Steel beams for building

Hello all,

 I'm getting ready to build my 650 wings and thought maybe I'd get some steel beams as shown in the guides. 

 Are you all using them? Where did you get them?

 If you aren't using them, what are you using?

  I just used 2x4's for the rudder, stab and elevator.

Thanks!

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Comment by Gary Reed on March 4, 2017 at 10:32am

I also went to Metal Supermarket too and got Steel.  I got the medium thickness (forget the gauge) for compromise of weight and bending.  I looked at the Aluminum too but Steel is more affordable.

Comment by Jim Davis on March 3, 2017 at 10:06pm
Sounds great Larry. I'll look into the aluminum now too. Thanks.
Comment by Larry Zepp on March 3, 2017 at 9:53pm

Hi Jim, I looked at steel, but thought it was not very straight and of poor finish. I went to our local Metal Supermarket and bought (6) beams that were 2"square extruded aluminum beams. Very nice, accurate and light. Now that my wings are complete I am using these across (2) ten foot 2"x 2"beams to support the fuselage.

Best Regards,  Larry Zepp

Comment by Jim Davis on February 24, 2017 at 11:05am

Thanks for all the feedback! Unfortunately, my wing kit won't be ready until the beginning of May now :-(

Comment by Tom Sullivan on February 23, 2017 at 10:51pm

Hey Jim, I used a 13 ft section of manufactured floor beam left over from our house construction. Tom

Comment by Douglas Kupersmith on February 23, 2017 at 3:53pm

I got mine at Discount Steel (http://www.discountsteel.com/).  I purchased two 8-foot-long 2" x 2" 16ga square tubes and four 4-foot-long of the same tubing.

Comment by Glenn Davis on February 23, 2017 at 2:35pm

I meant  plastic downspout not the gutter.

Comment by Glenn Davis on February 23, 2017 at 2:32pm

Plastic rain gutter. Cheap ,light and less scratching but does tend to bow in the middle so wood shims along length is recommended.

Comment by Wayne Clagg on February 23, 2017 at 1:28pm
Metalsdepot.com
Comment by Damon Brantley on February 23, 2017 at 1:03pm
I used steel beams for the tail section. However I am currently experimenting with using 80/20 aluminum extrusion for the wings. 80/20 is a bit more expensive than a basic steel beam, but offer some advantages for jigging up the parts to verify fit. When I get a little further along in setting up the wings I will probably do a post on using 80/20.

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