Throttle 737 NG

[super2277]

Hello i wonder how thiknes i can use for build homemade throttle? 24mm mdf or 12mm??

[jonesthesoftware]

12 mm works just fine but it doesn't take fixings in to the "endgrain" very well i.e putting fixings into the 12mm thick part as it tends to force the layers apart.
regard
geoff

[super2277]

What do you mean?

[birdyguy]

Hi super2277

Screws and such do not hold well in mdf. I used mdf in my throttle quadrant. I also found that mdf splits very easily, and breaks apart in layers at times, even when drilling holes for screws. I found mdf was also very hard on scroll saw blades. On the upside, it's very easy to sand. About three parts through my quad build, I switched to plywood. If I was to do again, I would use all plywood.

All the best,

Ed

[Neil Hewitt]

A tip for screwing into MDF from the side: put a clamp on the MDF such that the place where the screw will enter is clamped on both sides; then, using a drill with a bit about 1mm smaller than the screw diameter, drill out a hole at least 3/4 of the depth of the screw. Then drive in the screw, and only take off the clamp once it's done. Helps to stop splitting. You won't stop it splitting completely - that's just how MDF is - but it will help.

The problem with ply, and other composite materials, is that they just don't look that good and don't take paint anywhere near as well as MDF. The sheer faces of MDF paint over nicely to give an effect that could easily be plastic or metal - especially if you spray-paint it - and that's a very valuable quality. You can get some of the best of both worlds, though - for example, where I'm joining MDF parts at right angles, and the interior of the join is not on display, I'll take a piece of pine baton, screw this up to the edge of one MDF sheet through the face, and then screw through the face of the other sheet into the side of the baton. You get a good strong joint, and no danger of splitting.

[jonesthesoftware]

If you can afford it and have the tools to work it then mak it all out of acrylic plastic...fantastic
regards
geoff