2.7 Hours -
The right fuel tank finally has a baffle!
After looking at a few build sites and some posts on Vansairforce.net, I decided that 110 grams of sealant would be enough to get me through the baffle. In the end, around 80 grams probably would have been enough, but it was better to have too much than end up having to mix up a second batch.
For the application of the sealant, I basically followed the instructions and applied a bead of sealant from the rivet lines forward on skin. This time, I filled a 60cc syringe with sealant and used it to make the bead. This worked very well…I wish I would have started using this method earlier, and I’ll probably use it the entire time on the left tank.
After I placed sealant on the skin, I also made a bead of sealant on the inside edge of each rib flange. I also smeared some sealant around each rivet hole on the rib flanges and put some globs of sealant in the corners.
With all of the sealant in place, I sat baffle in place by trying to align it and then slide it straight down onto the ribs. I then aligned all of the skin to baffle rivet holes and set clecos in each one of these holes. I also placed clecos in about half of the baffle to rib holes.
Finally ready to start riveting, I first set the upper and lower baffle to rib rivets using closed end pop rivets that had been twirled in sealant. After these were set, I used my squeezer to set all of the skin to baffle rivets on both sides. Then, it was time for the z-brackets. These were also attached with closed end rivets that had been twirled in sealant. A few of these rivets were difficult to get into the holes, but using an awl helped. Fortunately, my modified pull riveter worked great!
After all of the interior z-brackets were riveted, I attached the inboard and outboard z-brackets using solid rivets. Most of these had to be bucked, and I bent the first two over and had to drill them out. Unless I misread the plans, the rivets called out in the plans were way too long and I ended up using 4-5s for all of the inboard and outboard baffle/rib/z-bracket holes.
After everything was riveted, I took a peek inside the tank (through the access hole) and it looked like a good bead formed between the baffle and skin…at least in the first bay.
Finally, I cleaned up all of my tools and the outside of the tanks before setting the tank on the floor in an upright position. I figured that if the sealant still has any ability to flow, in this orientation, it will flow down into baffle/skin joint. I’ll probably seal on the access plate cover and sender unit tomorrow, and then give it a week before I leak test the tank.
Setting the baffle in place forms a nice sealant bead inside the tank.
The sealant bead on the other side of the tanks...at least the first bay looks good.
All the rivets are in...that took awhile!
I sat the tank upright on the floor, figuring that if the sealant had any more ability to flow, it would flow down into the skin/baffle joint.
