Prop Balancer

Friends,
Can anyone suggest an inexpensive prop balancer?
And if so, a URL would be nice.

Go to tower hobbies.com type in prop balancer.

Scott(best I can do)Riese

Du-bro and Top Flight make them

I have not tried this but it sounds good. Take a couple of single edge razor blades and glue them upright on a piece of plywood @ 2 in apart. Get the blades exactly level and parallel. Put your prop on a short piece of 1/4 in aluminum tubing, or drill rod or whatever. Set it on the blades and it will roll to the heavy side.

I have both the magnetic and the "roller wheel" type..... I find that both work well....as near as I can see, there is no difference in the ability to achieve static balance.

The roller wheel type uses 1/8" drill stock as legs....whereas the magnetic has cast plastic legs that limit prop length to a little less than 12". The legs on the Dubro may be extended to accommodate almost any length.

If you are buying your first, make it your last and opt for the Dubro.

See Ya

Rich wrote:

"...The roller wheel type uses 1/8" drill stock as legs....whereas the magnetic has cast plastic legs that limit prop length to a little less than 12". The legs on the Dubro may be extended to accommodate almost any length.

If you are buying your first, make it your last and opt for the Dubro.

See Ya

Peabody"
======================================
Rich,

I haven't seen the "roller wheel type" balancer personally, but I have had no problem balancing 18" two blade props (the largest I've tried to this date) using my TF magnetic balancer. I still only have to balance the prop so that it is suspended in the ballancer with the blades horizontal, and the heavy blade still falls to the table to indicate where the prop needs work. The balancer certainly won't allow the prop to pivot 360°, but it is still usable, just as the twin razor blade set-up used to work for me.

O.S.,

A required check of any Top Flite "magnetic" balancer is to see if rod and cones to hold prop in position are themselves in balance. You may be surprised...

Yep, and frankly, I'm not quite sure how to balance those little critters. But I also have noticed the problem. If you think your prop is perfectly balanced, try turning a cone about a quarter turn and try again. Right again, Mr. Dirt.

Not only that, but after a while the balancing shaft itself becomes magnetized. It will try to align itself with the balancer's magnetic fields and give a false indication. I bought a couple of extra shafts and when I begin to get inconsistent readings, I switch shafts. A demagnetizer also helps. Pass the magnetized shaft through the demagnetize and it's good to go (for a while).
I like the Top Flite magnetic balancer. It's easily the most sensitive tool- perhaps too sensitive. To use it well without going nuts requires lots of patience.
I also use the Hi Point balancer. It does not have the idiosyncrasies of the Top Flite.
Derek Moran

Not to mention the fact that the shaft can easily be slightly bent and you may not notice it. I hadn't thought about the shaft becoming magnetized. Thanks, I'll watch for that.

Paul....What really befuddled me (an easy task) was a three blade....
I also like the concept of "spinning" the prop a bit.
I was well pleased with the magnetic critter....until I encountered the 3 blade size problem...now I would tend to believe that the roller type is superior, and would suggest purchasing that, especially with only a $5.00 price difference.

See Ya

Rich,

Thanks to you and the others who posted warnings about the magnetic balancer I use. I have ballanced the "balancer" by marking the cones and shaft with a needle pointed scribe and removing minute bits until the scribed line will stay in any location in which I place it. I'm certain that I would have trouble balancing a three blade longer than 12" diameter, but, at this point, I have no need to be able to do so, nor do I anticipate the need any time soon. If that need somehow materializes, I'll definitely give your suggestion a lot of credence.

Thanks again.

I too have both types and find that every prop balanced on the Dubro roller type when put on the Top Flite magnetic type is always out of balance, but never the other way.

I have a teflon pad on one end of the magnetic one and it is so sensitive that if the prop is just slightly out of balance across the hub it will rotate to where this is down regardless of how the prop is placed on the balancer.

My suggestion is to get the magnetic one because of the sensitivity.

LAST EDITED ON Feb-03-04 AT 04:16 PM (CDT)
 
Paul,

I've used the Razor blade, block system for over 30 years and have checked my props with other "high zoot" balancers. No difference if the commercial ones are set up properly but as pointed out in another answer this can be an issue. If your table is level the "poor boy" balancer will do a great job but is obviously limitied to two blade props. Lenght: No issue.

Later, John

Edit: Sorry about the second picture. I was trying to show that I cut the block so that the razor blade sets square to the block. Got too close with the camera.

Saw that in a 007 Movie:+

scott(I'll be in the basement building one)Riese

I have a version of this balancer made by its originator, a small company in Illinois, I think. Materials are different (all aluminum), but the idea is the same.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD712&P=7

One thing you can do with this type balancer is balance the prop across the narrow way (width). Oddly, a lot of props are out of balance this direction. Also does spinners and boat props, etc.

>I have a version of this balancer made by its originator, a
>small company in Illinois, I think. Materials are different
>(all aluminum), but the idea is the same.
>
>http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD712&P=7
>
>One thing you can do with this type balancer is balance the
>prop across the narrow way (width). Oddly, a lot of props
>are out of balance this direction. Also does spinners and
>boat props, etc.

I'm not having much luck with figuring out how to balance the prop "across the narrow way". Could you please 'splain? Steve

>I'm not having much luck with figuring out how to balance
>the prop "across the narrow way". Could you please 'splain?
>Steve

Sometimes a prop can have the hole drilled crooked or off center, or the hub can have a heavy side, so that if you "stand it up" (blades vertical) a magnetic balancer will let the prop tilt toward the heavy side.

One of the criteria was inexpensive so the razor blades may be the best way to go. Make sure you use a level to see that the razor blades are not tilted before each use.

The hub is too heavy on one side or the other. Have to shave off the side of the hub. When you use a high point type balancer, you spin the prop and sand until the prop stops at random locations without "rocking" back and forth. Sometimes the prop will always stop level, indicating that the extra weight is in the hub, not the blades.
Kelvin

>I'm not having much luck with figuring out how to balance
>the prop "across the narrow way". Could you please 'splain?
>Steve
>
>http://www.nwskyraiders.com/index.html

>I have a version of this balancer made by its originator, a
>small company in Illinois, I think. Materials are different
>(all aluminum), but the idea is the same.
>
>http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD712&P=7
>
>One thing you can do with this type balancer is balance the
>prop across the narrow way (width). Oddly, a lot of props
>are out of balance this direction. Also does spinners and
>boat props, etc.

The anodized aluminum is the High Point balancer. I've had one for 20+ years, still works perfectly despite many, many miles of beign carried around. I definitely prefer this balancer to the magnetic suspension balancer. The magnetic one is just too prone to being out of balance all by itself. Plus, even if you can keep the shaft straight, it's almost too sensitive, and takes some experience to know when to stop.

The razor blade deal is obviously inexpensive, but if you are planning to be in the hobby for a while, the $24 for the DuBro is not a lot of money, and it's really worth it in fiddling time. To get decent results with the razor blade deal, it has to be very level. You can plunk the High Point down on any convenient surface.

In any case, you have to keep it out of breezes.

If the prop is out of balance across the short way, usually it's because the hole is off-center in that direction. If it's too far off you really can't fix it. If it looks reasonable centered, the best thing to do is start taking off a little bit from the LE of one blade and the TE on the other. It might be the blade shape, or the blade thickness.

Brett's right- most vertical balance problems can be traced to off-center holes. The situation is often made worse when you ream the hub to increase the hole ID or fit stepped crankshafts. This has to be done very carefully. Ream first, then do a rough check of vertical balance; if it's way off, give the prop to a "friend". There's almost nothing you can safely do to fix it.
Prop balancing is a bi-polar activity. It seems you must either obsess over the details to get it right or do a quick and dirty job and forget it.
Derek Moran

I have used a razor blade balancer and it worked great.
I got one of those "bull's eye" bubble level, a good piece of straight hard wood, and three screws. Visualize: screws set in a triangle at the base's perimeter, bubble level in middle under blades. Doesn't matter where you put it down, you can level it.
Of course some may end up "digitally challenged", and we ain't talkin' "electronics" here.
Bill <><

Last year at a Salem contest I had been using my Hi-Point balancer and noticed the balancing rod was missing. Looked all over the place, even on my hands and knees in the grass.

About a month later I came across the rod in my toolbox, the one with wheels and upon which scantily-clad, nubile females are welcome to dance.

In the meantime I had made a serious search for a replacement balancer. A search that was not successful; the Hi-Point unit is excellent in all ways.