2.7 Hours -
My work on the plane today was split into two sessions, morning and evening. In the morning, I cleaned and primed the left wing ribs. In the evening, I started to rivet the ribs to the main spar.
Since I had already scuffed the ribs, I only had to clean them up before priming. Since they are relatively small, I decided to wash them with soapy water in the kitchen sink. Once washed, I gave them a final wipe with an acetone soaked rag to make sure any oily residue was removed.
At this point, I had to be very careful to keep the ribs organized. Previously, I numbered the ribs, 1 through 28. A corresponding number on the spar showed the location for the rib. I also put an arrow on the spar to show which way the flange of each rib should be oriented. The markings were made with Sharpie…as good as Sharpies are, they don’t stand a chance to acetone. As soon as each rib was cleaned, I had to be sure to remark the number. As long as I don’t lay on the primer too thick, the numbers should show through.
Once all the ribs were cleaned, I laid them out on some newspaper for priming. It took a lot of primer to get through the 14 ribs. Granted, I think more primer ended up on the paper than on the ribs!
Some of the left wing ribs being primed on my workbench.
A few more ribs on the floor.
After the primer dried, I returned to the garage and started riveting. At this point, all of the ribs get riveted to the main spar except for the outboard rib.
Thanks to recommendations of other builder’s I started with the third rib from the root. Since the wing walk ribs are so close together, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to reach between them and shoot rivets. By starting with the third rib and working to the root, you have space to work.
It’s been awhile since I’ve had to buck and shoot rivets, so I did a few practice rivets to get my touch back adjust the air pressure appropriately. I also decided to try my offset rivet set for the first time. The offset rivet set would allow me to set the rib to spar rivets without having to bend the ribs out of the way. Well, after my first rivet, I quickly switched back to a straight set. I bent over the shop side of the rivet and had to drill it out. Fortunately, this was my only riveting mistake of the evening, but I also only made it through five ribs.
The first rib riveted to the main spar! It's easier if you start with the third rib from the root.
Out of focus, but there are no smiles! Factory heads are, appropriately, on the thinner material.
Shop heads on the spar. The blue tape did a great job of protecting the spar from bucking bar damage.
Wing walk ribs riveted to the main spar. Not much space in between them which is why I started with the third rib.
