Sheetmetal Fabrication Seminars
Kent White - The Tin Man

Owner/operator
TM Technologies
San Juan, CA

Kent is committed to education and preservation of century-old metalworking traditions, and dedicated to the advancement of technology enabling people to achieve excellence in restoration and fabrication metalworking techniques.

One Hour Workshops

Aluminum Gas Welding for Aircraft
Thurs. Oct 15, Jade Room, ANE @ 1:30 PM

Kent will begin with the history and traditions of this process for aviation. Tank construction, wheelpants, wing root fairings, tail fairings, and ducts will be used as examples of common applications for the O/A torch on aluminum. He will also explain aluminum brazing and soldering, as well.

Torch selection, regulator and torch flame settings, fluxes, and procedure will be explained in detail, along with joint-types common to aircraft.

The seminar will also answer many of the TIG vs. Torch questions that often come up, and spend time trouble-shooting any of the common problems people encounter while using the torch.

Aluminum Repairs for Aircraft
Thurs. Oct 15, Jade Room, ANE @ 2:40 PM

Kent will cover both heat-treated parts, and non heat-treated aluminum airplane parts, including alloys 1100, 2024, 3003, 5052, and 5086.

Also, straightening damaged tail skins for the Hughes H1 Racer (replica), filling holes in and straightening P51 tail fairings, and making complete repairs to a wrecked Ryan STA nose bowl will be covered.

Tools covered will be: Air Hammer, spoon, slapper, shot bag, body hammer, file, sandpaper, and common sense.

Aluminum Fabrication for Aircraft
Thurs. Oct 15, Jade Room, ANE @ 3:50 PM

This class will cover making both heat-treated parts and non heat-treated parts, made from 1100, 3003, 6061, 2024, and 5052.

Kent will cover the use of a Wheel for making “unobtanium” skins for a 727 skin repair, the manufacture of a P40 belly cowling, the manufacture of a C414 Conquest pressure skin, the manufacture of nose gear skins for a Cessna, the forming of belly structures for a Globe Swift, making tail skins and wing root fairings for the Hughes H1 Racer (replica), fabricating belly skins for a Kaman heli, and making an 8ft. top skin for a Spartan Executive.

Tools covered will be: mallet and bag, power shrinkers, Air Hammer, Wheel, dolly, slapper, spoon, and related hand tools.

Pattern work will also be covered, using paper, finger patterns, and wood and steel bucks.

The use of EMT and CMCT will also be covered.

Course Description for 8 hour day Workshop on 4130 Airframe Construction and Repairs

• Measuring tubing properly and understanding the nature of the 4130 Chromemoly alloy
• Doing layout for the "made in the air" parts, or the jigs for larger assemblies.
• Cutting methods.
• Safety in the Shop
• Making angled cuts, fish mouths, drilling accurate holes.
• Fitting clusters
• Introduction to the TIG or O/A torch
• Tack welding with the torch or TIG
• Aligning, correcting distortion
• Welding complete
• Flattening tube ends, bending tube
• Straightening damaged tubes, replacing damaged tubes.
• Cleaning, corrosion, and coatings
  
  Tools needed: TIG, O/A torch, eyewear, Sawzall, tubing cutter, drill press, "hickey" to fit 5/8 conduit, bench grinder, av snips, hammer, vise.
  Materials: filler wire, assortment of 4130 remnants (4 to 12" long), a few 4ft long tubes in 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 diameters.

Course Description for 8 hour day Workshop on Aluminum Panel Fabrication

• Choosing the Alloy, Temper, and Thickness
• Defining the Four contributors of strength
• Laying out the panel
• Patterning the panel
• Making templates, EMT, CMCT, "bucks" and mockups.
• Measuring and marking out the blank
• Cutting aluminum sheet
• Safety in the Shop
• Stretching the metal
• Shrinking the metal
• Roughing in the shape
• Smoothing the metal
• Planishing
• Metal finishing
• Work Hardening
• Annealing
• Joining the panels together.
• Cleaning, corrosion, and coatings