The "Secrets" of Aircraft Sheet Metal Fabrication
by the Navy Department - Bureau of Aeronautics
reprinted by Lindsay Publications Inc

"Unauthorized circulation of this pamphlet by anyone is prohibited." Well... I guess we'll go to jail. But before we do we'll learn how airplanes were made. Or, at least, how the metal parts that went into airplanes were made.

A series of books were prepared by the correspondence school people, International Textbook Company, for the US Government. No doubt these were the textbooks used to teach beginners what they needed to know to be useful in the production of WW2 airplanes in the early 1940's. Most booklets were 32 to 48 pages in length, heavily illustrated, and clearly written. We're putting two such booklets in one cover. Other booklets will follow.

Here you get Forming by Section and Tube Bending. You'll learn about section bending by hand, by shrinking, by rolling, including rolling an angle to double curvature (something you would need on a high performance airplane, but a skill rarely taught in books.) You'll see a two roll forming machine, wrap forming of sections, a stretching wrap-former, extrusion bending on double-action press, bending large extrusions in bending fixtures, and more. You'll learn tube bending by hand, about tube-bending fixtures, bending with internal mandrel, tube bending with bismuth alloys, and more.

The Forming by Press Brake booklet will teach you forming by a brake many of us already have. You'll learn about the power press brake, bending characteristics of aluminum alloys, standard dies, corrugating in the press brake, the assembled corrugating die, the hinge-action corrugating die, channel forming on rubber pad, contour forming on rubber pad, bending hat-sections, bending parts with tapered ends, multiple punching, purpose of joggle dies, joggling bulb angles, joggling J sections and more.

You'll see in large clear photos the machinery, the dies and the men using them. You get drawings showing dies, jigs and other essential fixtures.

This is far beyond the basic sheet metal work that other books present. These were the more-or-less "secret" methods used to mass produce the aircraft used to end the Second World War. Some of the methods here might be what you need so solve a difficult bending problem. Or you might want to produce in smaller size some of the machinery shown. Or you might just want to know how the old boys could do such remarkable work with simple materials and machines.

Great reading. Highly informative. But remember! Circulation is prohibited without authorization. Get one! 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 two booklets: 45 pages & 35 pages

No. 23764 ... $9.95