Corn Cobs

[Gator 45/70]

Got 41 corn cobs off a box of helicopter blade balance weights.
On the right. Left is a bit of range scrap.
I believe the pencil scratch test came in at 25.1 on the helo weights.
Good enough for fishing sinkers?

[fastdadio]

I think the 'Cast Sinkkers' thread is down the hall to the right....

[lightman]

Thats a new one on me. I've never heard of blade weights.

[Minerat]

I was trying to figure out how you could use corn cobs in a vibrator polisher.

[Winger Ed.]

Thats a new one on me. I've never heard of blade weights.

We had them on our CH-46s, the VH-3Ds and I'm sure the other military helos also had them.

We'd put a target tab on the blade tips, and watch the rotor path as they spun with a strobe light.
You'd swap and change the weights around until the blade path was flat and true.
You had to do it when you changed out a single rotor blade, or put on a set of new ones.
It was sort of the same concept as balancing a tire.

[JimB..]

We had them on our CH-46s, the VH-3Ds and I'm sure the other military helos also had them.

We'd put a target tab on the blade tips, and watch the rotor path as they spun with a strobe light.
You'd swap and change the weights around until the blade path was flat and true.
You had to do it when you changed out a single rotor blade, or put on a set of new ones.
It was sort of the same concept as balancing a tire.

I’m getting out my old timing gun and am going to try to balance the ceiling fan blades using this technique. Never occurred to me and I hate the poke-and-hope method! Thanks!

[Winger Ed.]

I’m getting out my old timing gun and am going to try to balance the ceiling fan blades using this technique. Never occurred to me and I hate the poke-and-hope method! Thanks!

It should work, and smooth it out from shaking and wobbling.
Make some masking tape targets that are the same weight, number them, and hang them down under the blade.
The blade path may be level, but you should see which one is making it swing out to one side of the otherwise round blade path.

I know riding in a helicopter that needed the blades balanced was like being in a car that had slung a big wheel weight.

[Winger Ed.]

Good enough for fishing sinkers?

Oh yeah. And there's no danger you'll shoot your eye out either.

[Gator 45/70]

Oh yeah. And there's no danger you'll shoot your eye out either.

Yeah man, I can do lots of catfishing now, Guns are pretty scary and all

[MrWolf]

I’m getting out my old timing gun and am going to try to balance the ceiling fan blades using this technique. Never occurred to me and I hate the poke-and-hope method! Thanks!

Keep us posted if that works. Just bought weights off of Amazon for two fans that decided to start the wobble and clink the hanging chains. Technical jargon there...

[pworley1]

If they make good corn cobs, they will shoot.

[Winger Ed.]

Just bought weights off of Amazon for two fans .

My Dad always said, "Save a buck where you can"----
I tape a couple of pennies on ours when they get out of balance.
When it's right, I glue them.

[lightman]

All of that makes sense with the helicopter blades. The guys on here find so many different lead items I just don'r remember any blade weights.

I've also used coins or washers to balance ceiling fans.

[GregLaROCHE]

I thought the thread was going to be about using corn cobs for fluxing. They should work well for that if you ground them up.

[Winger Ed.]

All of that makes sense with the helicopter blades. The guys on here find so many different lead items I just don'r remember any blade weights.

I figure they're kind of rare.
In the scheme of things, there aren't really that many helicopters to need them.
Even when I was in a military active duty squadron, we didn't need to balance a blade very often-- if at all.
The spare weights of different weights were accountable.
If the crew needed to change one, they had to hand back in the one they took off.

Civilian helicopters probably get balanced at the factory, and the original blades last the life of the bird.
They don't wear out, and don't normally get damaged.
All things considered, it'd be kind of rare to ever even see a blade weight, much less make off with one.
They might have come from a factory, or some mechanic business that specializes in helicopters to get that many.

[beagle]

Yeah, when I was in we kept a cloth sack in the Maintenance Office. When blade balancing time came, the sack came out. All kinds of lead in it. Fishing sinkers, .45 slugs, shot. Anything lead. Hated that tracking. Tape on a big pole. Mark blades, run it up, swing tape into path and try and get hits from both blades with different colors on tips. No more than two. Shut down, measure, adjust weight and try again. Went on for hours. Here I was waiting to boresight weapons. Once done, had to test fly before I got it. Royal PITA./beagle

[Winger Ed.]

Yeah, when I was in we kept a cloth sack in the Maintenance Office. When blade balancing time came, the sack came out. e

What a hassle. That sounds like something a Huey crew would do.
We had little Lead plate looking things (with a part number) cast just for the H-46 blade tips.
One thing that would have you chasing your tail all day was there was two different places to put them.
We had 'lead' and 'lag' positions to mount them on the blade tip. If you put them in the wrong position,
you'd be out there all day changing them around and they never would get quite right until someone figured it out.

note:
All three blades were the same part number, but being a lead or lag blade had something to do with the way
it mounted on the rotor head. Somebody showed me the difference once, but I just glanced at it and
said, "Yeah, OK", and didn't really pay attention.

[Gator 45/70]

Blade weights in da raw men, Better watch the lime colored painted ones as you drop these in the pot you get the old familiar zzzzzt pop splatter.
Ended up putting the painted ones in a stand alone pot and melted these nuka-bombs down with an 1/2 steel plate covering the mix.
No more zzzt-pop-splatter!