prop balancing

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I keep seeing videos on balancing props and they say to sand the back of the heavier prop, that seems like your going to effect the profile of the blade. shouldn't you take some off the end (tip)?
 
scole said:
I keep seeing videos on balancing props and they say to sand the back of the heavier prop, that seems like your going to effect the profile of the blade. shouldn't you take some off the end (tip)?

I'd say the exact opposite is true...removing material from the tip of the blade would have an effect on the performance of the blade more so than if you took some off the back of the thicker part.

Either way, tape is the easier option that I use more often now. Just put a small piece or two on the back of the lighter blade, and then move it/them towards or away from the hub to dial in the balance just right.
 
OI Photography said:
scole said:
I keep seeing videos on balancing props and they say to sand the back of the heavier prop, that seems like your going to effect the profile of the blade. shouldn't you take some off the end (tip)?

I'd say the exact opposite is true...removing material from the tip of the blade would have an effect on the performance of the blade more so than if you took some off the back of the thicker part.

Either way, tape is the easier option that I use more often now. Just put a small piece or two on the back of the lighter blade, and then move it/them towards or away from the hub to dial in the balance just right.
I sand the bottom of the blade. I'd put the tape there too if I used tape.
 
ElGuano said:
OI Photography said:
scole said:
I keep seeing videos on balancing props and they say to sand the back of the heavier prop, that seems like your going to effect the profile of the blade. shouldn't you take some off the end (tip)?

I'd say the exact opposite is true...removing material from the tip of the blade would have an effect on the performance of the blade more so than if you took some off the back of the thicker part.

Either way, tape is the easier option that I use more often now. Just put a small piece or two on the back of the lighter blade, and then move it/them towards or away from the hub to dial in the balance just right.
I sand the bottom of the blade. I'd put the tape there too if I used tape.

How 'bout them apples. I always thought that's where any changes to the blade profile would have the most impact (on the "push" side). :eek:
 
I put as piece of clear tape on the back side of the heavy end. I purposely put too much on, trying to get the most tape towards the center. Then I check it again and if it is now heavy on the taped end I take an Xacto blade and trim off small increments of tape until I get it exact. I save some of the pieces I cut in case I go to far on the trimming. If I cut too much I just add back a small piece of what I cut off about the middle of what is left. I have over 100 planes in my "hanger" and I have balanced a lot of props and I can get a prop balanced in about 3 minutes at the most. For what it is worth I think the magnetic prop balancers are the most accurate because they have nearly "0" friction. Having said that the Dubro is a really good balancer too.
 
OI Photography said:
How 'bout them apples. I always thought that's where any changes to the blade profile would have the most impact (on the "push" side). :eek:

I'm probably wrong about that, I haven't put much thought into which side is better. But my assumption was it would be easier to increase the turbulence on the low pressure face....I'm sure this is a mech-e 101 final exam question with a definitive answer.

I also figure tape strips affect aerodynamics more than sanding, I sand the entire face so it's taking off an extremely thin layer of clear coat and carbon fiber.
 
ElGuano said:
OI Photography said:
How 'bout them apples. I always thought that's where any changes to the blade profile would have the most impact (on the "push" side). :eek:

I'm probably wrong about that, I haven't put much thought into which side is better. But my assumption was it would be easier to increase the turbulence on the low pressure face....I'm sure this is a mech-e 101 final exam question with a definitive answer.

I also figure tape strips affect aerodynamics more than sanding, I sand the entire face so it's taking off an extremely thin layer of clear coat and carbon fiber.

Gotcha. I used to sand, and when I did that's how I did it...but I tried tape once and the net result seemed to be the same, so Easier:1/Better:0
 
OI Photography said:
ElGuano said:
OI Photography said:
How 'bout them apples. I always thought that's where any changes to the blade profile would have the most impact (on the "push" side). :eek:

I'm probably wrong about that, I haven't put much thought into which side is better. But my assumption was it would be easier to increase the turbulence on the low pressure face....I'm sure this is a mech-e 101 final exam question with a definitive answer.

I also figure tape strips affect aerodynamics more than sanding, I sand the entire face so it's taking off an extremely thin layer of clear coat and carbon fiber.

Gotcha. I used to sand, and when I did that's how I did it...but I tried tape once and the net result seemed to be the same, so Easier:1/Better:0
I'm going to try out the iPhone vibration app method to balance motors and props next time. Tape is the only way to go for that method.
 
I sand them. It is such a small amount you barely even see dust. We're talking micro particles. No issues. I used to tape till I noticed some came off on my 525 quad one time. Been sanding ever since.
 
LuvMyTJ said:
I sand them. It is such a small amount you barely even see dust. We're talking micro particles. No issues. I used to tape till I noticed some came off on my 525 quad one time. Been sanding ever since.

That would be my concern with the tape method.
 
Problem I am having is centering the cone in the keyed side of the prop.
Do you just eyeball it? Or is there a better way to center it?
 
Cone pointed in at the collared end (assuming that is round) and cone pointed out (flat edge against hub) on the wider keyed end. If the uncollared end is the unkeyed side, reverse of what I said.
 
ElGuano said:
Cone pointed in at the collared end (assuming that is round) and cone pointed out (flat edge against hub) on the wider keyed end. If the uncollared end is the unkeyed side, reverse of what I said.
Oh jeez....Yeah....that make perfect sense. **** i'm special sometimes...
 

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