Making the Pedal Brackets

[Brian Jackson]

Howdy all.

Spent the past 3 days making the Pedal Brackets for QB. It was a little more involved and time consuming than I'd anticipated, but I'm glad I took the time to get them right. The following is a quickie pictorial of the steps I took... some of the shots are a bit blurry, sorry 'bout that.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/tube-rip.jpg
The first step was to saw two 5" long slits down a section of 2 X 2 tube. This will separate the angle part of the brackets from the scrap when cross-cutting. The above photo shows a cross section of the tube after the brackets were cut.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/table-sawing.jpg
This image shows the cross-cutting setup. I clamped a small stop to the edge of the table saw to make sure all the brackets were the same width.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/cut-parts.jpg
Brackets cut and filed. This was a bit time consuming because each bracket has 16 individual edges to be hand filed.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/centermarking.jpg
Here I used layout dye and a dial micrometer to mark the crosshairs for the pivot holes. I also numbered each part from left to right to make sure I was always measuring from the same surfaces.

(more to follow...)

[Brian Jackson]

Continued...

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/bracket-deburr.jpg
Drilled and deburred. Note that I got rid of the big plastic grip on my deburring tool. The bulkiness made it feel clumsy to use, and was hard to keep hold of when any machine oil got on it. Now the deburring tool feels more like a pencil or a surgeon's tool. Me likes!

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/part-in-hand.jpg
Next I ground and filed a radius along the bottom edges so they would meet the pedal bracket mount flush at the inside corner.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/test-fit.jpg
Test fitting the parts to check for flushness and smooth "air-tight" fit.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/sanding.jpg
Next I wanted to add a little cosmetic shape to the pivot ends. The first one was easy but the other 3 were harder to do because to transfer the exact shape they had to be back to back. That's why I rigged the clamp in the above photo. (You couldn't see the scribe line if the part were lying flat on its back.

more to follow...

[Brian Jackson]

Continued...

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/scribing.jpg
Here's a quick shot of the scribed line traced from the first part.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/4-brackets.jpg
Finally after some finish filing I was ready to transfer-punch the rear hole locations from the pedal bracket mount.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/pedal-assembly.jpg
Lastly, I test-assembled the unit and it seems to fit together quite nicely.

That's all for now. Time for a well-deserved break!

Cheers,
Brian Jackson

[skyguynca]

Nice job Brian!!!!!!!!!

[banaari]

The usual beautiful work!
I've still got to round the ends of mine... gotta get me one of them sanders...

[Brian Jackson]

Thanks guys. Coming from y'all that's a real boost of encouragement! You guys do some pretty fantastic work.

[ultracruiser41]

Hey Brian,

The angle that the pedal brackets mount to....I had an aluminum one made per plans but my son was able to bend it with little effort one day so I remade it from steel stock. Much stronger and didn't really add any weight. The aluminum angle is OK but I'm much happier with the steel.


BarryK

[RICK MARTIN]

Brian,
Be careful using pieces cut from tube stock for a simple 90% angle. In this situation, you might be able to get away with it, but when you buy 6061 t-6 angle stock (which is specified for those parts), there is a radius or "web" on the inside of the angle which provides for a much stronger part.

- Rick

[Brian Jackson]

Brian,
Be careful using pieces cut from tube stock for a simple 90% angle. In this situation, you might be able to get away with it, but when you buy 6061 t-6 angle stock (which is specified for those parts), there is a radius or "web" on the inside of the angle which provides for a much stronger part.
Hi Rick.
Point taken, and I agree completely. The inside fillet or "web" does add strength. Ralph's GyroBee documentation specified making these parts from scrap 2 X 2, perhaps in the interest of being frugal with materials. 1 X 2 angle stock would have been preferable and certainly way-easier to fabricate. In this case most of the load is in compression instead of side-to-side, so I'm guessing the lack of a fillet web is of little consequence.

Barry,
I've heard about that from someone else too. Thanks for the heads-up. If I start to notice any bending characteristics I will consider the mod you've suggested. Sounds like a good one! :) Until then I'm purposely adhering to Ralph's documentation as not to add any unknowns into the equation. From there we can address deficiencies (if any) as they pertain to the stock design.

What's cool is that things can be changed down the road should the need arise. So if I decide to go with your mod, you'd best have your phone turned on! :D I'll know who to talk to.

Thank you everyone.

Respectfully,
Brian Jackson

[Brian Jackson]

By the way Rick, thanks for bringing this up. I double-checked the documentation to be sure I wasn't completely off my rocker (which has been known to happen :D ) Page 54 was where the bracket instructions were given, so I followed suit.

I'm glad you made me double-checked though... it's amazing how many little things can get overlooked or bypassed in a project so large. Some can be fatal as we've unfortunately learned. So please confront me about anything that doesn't look right to you. After all, I'm relying on this forum's expertise to keep my wife from widowdom. :eek:

Best Fishes,
Brian

[junkyardbear]

Howdy all.

Spent the past 3 days making the Pedal Brackets for QB. It was a little more involved and time consuming than I'd anticipated, but I'm glad I took the time to get them right. The following is a quickie pictorial of the steps I took... some of the shots are a bit blurry, sorry 'bout that.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/tube-rip.jpg
The first step was to saw two 5" long slits down a section of 2 X 2 tube. This will separate the angle part of the brackets from the scrap when cross-cutting. The above photo shows a cross section of the tube after the brackets were cut.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/table-sawing.jpg
This image shows the cross-cutting setup. I clamped a small stop to the edge of the table saw to make sure all the brackets were the same width.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/cut-parts.jpg
Brackets cut and filed. This was a bit time consuming because each bracket has 16 individual edges to be hand filed.

http://www.gyrobuilder.com/qb/pedals/centermarking.jpg
Here I used layout dye and a dial micrometer to mark the crosshairs for the pivot holes. I also numbered each part from left to right to make sure I was always measuring from the same surfaces.

(more to follow...)
Hi Brian,
Looking Great!
Kinda feel like I cheated......StarBee's was nice enough to cut them for me.
I admire your quality of workmanship.
Take care.

[Brian Jackson]

Hi Brian,
Looking Great!
Kinda feel like I cheated......StarBee's was nice enough to cut them for me.
I admire your quality of workmanship.
Take care.
Kirby,
Thanks, but StarBee's stuff trumps anything I could ever do. Dana & Laura's parts are truly "creme de la creme". I'm very thankful they're supporting the design, and I would have purchased their kit had I been able to afford one at the time. Poverty truly sucks! :D

Nonetheless I'm quite anxious to see your build progress. I'd be thankful for any photos and/or write-ups you could supply. After all, how many hobbies are we in a constant "learning mode"?

Thanks again,
Brian Jackson

[Glenn D]

Brian your craftsmanship Shines!!

Don't under estimate your work my friend, You're making good use of patience and a good file.

Your parts look just as good as starbee's,

compliments,
Glenn