After having dusted off most of the rudder parts, I am happy to say I am back on the build again. I did not manage to get a whole lot done over the holiday weekend due to my son's graduation party, but it's a start at least. I managed to get the remaining portions of the rudder skin roughed up for priming. I know I mentioned this some time ago, but don't foget to prime ALL of the necessary areas of the skin BEFORE you do any bending. It will save a ton of extra time.
All parts have been re-cleaned. I just need to fnish masking the inside and outside of the skin so I can shoot it with the NAPA 7220 primer. I will most likely prime the frame parts with the other more expensive primer. Don't know why - just a personal preference here. I have also deburred the edges of the rudder skin. I made a sanding stick to aid with this by taking a 1/2 inch square piece of wood by 12 inches long, and using a glue gun, I hot glued some aluminum oxide 220 grit sandpaper to the wood. I find that I like the results of using the sand paper much better than using the edge deburring tool. You have to be careful or you risk scratching the exterior surface of the skin if you slip, so take your time.
Looks like I will also need to setup the C frame table one more time to finish dimpling the skin.
The goal will be to finish the rudder completely by or before this weekend.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Wood Floor Project Finished
After a long 2 month departure from the airplane building to address a rather large home imporvement project to install wood floors in several rooms of the house, I am happy to report that this latest "interruption" is finally finished. Having never done any tile or floor work before, it was almost as daunting as my decision to start building the airplane. Several hundred questions and discussions with the local flooring store employees later, and after purchasing many specialized tools (sound familiar?), I managed to do the deed.
So, this post is a bit of a departure from the usual subject matter of building the airplane, but I will reign it all back on topic by simply saying that the garage is now back to airplane building mode instead of wood flooring cutting mode, and I am in the process of wiping down all the wood dust that fell on EVERYTHING in the garage. This was my only real mistake - setting my chop saw up so close to my work benches. The laminate flooring I selected was made with MDF, which I am also using for backer boards on the bench for drilling airplane parts. Now I ahve a much greater appreciation for what happens to this stuff when it is cut. The dust goes everywhere.
The project started with a new tile landing in the entry way, followed by new floors in the living room and kitchen, and the main hallway leading to the bedrooms. Pics that follow show the tile and various stages of the wood fooring as it was installed. This was a true family project - with everyone participating in various capacities. I followed many of the same processes and preparation that I us in building the airplane, such as setting up the garage with several saws and other tools to get the job done, making pain stakingly accurate measurements of every inch of my floors, ensuring the proper amount of material was determined, etc.
I am relatively pleased with the results, but at this point I am really itching to get back to the airplane build, so I am just glad that is it finally at the point where I can call it officially finished.
So, this post is a bit of a departure from the usual subject matter of building the airplane, but I will reign it all back on topic by simply saying that the garage is now back to airplane building mode instead of wood flooring cutting mode, and I am in the process of wiping down all the wood dust that fell on EVERYTHING in the garage. This was my only real mistake - setting my chop saw up so close to my work benches. The laminate flooring I selected was made with MDF, which I am also using for backer boards on the bench for drilling airplane parts. Now I ahve a much greater appreciation for what happens to this stuff when it is cut. The dust goes everywhere.
The project started with a new tile landing in the entry way, followed by new floors in the living room and kitchen, and the main hallway leading to the bedrooms. Pics that follow show the tile and various stages of the wood fooring as it was installed. This was a true family project - with everyone participating in various capacities. I followed many of the same processes and preparation that I us in building the airplane, such as setting up the garage with several saws and other tools to get the job done, making pain stakingly accurate measurements of every inch of my floors, ensuring the proper amount of material was determined, etc.
I am relatively pleased with the results, but at this point I am really itching to get back to the airplane build, so I am just glad that is it finally at the point where I can call it officially finished.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)