Weathervane build

I hope it turns out to be what I have in mind. That would suck if I bungle it. I hope I do this blog right. It's intended to be start to finish in1 blog.

I've long wanted to build a weathervane or whirligig. This did not start out to be either. I wanted to build      a   C 130 military aircraft. It's a multi purpose plane that can do whatever is required. This has since become a weathervane build.

It took close to 3 weeks before I cut any wood. I downloaded many pictures, studied them, used dividers and rulers and calipers to get dimensions and proportions. I jumped in hoping it will work out.

I decided to start by making propellers. I realized that props and hubs would be the smallest stand alone assembly. How small could I do it effectively? The dimensions and proportions for the rest of the project were all based on this.

A few years back I made many props,hubs,and wheels for whirligigs and the like, but they never became anything. It's not at all difficult.

I purchased a set of Milwaukee hole saws. I used the 1 1/8". I had a piece of 1/2" bb ply for the guinea pig.

First attempt is using scraps, of course. After it was laid out, I drill about 3/4 through. This keeps it together for the rest of the process. I have a piece of bb ply on the offcut side of my Incra Miter Express sled. The miter gauge is set to 38 degrees. I attached the blank to the jig, made a cut, loosen, rotate the piece 90 degrees and secure it, repeat for the remainder. Then go back to the drill press, and drill through from the other side. When you get through, it all falls apart, with the piece I want in the holesaw with a 1/8" hole drilled through.

I found out later that this works very well when the circle and the square are the same size.

1/8" bb ply fits the ts blade slot very well.  These props have a 5" span. I maybe could have gone smaller, but then there's not much left to keep it together.

Next. Where do I get cedar plywood?