The Ultimate Deburring Tool – CRATEX Abrasives

Compared to other types of kit plane constructions, building a metal kit plane from scratch can get a bit more challenging, as the construction requires some metal-cutting, metal-shaping and riveting. Of course, that's not the case if you're getting one of those quick-build kits where the cutting and the shaping and the hole-drilling is mostly done and all you need to do is apply finish and do the assembling.

Deburring is an important metal work that is a part of the kit plane building process. As mentioned, the manufacturing process includes metal cutting. Metal cutting leaves jagged edges, sharp metal parts exposed as well as visible tooling marks which all need to be removed before proceeding to metal polishing and paint job.

In this article we'll discuss various tools used to create a burr-free surface, including CRATEX rubber-bonded and MX abrasives (see Chapter 4) that are perfect aircraft surface prep tools and used for edge deburring, blending and finishing operations by the most experienced deburring experts.

One of those experts is Kieran Berard, the SEO at Precision Deburring LLC, one of the very few shops in Westfield, MA that specializes in deburring. He's also the star of the CRATEX Interview with an Expert – Aircraft Deburring Edition, so make sure you read what he has to say!