Longeron bending - what *is* the "Orndorff method"?

[Flying Scotsman]

We're getting ready to bend the longerons tomorrow evening, and I know that part of the key is "slow and steady", but I'm also curious...I keep seeing references to the "Orndorff method" that's on a tape or DVD somewhere. I don't really want to buy a whole video, plus wait for the delivery, etc. Can somebody just give me a quickie description of what in the heck this magical method is?

[ArVeeNiner]

I'm telling you, I don't know how many hours I stressed over this. There was no way I was going to get those bends right I thought. I even convinced myself that I would take them to a machine shop and pay to have them bent.

Well, I ended up using a Crecent wrench, a digital protractor, a vice, and a mallet and did them myself. I too was done in about an hour.

In fact, just a few minutes ago I tried on the roll bar to my slider and it looks like I'm in spec with no tweaking of the frame required! So I guess I bent the longerons correctly a couple of years ago!

So far, I've found that things aren't nearly as hard as I imagined them.

[alpinelakespilot2000]

I remember the angst at the time, but just anchor your padded vise in an accessible location and whack away at it. Actually kind of therapeutic after a day of real work!

[mike109g6]

Originally Posted by Flying Scotsman

We're getting ready to bend the longerons tomorrow evening, and I know that part of the key is "slow and steady", but I'm also curious...I keep seeing references to the "Orndorff method" that's on a tape or DVD somewhere. I don't really want to buy a whole video, plus wait for the delivery, etc. Can somebody just give me a quickie description of what in the heck this magical method is?

is not really hard at all. It's the measurements that have to be correct at the get go. Measure, measure again, and then recheck. Make your measurements accurately and EXACTLY the same for both sides. The first bending will rattle your nerves a bit. Your have to use some brute force on it, it won't break-unless you're Godzilla. The second one is a piece of cake. Have a cold one afterwards and say, "that wasn't that bad."
Mike H 9A/8A

[jferraro17]

Ditto.

I won't say my second one is "overbent", but it was much easier after seeing how hard I could bang and pull on the first one and not get anything done

I agree about the measurements. When I layed them into the longeron-less fuse and they slipped right into place, I first realized how critical the location of the bends were.

I actually found twisting the forward lower longerons more difficult than the upper ones.

You'll be fine. Get at it.


Joe

[Brantel]

I started with a dead blow hammer and a 4" vise and ended up just using my hands and the vise. The hammer for me tended to put little kinks in the form where by hand I was able to get nice smooth bends. Duck tape the snot out of the vise jaws to prevent damage to the angle.

I agree, the most important thing is to get the measurements correct because if they are off, you will be wasting your time!

Use the template to get the curve close to correct and use the canopy deck to get it dead on. That is the part it must match anyway so make sure it fits the curve exact.

Use the side skins to get the downward bend at the front. Make this bend as sharp as you can to prevent edge distance problems when you drill this area to the side skins later.

The twist only needs to be close because you can tweak this later with a crescent wrench and using the firewall attach weldments to align them.

It took me about 45 minutes for the first one and about 20 minutes for the second one and they fell right in when they were called for on the fuse.

Get the canopy decks to fit nice!


The downward bend must match the side skins to get this all to fit nice. Make this bend as sharp as possible without kinking anything.


The firewall brackets will help you find the correct twist. Use a crescent wrench on the end (support the area prior to the twist).

[rv9aviator]

I just used my hands and it was no big deal compared to what I imagined. I did learn you need soft jaws or padding of some type to keep from nicking the underside of the angle on the corners of the vice jaws when pushing down.

[Lycosaurus]

• sturdy vise with soft jaws
• mark longeron accurately with measurements
• seamers and wrench for providing twist (or removing twist)
• large rubber mallet
• cardboard template
• digital level to measure twist
• repeat until done

I actually was very gentle on the first longeron, and it took me a couple of hours. I think the 2nd one took less than 1/2 hour.

[carguy614]

Take the time to tweek em up. get them as perfect as possible, and same both sides. I am convinced that problems with canopy fit later on is from incorrect longeron symmetry. Been through this a couple of times. It's not hard at all, and the downward bend and twist in the front can be tweeked a little later when you fit up your firewall.

Regards, and good luck,
Chris

[Coviper]

I just bent the longerons for my 9A a couple of weeks ago. I do have the Orndorf DVD. He bends both of the Longerons at the same time in a padded vise. It is not much different from the Van's Method. You still have to tweak each one and match it to the template. Make sure the downward bend is nice and sharp so it matches the front side skins. I did mine in about an hour (for both sides). They can be further adjusted when you add the side skins. Don't sweat it.....They will turn out fine