First Compression Struts

Spent the afternoon fabricating and tack-welding the first four compression struts.

These are pretty simple parts, but they are the first metal parts I have fabricated in a long time.  I have been kind of reluctant to work on these.  They are not difficult, but my confidence in my abilities has been a bit low.  But these look great.

There are a total of 12 compression struts.  The remaining eight are of a somewhat different configuration.  Some of them are built from 5/8" tube instead of the 3/4".  The ends, which are Piper Cub parts and not easy to fabricate are sized for the 3/4".  I am thinking of fabricating short 3/4" transition pieces.  So far my attempts in that direction have not been particularly re-assuring.

Standard procedures requires a bird-beak transition in the larger tubing.  So far I haven't been very successful in figuring out how to cut the bird-beak. 

It will come.