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I used my bandsaw to cut the spar caps and other aluminum parts. You have to use wax on the blade to keep the aluminum from loading up the blade. I just rubbed the paraffin against the sides of the running blade. 3/9/99 |
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Here is my workbench. I made it a little wider than the suggested 4' so that I could store my 4' X 12" aluminum sheet under the bench. I also added brackets under the top to hold spar caps and other long stock. 3/9/99 |
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Here are my seaming pliers. I filed a 1/16" radius on one edge and a 3/32 radius on the other. Now I can bend sheets with a 1/16" radius in one direction or turn the pliers over and bend a 3/32" radius in the other way. 3/9/99 |
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I made this gauge from two combination squares. I use it for keeping the spar caps consistent. 3/9/99 |
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I drilled one end of my thumb gauge to hold a Sharpie marker. I used it to mark a line along an edge. 3/9/99 |
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These are flap wheels I used to sand down the edges of the spar caps after I cut them on the bandsaw. One wheel is 180 grit sandpaper flap wheel. The others are ScotchBrite flap wheels. The body blade was also handy for evening out the cuts. 3/9/99 |
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Here is the C-frame riveter that my EAA tech advisor is suggesting I use for some of the rivets I can't get to with my hand squeezer. We had to spend a lot of time grinding fittings to clear the angled spar caps. 3/9/99 |
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I made this gauge to check the shop head of the set rivets. I made it from .090" aluminum which is the same height as a properly set 5/32" rivet. The hole is 15/64" which is the diameter of a properly driven 5/32" rivet. 3/9/99 |
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I like these 14" Malco shears. They cut even better if you angle them against the cutting action. In other words, rather than holding the blades 90º to the sheet, the blades should be tilted slightly to the right of 90º. 3/9/99 |
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This is a pneumatic pop riveter I got from Harbor Freight part #167-0VGA. It works great and costs less than $50. The recommend work pressure for this tool is 90psi. However, I have found that 50psi work better for CCP42 rivets. This pressure tends to pull the heads tighter before the mandrel breaks off. For longer rivets like CCP 44 and CCP46 I used 60 psi. 3/9/99 |
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Here is the rivet squeezer that I used to squeeze some of the rivets and to dimple the sheets. The "spring back" dimple dies made perfect dimples. After working with this tool, if I had to do it over again I would not bother with it and do all my riveting and dimpling with the c-frame riveter above. 3/9/99 |
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Here are a couple of items that I have found to be very helpful. One is a wood block drilled to hold various sizes of drill bits, rivet sets, countersinks, center punch, and pin punches. The others are cleco holders. These not only keep the cleco from rolling all over the place but also allow me to use the pliers to grab a cleco with only one hand. 3/24/99 |
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Here is a rivet spacer fan that I use to evenly space the rivets. I marked the holes from 0 to 15. Now when the plans call for five even spaces, I just place 0 on the beginning point and 5 on the end point and mark the rivet holes. CAUTION, I have found that my spacer is not very accurate. I can mark a series of holes and then turn the spacer over and the hole can be as much as 1/16" off especially around the center. 3/24/99 |
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Here is the brake I have used to bend several parts. It was quite handy in forming the ribs for the control surfaces. I got it from ATS for about $60 part# 364ST. This is the 36" brake. 4/15/99 |
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Here is a Cross-Sliding Vise for my drill press that has been very handy and it only costs $40. I bought mine from Grizzly part # G1064. I also bought the prismatic jaw part #G1065. It is handy for holding round parts. 5/7/99 |
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Here is a close up of the fitting that I had to make for the c-frame riveter so that it would clear the spar cap. You can also see the part of the plunger that I had to grind away. With these modifications I was able to do all the riveting of the spar with this tool. 6/17/99 |
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Here is the 90º drill kit I got from Aircraft Spruce for about $50. It had been very handy to drill holes where you just can't get to with a regular drill. Also shown is a inexpensive flexible shaft drill extension. It only takes hex shank bits but Avery sells a hex to threaded shaft converter so I can use my threaded shaft drill bits and counter sinks on the flexible extension. Very handy for tight spots where the head of the 90º drill is to wide. 6/17/99 |
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Here are a couple of hand rivet pullers. The one in the back is a Cherry G28. It is a good tool and the long nose gets into tight spots but kind of expensive. The one in the front is a cheep hardware store puller. It has a very narrow nose and will get into spots where my pneumatic puller or G28 won't 6/17/99 |
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Here is my cordless drill. I love it and would not be without it. It is variable speed as well as having two speed ranges. I have a spare battery and charger, so I always have a charged battery ready to go. It cost me about $150 but is well worth the money to get a good one. 8/24/99 |
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Here are some other tools that I use all the time. The brush is great for cleaning shavings off your work. I like the Sharpie Ultra Fine markers for precision marking. The scale is from Grizzly tools part# G4883. It is thin and flexible and has slots that fit the ultra fine pen points. The 8" dial calipers are indispensable. My automatic center punch is great. Just press down until it snaps giving you a point to start your drill so the bit does not wander. I use my combination square for all kinds of stuff. 8/24/99 |
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Here are some pilot drills given to be by Pat Main. He works at Boeing in Witichta. He says these are the perfect tools to use on the pin holes in the wing roots. The pilot will follow the existing hole and prevent the hole from ovaling out, like happened to me when I use regular drills. 8/24/99 |
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The unibits are perfect for cutting large holes in thin sheet metal. They make perfect holes and don't grab and distort thin metal like large twist drills can. I use the 120º single flute countersink to deburr holes. It is fast and does not chatter like multiple flute countersinks can. 8/24/99 |
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Here are the dimple dies I used to dimple the leading edge skins. These work with your pop-rivet puller. I ground off one edge of the female die so I could get in tight to the rib. 9/12/99 |
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After getting tired of squeezing the dimples by hand I tried my pneumatic rivet puller. I lowered the pressure on my compressor to about 40 psi and used double stick tape to stick the male die to the tip of my puller. Works great, I did my whole leading edge skin in about 30 min. 9/12/99 |
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Here are some other tools I find handy. The sanding drums are great for smoothing edges and cleaning up a radius. I have several different sizes and even small ones that fit my Dremel tool. The burrs are also handy for the Dremel but be careful they are very aggressive. I have several tools to deburr edges. The one with the yellow handle has a swivel tip that will follow a curve. The one with the red handle was given to me by Pat Main and works great on straight edges. Pat also gave me the guide blocks to help with drilling. 9/12/99 |
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The hinges for the control surfaces have to be slightly in from the edge of the skin. I made this jig to help get the space just right. It is just three pieces of .025 AL stuck together with (you guessed right, my old favorite) double stick tape. 9/12/99 |
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Here is a tool that has helped me deburr in places that I just could not get to any other way. I still like my single flute countersink when I can get to both sides of a hole but in spots like the inside of the spar caps and the insides of the ribs this tool is perfect. I deburred my entire wing in just one morning. ATS part # TD002 11/7/99 |
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I have not used my fluting pliers much before because this type is to large for most of the work on the Sonex. However, by filing down the female jaw, I was able to make them more useful. By making a flute deeper you can flatten a rib that is bowed out. If a rib is bowed in, I use my seaming pliers to flatten the flute a little. 3/5/00 |
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I modified one of my files to make it easier to file inside corners. I ground one edge of the file round so that the edge would not cut. Now after I radius a corner with my rat-tail file I can smooth the sides with my modified flat file without cutting into my nice radius. 3/5/00 |
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