Hello 2010

To welcome in the new year I’ve completed all the bulkhead riveting! Here’s a pick of most of the bulkheads sitting on the workshop floor. I’m glad I had them on the rubber mat too. We had a heck of a rain storm last night and the wind blew some water into the garage. No biggie. Just threw some towels down and moved on.

All the bulkhead rivets were squeezed. One challenge on all these is that most of the rivets are bringing together two or sometimes three thin layers of metal. I learned quickly that you had to be careful not to distort the thin layer abutting the shop head side of the rivet. Securing the work to the bench or the vise very well was the most important factor. However, my most recent trick gathered from the Vans Airforce Forums was to use faucet washers to hold the work down as you squeezed the rivet. This would prevent unwanted distortions in that thin layer of aluminum as the shop head is formed. See pics below for details. Lastly, squeezing the rivets in 2 steps instead of one helped avoid bent or footed shop heads. Now on to the longerons…

My RV resolution for 2010 will be to spend at least 15 minutes a day on the RV project. I’d love to flip the canoe this year, but I’ll need to get better disciplined about finding time to get out to the shop.

Yours truly using the rubber washer trick on F-711

Picked these up at Home Depot. Thanks VAF forums!

After squeezing the rivet just enough to set it, I then put a washer on the half squeezed rivet and finished it off with a final squeeze.

It’s My Primer Party

With some time off this week from work I committed myself over the weekend to getting this pile of parts primed so I can actually assemble some small things that can then be made into bigger things. The biggest hurdle has been that bitch Mother Nature. She’s been my spray booth ever since I discovered that DIY spray booths in the basement can be grounds for divorce (and brain damage). I finally found my answer at a local state run institution of higher learning that happens to have a number of spray rooms in their art building. Climate controlled and the fumes are vented out the roof. PERFECT! Sunday I was able to wash, clean, etch my entire collection of parts at home. Then I primed until I ran our of primer. Ugh! So today I finished up the last few parts at the school and have them laid out and drying in the garage. Now it’s time for the squeezer to come out!

F-707 and 708 bulkheads ready to be riveted

E: Dimpling and Deburring

Tonight I researched whether to dimple or countersink the E702 for riveting the E709 rib in place. It seems even though the instructions explicitly state to countersink, most everyone dimples both parts because it’s much easier and in an inherently stronger bond.

• Dimpled E702 and 709
• Deburred E702 and 709 

Note 1: I cut my spare micro-countersink cage down so that it would center over the outside holes at the end of the 702 spar and still clear the flange. I didn’t end up using it as I decided to dimple this part instead. I am sure though this will come in handy on tight spots in the future. Note 2: The price of getting the cage cut down is that I most likely ruined my bandsaw blade. 

E: Drilling

• Drilled E701R skin, E713 and 709 ribs, and E702 spar
• Drilled aft 3 holes for right elevator tip to #30
• Diassembled right elevator