wood, insert the cap nose down , and use the awl to punch a hole in the tip. Seems simple enough, but it doesn't work well if you do it like that.
I drilled hole in a scrap block of 2X4 at a depth that I thought would work well.
I found that I was having trouble getting the punched hole to be anywhere near centered.
Step three... The modification!
I flipped the caps to a nose up orientation to better control and center the punch hole location.
Step four and beyond...
Remove your freshly punched cap from the jig.
Fit the rubber cap onto the end of your #40 Cleko as best you can. They don't want to go on easy, so I drilled a #40 hole to clamp into in using the clamping compression to set the cap.
Unfortunately soft pine does't take repeated Cleko insertions very well. I ended up grabbing the first part of my Vans practice kit and drilling a hole in the angle to set the caps.
Test fit on a rudder skin. Holds the layers together just fine, but you can feel that it's not as solid a connection as a "naked" Cleko.
End result?!?...
I can now make capped Clekos on demand for $0.04 a pop!
I liked the idea of not spending as much for a rubber cap as the Cleko it was going on, so I decided to give it a try.
First off both the article and video on the EAA's site don't make it clear what exactly you need to order.
If you're starting from scratch, like I was, this is the critical information.
Step one... Order the following.
Go to McMaster-Carr and order..... (price in USD as of 5/17/17)
9753K16 Flexible Vinyl Round Cap 1/2" Inside Height, Fits 5/16"-3/8" OD, Packs of 100 $4.00
19195A22 Awl with Plastic Handle $7.15
2894A64 General Purpose Drill Bit for Wood 7/16" Bit Size, 1/4" Hex, 6" Overall Length $3.17
Step two... The execution!
The idea is that you drill into a block of wood, insert the cap nose down , and use the awl to punch a hole in the tip. Seems simple enough, but it doesn't work well if you do it like that.
I drilled hole in a scrap block of 2X4 at a depth that I thought would work well.
I found that I was having trouble getting the punched hole to be anywhere near centered.
Step three... The modification!
I flipped the caps to a nose up orientation to better control and center the punch hole location.
Step four and beyond...
Remove your freshly punched cap from the jig.
Fit the rubber cap onto the end of your #40 Cleko as best you can. They don't want to go on easy, so I drilled a #40 hole to clamp into in using the clamping compression to set the cap.
Unfortunately soft pine does't take repeated Cleko insertions very well. I ended up grabbing the first part of my Vans practice kit and drilling a hole in the angle to set the caps.
Test fit on a rudder skin. Holds the layers together just fine, but you can feel that it's not as solid a connection as a "naked" Cleko.
End result?!?...
I can now make capped Clekos on demand for $0.04 a pop!
