3.0 Hours -
My parents came over today, so while my Mom watched a movie, my Dad and I worked on the plane a bit.
I had my Dad start working on deburring some of the left fuel tank parts. He actually made really good progress and deburred the holes in all the parts except for the tank skin. This will definitely save me some time later on.
While my Dad deburred, I finished up a few odd tasks that needed to be done before the baffle could be installed. I started by installing the vent line fitting, connecting the vent line, and sealing the connection.
After attaching the vent line, I gooped it up with some sealant.
Sealant on the outside of the vent line fitting as well.
I then spent some time removing all of the right z-brackets from the spar, and then I cleaned the brackets and the baffle with MEK. Once clean, I carefully marked the baffle so that I would know which way each z-bracket needed to be oriented.
The next task was to modify a rivet puller so that I could squeeze it into the tight angle created by the z-brackets. I have two rivet pullers, so I chose to grind down one face of the crappier one. However, this puller was giving me problems before, which is why I bought a new one, so I was worried about what to do if the puller decided not to grip the rivet shank while sealant was drying. I remembered that there was an EAA Hints for Homebuilders video about riveting in tight spaces using an angled spacer. Basically, an angled spacer is placed between the rivet head and the puller nozzle, and the rivet shank is bent slightly away from the z-bracket wall. This setup makes the rivet puller rest flush on the spacer and the spacer is flush on the rivet head, allowing the puller to still pull on the rivet shaft correctly. Making the spacer was pretty easy and it should allow me to use my better puller if need be.
I modified my pull riveter by grinding down one side. Since this riveter is a complete piece of crap, I also made an angled spacer (per the EAA video) to use with my other pull riveter just in case.
After my parents left, I decided to got back into the garage and work some more. I contemplated attaching the baffle, but I was worried this would take much longer than I wanted to spend on the plane this evening. Instead, I dimpled all of the stiffeners and ribs for the left fuel tank and then did some shop clean-up.
