I am a bit of a hoarder and find myself keeping things that most throw in the trash. Hoarded-things up for discussion today are tin can lids!
There are many good RC uses for the lids as they are STEEL and not aluminum. Aluminum has very little tolerance for bending and shaping. Steel however, is very versatile for forming into shapes without metal fatigue.
Here are the shop tools used for working with tin lids. You probably have them in your shop already.
I usually only save the lids off larger cans (32 ounce) since they yield enough flat surface for RC projects. The lids are very easy to cut in a straight line with the large shears.
Without showing a step-by-step photo sequence, you can see how the tin is cut to width and carefully bent into a curve/radius strap to match the gear leg. Once the strap is made, bend it outward to form “ears” to mount your wood screws into the hardwood keeper. Trim the excess off the ears before mounting.
Make another strap for the lower door keeper. I left the original tin finish and it looks the part. Or paint if you desire.
The finished project. The doors held up fine in-flight.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY LANE CRABTREE
While Lane has some great ideas as to the uses of these lids, steel by nature can be heavy. Therefore it potential usages should be concentrated to larger RC aircraft, whereas small parkflyer’s performance could be affected. For these aircraft, an alternative would be brass which is lighter. And actually thin aluminum can be bent into suitable straps/clamps.