Joshua's RV-9A Project

Deburred the remainder of the HS skins; found that a standard drill bit (large size) often works better in the #40 holes than the single-flute debur bit.  I’d read of this previously in the forums; the culprit apparantly is the “nose” of the debur bit, which is nearly as large as the hole itself.  I hadn’t been entirely happy with the deburring of the skin holes, so thought to try a twist drill, and it worked.  So the SOP may become to use the bit for #40 holes, and the debur bit for larger.

Built the support table for the DRDT-2 dimpler, to hold the skins up at the level of the die.  Turned out solid, and covered it with a towel to keep from scratching the skins.  I’m noticing some scratches on the bottom side of the skins between holes from the dimpling process–I can’t see any sharp surfaces on the dimple die (I’m using the female side on the bottom), so not sure quite what’s happening here.  One theory is that little bits of metal are stuck on the skin after deburring, and they catch on the die and scratch the skin as it drags over the top.  Not sure; I’ll check the forums to see if this is a “known issue;” solved for the time being by supporting the skin up above the die as it’s being moved.  I really like the DRDT-2 tool; easy to set up and lock into position, and easy to operate: Allison even said she was surprised at the amount of force it didn’t require.  And quiet…though I’ve never used a standard C-frame, I can imagine how much less annoying this is…it borders on a good time!

So with this session, we’re ready for priming.  Still haven’t ordered any primer, partly because of the cost (primer, etc, plus a gun, etc…), partly because I constantly second-guess my choices.  I like the idea of Stewart Systems/AFS, but a self-etching something that can be found locally definitely would have its plusses…  Trying to avoid the uber-toxic stuff, chromates & such.  So now, I can either bite the bullet and decide (I suppose I could always change for the wings, as others have done, if it turns out to not be what I want), or start working on the VS.  If the weather is decent, I’m trying to finish the siding on the shop, too.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 7:58 pm and is filed under Horiz. Stabilizer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.