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Deburring Flanges

M

mweidman

Member
I thought I saw a post on this previously but I"m not able to find it now. I am wondering what tools people are using to deburr small flange gaps such as on wing ribs.

I recently became rather fond of this Scotch Brite wheel set: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/scotchbritecutting.php
I've found I am able to put this on a die grinder and deburr both sides of the top of a flange or edge of a skin all in one pass. Once the wheel develops a small groove, you just slide it across any edges that need to be deburred.

The gaps between the flanges though, I'm still using the pencil deburr tool which is a pretty painful process. Anyone have better tools for the flange gaps?
 
mweidman said:
The gaps between the flanges though, I'm still using the pencil deburr tool which is a pretty painful process. Anyone have better tools for the flange gaps?
Click to expand...

I put a fine grade 3" (Harbor Freight Rolok ripoff) metal prep wheel on a 1" mandrel and then mount that in a die grinder. I then use the edge of the wheel to get down in the nooks and crannies of the ribs.
 
Brantel said:
I put a fine grade 3" (Harbor Freight Rolok ripoff) metal prep wheel on a 1" mandrel and then mount that in a die grinder. I then use the edge of the wheel to get down in the nooks and crannies of the ribs.
Click to expand...

Interesting, maybe all I'm really missing is a fine grade wheel. I have the medium one and it's too rough when I try to jam it into the small flange gaps, removes too much material. Do you have a link to the HF product?
 
Wheels

1" scotchbrite wheels work pretty good too. Shape the wheel to a point. Fits a die grinder.
 
wirejock said:
1" scotchbrite wheels work pretty good too. Shape the wheel to a point. Fits a die grinder.
Click to expand...

So the product from Spruce I linked has two 1" wheels and two 3" wheels which are what I really like. But they're charging an arm and a leg for them. Whenever I search for 1" wheel I get a 1" width wheel with 6" radius lol. I need to do some more digging.
 
mweidman said:
So the product from Spruce I linked has two 1" wheels and two 3" wheels which are what I really like. But they're charging an arm and a leg for them. Whenever I search for 1" wheel I get a 1" width wheel with 6" radius lol. I need to do some more digging.
Click to expand...

https://www.cleavelandtool.com/collections/drilling-and-deburring/products/3m-cut-polish-wheel-1

These are lower quality and much less expensive but don't last as long or run as true:
https://www.surplussales.com//Tools-Accessories/T-Aabrasives.html
 
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mweidman said:
Thanks I actually have a few of these from the tools kit I bought but I hadn't found a use for them yet. Going to try them out... I assume you're just holding them flat against the flange and it does a decent job getting into the gap between the flanges?

EDIT: actually I see what you're saying. I'll try it out. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can use them flat against the flange to deburr the flange but to get in the crooks and crannies, I turn them up on their edge and stick it perpendicularly down in the gaps and work it around. Takes some practice and you will need to modulate the speed. Be mindful of the rotation of the wheel.
 
Small jewelers files for the tight areas followed by maroon Scotchbrite pads, from the autobody aisle at Walmart or an auto parts store. Sometimes a swivel deburring scraper works.
 
I’ve been searching for a better way too. All the usual methods work well, but are very time consuming. My latest experiment was to use a small diamond burr bit in my dremel. The bit leaves a much more course edge as compared to a scotchbrite wheel. The parts all get a healthy scuff before priming and that process seems to smooth the flange edges to an acceptable level after using said burr tool.

Anyone else tried one of these little bits?
 
1" wheels

mweidman said:
So the product from Spruce I linked has two 1" wheels and two 3" wheels which are what I really like. But they're charging an arm and a leg for them. Whenever I search for 1" wheel I get a 1" width wheel with 6" radius lol. I need to do some more digging.
Click to expand...

I have a ton. Fine and medium. If you want a few, shoot me a PM. I'll dig up the cost from my spreadsheet. I know it wasn't "arm & leg" cuz I'm still building. :D
 
Glardon Vallorbe Swiss Files

Buy a high quality set of Swiss needle files. After trying all sorts of other methods to get into the flanges these things make the quickest work of it for me.

https://pmcsupplies.com/glardon-vallorbe-swiss-needle-round-file-la2410.html

Get the 6 1/4 #4 Fine. Also get a flat one. I started with Harbor Freight files that were junk. These are high quality jewelers files and the way they remove material is like night and day. A few swipes on each edge and you've easily removed burrs and put an eased profile on them as per Vans edge profile in Section 5.

A pneumatic die grinder with a fine roloc disk is super handy.

If you have the budget, a combo sander with a sanding disk and a surface conditioning belt (scotch brite belt) is awesome. It makes for quick work of all sorts of edges. https://www.empireabrasives.com/1-x-42-surface-conditioning-sanding-belt/ I waited for a used one to pop up locally and love it.
 

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