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MIKE
HOWE'S RV7 CONSTRUCTION RIGHT
ELEVATOR
Page 1
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January
5, 2002
Laying out measurements for stiffeners.
Right elevator stiffeners are 6" apart while the left
elevator ones were 5 1/2"
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Laying
out measurements for stiffeners.
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January
8, 2002
One of the things
I am starting to do is take the time to use the pop rivet dimple
die to dimple the two holes closest to the trailing edge, as it gives a better dimple.
It is difficult to get them with the C Frame aligned properly and
it sometimes distorts the metal around the holes.
Click
for PDF enlargement
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Use
Pop Rivet dimple die on forward holes
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JANUARY
8, 2002
I decided to try a
little different priming process on the right elevator. I have
seen quite a few posting on the Yahoo page and the great primer
debate rages on. I will describe how I am going to try from now on
in the next few pictures. I called an old friend Roy Hansen at
Hansen Marine who has maintained my old FiberForm Boat for a long
time and he said they use this primer on boat parts that are
aluminum and exposed to harsh environment in the water, and it
holds up well, it is a OMC Zinc Chromate I am going to use it to
spray all the small parts as it is easier to use. That way
the part surfaces like where the stiffener and skin join on the
inside of the skin will be already primed once. I will
also spray a final coat of two part epoxy over the entire thing
as a last step which make it look nice also. The primed parts get
all scratched up if you prime them before you do the
drilling and riveting. In keeping with the prevailing trend to
keep the protective cover as long as possible, I am going to try
that also. Even though you are going to scuff it up to prime it
eventually, it protects it as long as possible. I think it would
help in keeping the part from getting some deep scratches which
may have to be dealt with later by filling, from all the sliding around
on the table and during the handling and dimpling process.
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Different
priming process |
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JANUARY
10, 2002
Ready to back
rivet Right Elevator, I primed the stiffeners and the area that
will be underneath them with zinc chromate.
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Ready
to back rivet Right Elevator
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JANUARY
10, 2002
I have every thing
ready going to do it in the morning. I like to lay everything I
will need out, kind of like a little Japanese Tea Ceremony,
everything in its proper place ready to go in the morning. It has been a long day
getting it ready. I am starting to notice subtle little things,
little a few dimples that were done without enough shims in the
pneumatic tool and it dented the metal around the hole. You need
to be careful dimpling the skin with the pneumatic tool. A light
tap with the C-Frame seems to make a better dimple. I have pretty
much decided to do my left elevator over because of the bad
looking trim tab. There were some great suggestions on the discussion
group today on how to bend the tabs, and I will try to link to
them soon if anyone has not done it by now, it is must reading.
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Ready
to rivet in the morning, |
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JANUARY
10, 2002
The can
spray primer is still not working out very well. The problem with
the epoxy primer were the guns I had were to big and put to
much paint on, so I bought a small detail gun and you can mix much
smaller batches of primer. I Think I am going to try the Alodine
etch first and then spray the epoxy primer and have ordered some
from AircaftSpruce. The little gun works very well for small
parts. I really like the gravity feed guns with the material above
the gun better than the siphon feed. The one I bought is an Astro
brand and was about $100.00
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Small
Paint Gun
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JANUARY
19, 2002
Switched
to full anodizing method before priming
I Alodined the
Spar parts prior to priming. It definitely adds to the time involved
in prep work. It seems like after you do a batch or two it just
becomes part of the process and you don't notice it too much.
There are probably a lot of acceptable methods from good to best
and I think it is generally accepted that this way will give the
maximum result in protection. Clean with MEK, then clean with
AlumiPrep, and brush on alodine. Follow directions for each step
on bottle.
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Alodined
the Spar parts prior to priming |
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JANUARY
19, 2002
Parts Alodined and
ready to prime with epoxy primer.
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Parts
Alodined and ready to prime with epoxy primer.
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JANUARY
19, 2002
Ready to rivet
right elevator spar
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Ready
to rivet right elevator spar |
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JANUARY
20, 2002
Roger from Alaska drops
in for some training to build airplane. Spar and horn riveted, put
back in skin, and ready for riveting.
See
expanded picture click here
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JANUARY
23, 2002
I am finishing up riveting in the
spar on the right elevator. I popped for the no holes yoke and
this is the first time I have had a chance to use it in tight
places like the last two or three trailing edge rivets, it works
great, although I probably won't use it a lot it sure is nice when
you need it and I am sure it will come
in handy again. |
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Using
the no hole yoke
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JANUARY
23, 2002
I used a short piece of wood
1" wood dowel which allowed me to grab both ends of it with
the vise grips. I bent it one section at a time Click
here for PDF picture
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Bending
edge |
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JANUARY
25, 2002
Right elevator
completed and put in storage box
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Right
elevator completed and put in storage box
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