Practice project #1 finished

My tight dimpling tool from Cleveland tools arrived so I could get to work on the practice project.  I finished to practice project, but it is clear that I need lots of practice on my double flush riveting as well as my rolling. I'm not pleased with the results. I need to be doing a better job.

Today I work with wood, so tommorow I work with Aluminium

I was busy with work  today so not much happened with the practice projects. I did run over to home depot and picked up materials so I could make a priming table and also made the table for the DRDT-2 dimpler. I modified the design a bit from the original plan. I made the table one piece that sat in the dimpler and is level with the frame holder. My dimple dies measure 3/8" high so I will just place my protective foam on the table and I will have the perfect height.

The priming frame is made up of 2"x3"s measuring 6'x3'. I then used my pneumatic stapler and stretched chicken wire over the frame. The idea is that I can prime most parts sitting on this frame and when I'm done I can put the frame up out of the way.

Just messing around

I ran the stiffeners for the practice project through the 3M wheel . Dimpled the skins and then got to work on back riveting. Everything went very well. I find back riveting very easy. I ran my back rivet set through the 3M wheel on the one side so that it wouldn't interfere with the radius on the stiffener. I tested out different methods of tape on the 470 rivets. I tried hockey shin tape, duct tape, etc. The best method I found was black gorilla tape in the rivet set. Works great and is super tough!! I'm waiting for some more tools to arrive so I can finish off the practice project.

I'm still waiting for a reply to my letter of intent so I can officially start my build.  So I started to read through the plans for the horizontal and vertical stabilizers.

A slow day

The new VS-707 rib arrived in the mail so I can rest easy that I don't have to used the scratched one. (Thanks Van's for sorting that out) I worked on the RV practice projects a bit and cut stiffners.

Still learning

Learning lessons today. Spent some time on the practice project. All in all it turned out well. But not as good as it needs to be. I counter-sunk the number #30 holes in the aluminium angle. They were perfect if I used the 426AD4-4 rivets, but when I put the 0.040 dimpled skin over top the angle... Skin does not sit flush on the angle because the angle countersink was not deep enough. Makes perfect sense now that I think about it, but I realized it after I riveted. I also played with the air settings on the gun and found that lower settings work so much better that the higher settings I was using. I also discovered why the flush rivets do not sit quite so flush with the skin. My swivel flush set has a rubber ring around it which sits proud of the skin. Unless I press really hard with the gun, there is a possibility that the rivet is driven with its head slightly proud of the skin. I also noticed that I scratched the head of my flush set so now each flush rivet is being marred. After reading up on the forums, I see that you can polish the flush rivet set (one the rubber is removed). Did that and it turned out very nice!

Finish the Toobox and start the Practice Project - 5.0hrs

I woke up this morning and could wait to finish off the tool box. It's really bugging me that the riveting did not turn out as nice as I wanted it to. I used the pneumatic squeezer on the front stiffener which turned out very nice. I think if anything I now feel quite comfortable with the squeezer. I tried to buck a few rivets and i'm a little more pleased with the results. I need more practice to set up the rivet gun pressure and get the feel of the trigger. I also need to practice holding the bucking bar more. I know one thing. I like the tungsten bar WAY more than the steel bars. I finished off the toolbox with less than desirable results. When I riveted the handle on I slipped with the gun and dented the top...doohhh!

I took a break for a while and then I went and dove into the practice project. Everything went really well until I went to drill the trailing edge. the holes in the two skins do not match up really well. I made the best of a bad situation and when I was done, I was happy with the job....Until I cleco'd the structure together and saw how crooked the trailing edge was. I've seen folks complain about this on their blogs however I see just how critical it is to lay everything out on a smooth hard edge, and go slow. Ensure that each hole is drilled precise! I'm stopping for the day! I really need to practice a lot more. I feel like i'm rushing through things way too quickly and I am making mistakes. I want to order another tool box and practice project. I really want to nail this before I start on the plane.