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Permalink Reply by Buddy on April 21, 2026 at 6:14pm

I had a shop 3-D print them, worked great, the material was like PVC

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Permalink Reply by Dave Geiling on April 22, 2026 at 6:30am

Are you a member of EAA, if not you really need to be.  The EAA has a multitude of videos on every part of the building process.  Also, they still publish many books that were originally written when video was unknown to the general public.  Beyond the resources from the national EAA organization, you should also seek out a local chapter where the members are a great source of hands-on experience.

I think it is important to remember that the concept of being able to fabricate a homebuilt aircraft that was as legal to fly as a factory-built plane was proposed by the EAA to the CAA/FAA as an educational experience, not just as a way to have a new aircraft without paying the going rate for a factory-built plane.

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Permalink Reply by Clint L Gosch on April 22, 2026 at 11:41am

Hi Charlie,  I made a set out of standard oak board from homedepot.  Used normal woodworking tools such as a flycutter, router table with a 45degree angle, bandsaw and a belt sander. Made with five separate parts. Took some time, but worked great.  Basic dimentions are in the Zenith construction standards.  

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Permalink Reply by Charlie Dudley on April 23, 2026 at 2:12am

Thanks Clint.  Picture's worth a thousand words.  I'll give it a shot. 

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Permalink Reply by Charlie Dudley on April 23, 2026 at 2:28pm

Clint. Just to clarify: did you make the male die by cutting 3 separate 3/4" thick oak discs, with the center disc 45deg beveled, then gluing them all together?  The female in similar fashion, only using just two discs?

Regads...

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Permalink Reply by Clint L Gosch on April 24, 2026 at 11:53am

Hi Charlie,  Basically correct.  For the routered parts I left the blank well oversized so I could safely grip and  control the workpiece, also be sure to make shallow passes, 1/8 to 1/4" max or you'll risk flinging the workpiece and loosing fingers,  keep anything organic that you wish to keep far away from the bit.  The male die was was hand fitted to the female using a belt sander to make a perfect fit.  Check and recheck the 45 degree part dimensions per the construction standards manual, depth of the flange edge needs to be fairly precise for good forming results,  ie the flat faces adjacent to the 45 degree bevels must touch while forming to give a crisp transition from the flat face to the beveled angle in the formed part.  Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Charlie Dudley yesterday

Clint,  Finally Finished Making The Flanging Dies.  Several hours (days) of work but they turned out okay.  Pics don't show it but they cleaned up nice after a bit of finish sanding.  Thanks for the pics and advice... Kind Regards...

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• 20260502_100242.heic, 1.1 MB

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Permalink Reply by Perry Delano on April 23, 2026 at 8:08am

I was very lucky as I worked at a forestry equipment manufacturer about 20 years ago, I showed the drawings of the flanging dies to the shop manager and friend,  Phillip Kincaid. A few days later he returned with a professionally turned set. He said “Take me for a flight when you are done” . Unfortunately a year or so later he passed away suddenly at a young age. I ended up buying sub kits, and never used these. I keep them in memory of Phillip and the many generous people that helped me along the way, some who have passed on but live on in memory with every flight.

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Permalink Reply by Clint L Gosch on April 23, 2026 at 11:19am

Beautiful!!  I've had a similar experience.  Had a number of great people contribute over the years, lost a couple along the way. Great and generous people out there. Keep on flying, and find ways to pay forward. 

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