Building both wings at the same time, so overall progress will be faster due to efficiencies. Or at least that's the lie that I am telling myself.
Not much else to say, other than there are still lots of holes to work on!
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Nov 16 -- Countersink Wing Spar
Tonight was Hole City. Counter-sank half of the holes in both of the wing spars (where the fuel tanks will bolt on). All this made possible by the arrival of new single-flute countersink bits, because the old ones were too dull to work. This countersink is sooo much nicer than the standard ones!
Building both wings at the same time, so overall progress will be faster due to efficiencies. Or at least that's the lie that I am telling myself.
Not much else to say, other than there are still lots of holes to work on!
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Building both wings at the same time, so overall progress will be faster due to efficiencies. Or at least that's the lie that I am telling myself.
Not much else to say, other than there are still lots of holes to work on!
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Nov 12 -- Start Wing Spars
Big day in that the two wing spars, which had been leaning against the garage wall since last April, finally slid out of their plastic bags to join the project. They are supposed to be hung on a wing stand; however I am delaying that day until really needed, because the stands burn up a lot of real estate in the garage.
Once out, I also opened up the many hardware bags of rivets, screws, and fittings. Tucked each of them away in a wall-storage bin with clear plastic drawers. Hopefully the parts organization is logical enough to find the parts when needed later.
And finally the first couple of nutplate rivet holes were countersunk.
Below are photos that are mostly for the records -- and that show the hand-etched serial numbers of each spar.
Total Time: 7 Hours
Once out, I also opened up the many hardware bags of rivets, screws, and fittings. Tucked each of them away in a wall-storage bin with clear plastic drawers. Hopefully the parts organization is logical enough to find the parts when needed later.
And finally the first couple of nutplate rivet holes were countersunk.
Below are photos that are mostly for the records -- and that show the hand-etched serial numbers of each spar.
Total Time: 7 Hours
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Nov 9-11 -- Build a Rib Flange Straightening Tool
Tonight's mission is to build a straightening tool for the rib flanges. A video of the idea is here, and a fancier tool was found in a Van's Air Force forum post.
Well, "tonight" turned into three nights thanks to interruptions such as the family's Domain Controller crashing, a surprise launch of a new Amazon Web Services region, etc., etc. Nonetheless, the two photos below represent the tool. This puppy is slick, and initial tests indicate that I should save a ton of time on the wings. Just wish that I'd built it for the empennage ribs...
The base and wood immediately on top of the base are pine. All wood directly attached to the metal sidebars is maple from my scrap box. That maple was originally intended for new cabinets, but I know that you won't tell anyone!
Here's the bill of material, if you want to build your own:
- 1 ea. 2x6, cut to 18" long
- 1 ea. 2x4, cut to 10" long with an 11 degree undercut bevel on the "business end"
- 1 ea 1x1-1/2 maple (or any hardwood). I cut mine to 16" and it could be longer. Also thing that a 2x2 might be sturdier -- this handle takes a lot of abuse
- 1 ea 3" long block, made from the same maple stock. I used my biscuit jointer to insert a couple of wood biscuits and glue up a double-height block. Probably overkill, but I got to play with more toys that way.
- 1 ea. 3/16x1x3ft Weld steel flat bar, purchased at Lowes and cut into 2 ea 10" lengths. OK, cut into 12" lengths and then shortened to 10" when I screwed up alignment on 1/4" holes in one end.
- 2 ea. 1/4-20 x 2-1/2 bolts, also from Lowes Aircraft Supply. These are not aircraft grade bolts -- they just look like it.
- Washers and self-locking nuts for the bolts. I managed to purchase 1/4-20 bolts and 28-TPI nuts. Like I said, Lowes is not aircraft grade -- and mixing things up like they did was annoying. Fortunately I had nuts on hand.
Total Time: 2.5 hours (not counting going to Lowes to find a hunk of steel).
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Nov 8 -- Deburr Wing Ribs
Tonight was straightforward: Crack open a stack of wing ribs and de-burr the edges on them.
Still need to de-burr all the rivet holes.
Total time: 1.5 hours
Still need to de-burr all the rivet holes.
Total time: 1.5 hours
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Nov 5-6 -- Finish Empennage
Last post on July 4, and in between was pretty much all travel. Around the world sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, until you do it twice in ten months...
This weekend was back at the project, and it was momentous! Finished work on the empennage, or at least as much work as can be done right now. Fiberglass tips and final assembly come at the end of the project.
Built trim tab #3, which came out great, assembled the elevators to the horizontal stab, and drilled an important hole in the elevator horns.
But not until a friend with a flying RV came over to eyeball my work. As per one of the photos below, alignment was off a bit once parts were assembled. Everyone told me that this is normal, although that seems odd in a CNC environment.
In order to drill that hole thru the center bearing, I used some punches from Harbor Freight that fit precisely into a wide variety of hole sizes. In this case it was a 1/4" pin that created the dimple to use as a starting point for the drill. After a #40 pilot hole, worked my way up thru a #30 to a 1/4" bit. The #30 intermediate hole included part of my finger, although I decided that assembling the finger at this time might be inconvenient.
I also realized how woefully dull my inherited drill bits are, so I ordered $300 worth of new cobalt drill indexes -- the first time in my life that I actually purchased all the bits new as a set. Probably should have done this years ago.
All parts now hanging on the garage wall, and it's time to start on the wings.
Total Time this weekend: 19 hours
This weekend was back at the project, and it was momentous! Finished work on the empennage, or at least as much work as can be done right now. Fiberglass tips and final assembly come at the end of the project.
Built trim tab #3, which came out great, assembled the elevators to the horizontal stab, and drilled an important hole in the elevator horns.
But not until a friend with a flying RV came over to eyeball my work. As per one of the photos below, alignment was off a bit once parts were assembled. Everyone told me that this is normal, although that seems odd in a CNC environment.
In order to drill that hole thru the center bearing, I used some punches from Harbor Freight that fit precisely into a wide variety of hole sizes. In this case it was a 1/4" pin that created the dimple to use as a starting point for the drill. After a #40 pilot hole, worked my way up thru a #30 to a 1/4" bit. The #30 intermediate hole included part of my finger, although I decided that assembling the finger at this time might be inconvenient.
I also realized how woefully dull my inherited drill bits are, so I ordered $300 worth of new cobalt drill indexes -- the first time in my life that I actually purchased all the bits new as a set. Probably should have done this years ago.
All parts now hanging on the garage wall, and it's time to start on the wings.
Total Time this weekend: 19 hours
Monday, July 4, 2011
July 4 -- Build Tool to Insert Elevator Bolts
The instructions say that it's time to attach the elevators to the horizontal stabilizer, in order to check clearances and drill another hole. Yikes, this whole assembly process is a royal pain, and it took lots of searching online to see what others did. So here's a post on a tool that I built, and two other tips. Hope it saves others some time. (Sorry, no help on the agony bit...)
First, it's tough to slide a bolt thru the holes because it's tough to align the parts. Someone else posted a tip that allen wrenches make a great pin because the 90 degree bend acts as a handle. Even better, use a small one first, then guide a larger one into place. See below for a photo of the larger inserted into the assembly.
Even with this trick, it's still a pain to insert the bolt. In fact, I was speaking like a pirate while I tried with no success... Then I saw a tool that Dave Parsons built for his RV project. Mine is less refined, but works like a charm! I flattened out a couple of leftover pieces of aluminum that began life as stiffeners. The 1" belt sander worked well to cut a slot and generally shape things, followed by some metal forming in the vise. Wow, does this thing work well!
Finally, it was still tough to slide the bolt all the way home. Cleco pliers solved that!
Next up is figuring out what's rubbing. I am fairly certain that the rubbing comes from a rivet shop head that stands too tall. But not much time this weekend for building. Squandered the available time flying, bike riding, and refinishing the deck. What a spectacular Fourth of July!
Total Time: 3 Hours
First, it's tough to slide a bolt thru the holes because it's tough to align the parts. Someone else posted a tip that allen wrenches make a great pin because the 90 degree bend acts as a handle. Even better, use a small one first, then guide a larger one into place. See below for a photo of the larger inserted into the assembly.
Even with this trick, it's still a pain to insert the bolt. In fact, I was speaking like a pirate while I tried with no success... Then I saw a tool that Dave Parsons built for his RV project. Mine is less refined, but works like a charm! I flattened out a couple of leftover pieces of aluminum that began life as stiffeners. The 1" belt sander worked well to cut a slot and generally shape things, followed by some metal forming in the vise. Wow, does this thing work well!
Finally, it was still tough to slide the bolt all the way home. Cleco pliers solved that!
Next up is figuring out what's rubbing. I am fairly certain that the rubbing comes from a rivet shop head that stands too tall. But not much time this weekend for building. Squandered the available time flying, bike riding, and refinishing the deck. What a spectacular Fourth of July!
Total Time: 3 Hours
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Jun 30 -- Installed Counterweights
Not much to say. Some trimming to clear rivets, bolted 'em on. Bigger news is that it now sounds like all of August except for a few days will be spent traveling for business. Not good for enjoying summer or for build progress.
Like everything, tonight took way longer than it sounds like it should have.
Total Time: 1 Hour
Like everything, tonight took way longer than it sounds like it should have.
Total Time: 1 Hour
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