PatR
Premium Pilot
I’m quite pleased you found it useful. As you observed, blade imbalance can vary greatly and the tool provides excellent sensitivity. The only way to know a prop is balanced is to check them, regardless of any advertising statements.
As the tool ages, a drop of 3 in 1, sewing machine, or fishing reel oil on the wheel axles is helpful. A purist might prefer a graphite or silicone lube but it’s not necessary to go to that extreme. Once or twice a year is usually adequate. Same applies to the threads on the stand up shafts.
For those that like to fight the law of diminishing returns they can do an adapter hub balance too, generally with little effect. Short version for that requires removal of the pop un button to fit on the balancer. Do the blade balance the flip the prop through a few 180 rotations to determine if one side of the prop hub always ends up on the low side. Cut a small strip of self stick fuzzy Velcro the width of the adapter and apply it to the light side/edge of the adapter. Check balance and if the heavy side is still going low use thin CA glue and accelerator to add weight to the light side. Add a small drop of CA to the Velcro, hit it with accelerator for a fast dry, check balance. Repeat as necessary. If you mess up peel away the Velcro and start over. When perfect the prop will stop in any position. To maintain balance for that prop the blade and adapter have to remain joined as they were when first balanced, forever.
Someone really getting into the weeds might think about balancing the motor.....[emoji849]
As the tool ages, a drop of 3 in 1, sewing machine, or fishing reel oil on the wheel axles is helpful. A purist might prefer a graphite or silicone lube but it’s not necessary to go to that extreme. Once or twice a year is usually adequate. Same applies to the threads on the stand up shafts.
For those that like to fight the law of diminishing returns they can do an adapter hub balance too, generally with little effect. Short version for that requires removal of the pop un button to fit on the balancer. Do the blade balance the flip the prop through a few 180 rotations to determine if one side of the prop hub always ends up on the low side. Cut a small strip of self stick fuzzy Velcro the width of the adapter and apply it to the light side/edge of the adapter. Check balance and if the heavy side is still going low use thin CA glue and accelerator to add weight to the light side. Add a small drop of CA to the Velcro, hit it with accelerator for a fast dry, check balance. Repeat as necessary. If you mess up peel away the Velcro and start over. When perfect the prop will stop in any position. To maintain balance for that prop the blade and adapter have to remain joined as they were when first balanced, forever.
Someone really getting into the weeds might think about balancing the motor.....[emoji849]
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