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How to Build a Wood Propeller

With some care and carving craftsmanship, a wood propeller can be built at home. For best results, a professional template of a propeller design and a draw knife should be used. This is a sharp blade with two handles used to carve large pieces of wood. If you plan to use the propeller on a real airplane, have your design and the propeller inspected by a qualified aviation mechanic.

Things You'll Need

Band saw
Drill press
Safety glasses
1-by-6-inch pine boards
Aluminum tube (3/4-inch)
White glue
Epoxy
Flox
Brush
Draw knife
Calipers
Measuring tape
Clamps

Instructions

Preparation
- 1
  Purchase a template or design your own using a good computer-aided design (CAD) software program. The steps below assume the three propeller blades will form their own hub when assembled.
- 2
  Determine the amount of wood you need based on your template. Use only the best quality, knot-free pine boards for your propeller.
- 3
  Take your template to a professional printer to have your propeller printed in life size scale. Sometimes even the best print jobs are slightly distorted, so measure the printed template for both length and width before using it.
- 4
  Measure and mark your boards according to the templates with a measuring tape and calipers.
Cutting and Carving
- 5
  Put on safety glasses and cut the boards to approximate length and width using a band saw. Most of your work will be done with a draw knife, not with a saw, so do not cut too closely to the lines.
- 6
  Assemble the boards into groups for the three blades. Then glue them together using white glue. Spread the glue evenly with a brush on the top and bottom sides of the boards being glued. Make sure to apply glue to the edges and corners too.
- 7
  Clamp the boards together using at least six wood clamps for each propeller. Wait for the glue to dry, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- 8
  Measure and draw the outline of the propellers on the boards. Use calipers to compare your measurements to the template along several points to make sure you have the curves of each blade precise.
- 9
  Carve the blades using a a draw knife on the curves and a hand plane where the blades are straight. Begin from the center of each blade and move toward the ends.
Assembly
- 10
  Put the the three blades together on a flat surface, with the flat sides facing down. Measure the distance between the tips of the blades with a measuring tape to make sure they are equally spaced.
- 11
  Glue the hub portions of each blade together and clamp them securely with wood clamps. Wait for the glue to dry.
- 12
  Drill a hole in the center of the propeller with a 3/4-inch drill bit.
- 13
  Cut an aluminum tube, 3/4-inch diameter and 0.0058 inches thick, to a length that will fit the depth of the hole you just cut.
- 14
  Glue the aluminum tube into the center hole of the propeller using a mixture of epoxy, flox and white glue. Allow the glue mixture to set overnight.

Aviation