Prop Balancer

[SweetAccord]

Wanted to share this.

The Kintecprop balancer:

http://www.kintecracing.com/Supervee_27_upgrades.html

I just received mine, took a while. It is way way better than the Top Flight one that I have also. I have found the Top Flight shaft to be unbalanced and the holders to make the shaft more unbalanced making balancing a prop more difficult. The Kinetic on is way more accurately machined and solid. The shaft is already balanced and the best part is that it's the diameter of the shaft so it's not going to bend on you and effect your results like the Top Flight can. Props that I have been working on that I considered "finished" on the Top Flight, on the Kinetic prop balancer show they are still off. Simply put, the better tool will give you better results.

~Peace

[line6]

WOW Nice. ya i don't care much for my TF. If you rotate the prop on the cone a little you will get different readings every time. I don't think any of my props are perfect i know they are close but definitely not perfect.

[Grimracer]

Double post

[Grimracer]

just info

A few notes about prop balancers.. Just info here not trying to steal anybody’s thunder.

Magnetic or jeweled balancers require the ends of the shaft to have a perfect center ground point. If it is off even .0005” you are not going to have repeatable results. Kind of like the TF balancer but not as bad.. The TF has stacking issues, center ground points, molded slip holders and a thin center shaft that is very long and truth is HARD to keep straight.

Having said that tangent shafts provide the most accuracy you can get from a balancing system. The down fall to a tangent shaft system is dirt.. you have to keep the shafts very clean.

This is what a tangent balancing system looks like.

http://www.aquacraftmodels.com/accessories/aqub9575-lg.jpg

ROCK ON

Grimracer

[ice329]

I am by no means a prop sharpning expert. I have the TF balancer. I see what you all talk about with it being out. What I do is, each time I put the prop back on the balancer I reposition the end cone or twist it some, basically put the prop on in a differnt position each time. The other thing is, I really do feel very close is good enough. Out of the bag is definatly not good, but worked very close really seems to be ok at least this is what I feel. One day I will buy a prop from a pro just to see if there is a differnce. The other thing is that I do a little differnt from my very first props, I only use 400 sand paper on the inside of the prop, no dremel. After talking to Tom at Octura using the dremal on that is not to good. I also go to 1000 grit by hand, then a polishing compound with the dremal/felt, then a polish by hand. It takes me 2 hours on one prop but thay come out nice. Is shiny and smooth better then rough? I dont know but looking at my boats performance, you see the vids. I kinda like them looking like pieces of jewlery. hehe

[Grimracer]

If your willing more notes...

The fastest prop I have is my best balanced (im talking one type of boat application).. Needless to say it does not come out to play unless needed.

I also NEVER polish a prop.. I can prove launchability and MPH without it.

I do use a power tool to do my props but not for the final finish.. and for GODS SAKE.. use a dust mask when working on those bad boys.. PLEASE!

ROCK ON

Grimracer


Grim

[ice329]

There is no doubt each prop is differnt. I have one that is my baby. What finish you think, I am up for trying new things.

[Grimracer]

320 (red) scotch brite the blades and 400 to 600 wet/dry hone the leading edge.

Grim

[Grimracer]

I should qualify that if you are looking for a particular lift characteristic you would hone to your liking.

Grim

[SweetAccord]

I'll share another nice trick I have used on props. I use a raw exposed razor blade to sharpen the blades once they are close to being pretty sharp.

Slide it across the edge of each side of the blade. Kinda like sharpening a knife. Run your finger on the back side you will notice it will take the uneven edge off making it sharper with every pass. Remove that back burr carefully. Keep doing this and you will end up with an edge that is very sharp and quick and easy to achieve using this method.

[Fluid]

I'll support the side that believes that perfect balance doesn't matter. From an engineering standpoint the tiny amount of vibration from a slightly imbalanced prop disappears compared to the vibration caused by a surfacing propeller striking the surface two or three times per revolution. A slightly heavy blade just doesn't matter. Even Prezentka agrees.

Note I am NOT saying that balancing a prop is a waste of time, hardly. Just that the tiny imbalance described in the posts in this thread are meaningless.

I don't think that anyone can say that their fastest prop is fastest just because it is perfectly balanced. Likely it is fastest because it matches the motor/hull demands the best through blade shape and area, diameter, pitch progression, cupping and finish. Perfect balance comes in a poor last place IMO.

.

[egneg]

I use the Dubro Tru-Spin Balancer and have had very good results. Where I work they use a much larger version to balance high precision grinding wheels. The stones have to remain running well after the coolant is turned off to maintain balance or they could explode. I may not be entirely correct on this but Diego told me he had a friend that spun one of my 3 blade props I did for him at 17,000 rpm and there was no detectable difference in any one blade and no detectable vibration.

[Grimracer]

Jay.. you might be right and you know as well as I some props are better then others and we never seem to know why..

Grim

[line6]

Jay.. you might be right and you know as well as I some props are better then others and we never seem to know why..

Grim

It was built on a Wednesday

[planezero]

Ive read advice that one should always mount a prop the same way on a drive dog.

Mike, if you do this as well and you mounted your best prop the other way would it still be your best prop?
IE would you notice a performance difference ?

I'm asking cause I wonder if 'what makes some props better than others' is a combination of balance factors in the entire drive line rather than just in the prop.