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Gentlemen,
I visited this site to investigate why so many people viewed the subject matter. Prop blades is a boring subject. But I thought you may find interesting my story of what some people do with prop blades.
Back in the late 1970's, I scoured the countryside of Manitoba, which at the time, had the second largest aircraft graveyard in the world--next to the SWPA. After WWII, RCAF training aircraft were sold surplus from the various Commonweatlh Air Training Plan bases in Manitoba. These included Bolingbrokes, Lysanders, Battles, Ansons, Fleet Forts, and Oxford airraft.
In 1974, I joined the newly formed Western Canada Avaition Museum (WCAM), and at this juncture, learned of what occurred in 1945/46 when the government sold of all surplus RCAF aircraft across Canada and in particular, Manitoba.
I assisted the late Ormond Haydon-Baillie recover three of the 23 Mercury engines he shipped to the UK with three Bolingbrokes, for eventual restoration. After Ormond left for the UK, I decided to find out where he obtained the other 20 Merury engines. So, in my spare time, I traveled across the province to various defunct CATP bases and spoke to local farmers who knew people who purchased these surplus aircraft. Thus, I began my search for WWII RCAF material.
During one of my countryside visits in 1979-80, I visited a farm and found a SCAVENGER--people who scour the countryside buying surplus military aircraft to dismember and sell to scrap metal dealers in Winnipeg. At the time, I had aleady located some 40 Bolingbrokes, several gutted Lysander fuselage, and a plethora of parts from various surplused aircraft that farmers bought and scrapped themselves.
At this one farm, I found a scavenger cutting up a Bolingbroke into manageable pieces for loading on to two-ton truck. I took photos of the scene and destruction. I spoke with the farmer, and he replied having previously sold the two Mercury engines from the Bolly, to Ormond Haydon-Baillie. Apparently Ormond attempted to obtain the propeller blades for next to nothing, and the angry farmer chased Ormond off the premises.
The farmer took me to his barn and showed me the prop blades standing in a corner. He offered to donate them to the WCAM if they would haul away the Bolingbroke wings. Bolly wings have steel-capped spars which the scavenger knew, and had no intention of spending the time to separate the aluminium from the steel. Also, the scrap metal dealers in Winnipeg were well aware of the steel-capped spars, and wanted both metals separated before buying anything.
I returned to the WCAM and explained the farmer's offer to donate the Mercury propeller blades if the WCAM would haul away the Bolly wings, either to the museum or to any "nuisance grounds"--rural term for the local garbage dump.
The WCAM director refused the offer. Originally developed as a "bush plane" museum, he was fed up with all the military material I hauled to the museum, and wanted no further involvement with anything military--even the Mercury prop blades. So this episode lapsed and was forgotten.
Back in 1991, I received several inquirys from museum's in Canada for Merury engine propeller blades. I visited the farmer, who previously had the prop blades in his barn, and learned he sold them. A local fellow bought the blades for $20.00 each. He used a lathe to cut-down and sculpture sections into lamp stands to sell. So that is where some of the Bolingbroke and Battle propeller blades eventually ended up--as part of lamp stands.
I understand the going price for a set of Mercury engine propeller blades is currently around the $7,000 to $10,000 dollar mark.
Norman Malayney
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How can you trade one warbird carcass for another? Save them all!!!!! 
Send them postage collect to the Kernel. 
