Then I tried running a putty knife all the way around and, lo and behold, just behind the wheelwell on the curb side a dimple on the skin was hung up on a split from forming the belly pan wrap. It was the barest hangnail, but as soon as I freed it the shell settled right in place where it belonged.
If that ain't it, then Aerowood is no doubt right.
AWESOME pictures dieseleagle!
Yes, just the barest bit of metal can hang up the entire works. When I was reinstalling the aft subfloor pieces, I briefly had a hard time getting the shell back in position, situated correctly in alignment with the original holes in the original j-channel. Then, recalling Frank's words on this very subject, I ran my putty knife around the entire perimeter one final time, and found just the smallest bit of a rivet still stuck in a hole in the channel. Didn't seem like it would cause any problem at all, but once removed, everything settled in just fine.
This is a good short section on how and why a shell alignment might have problems. Maybe an administrator can figure how to put this on the Forums list. With the title Shell realignment.
Don
We've had some serious weather this weekend so only about 6 hours work on the trailer so far. We prepped the old panel and made the new one and got it cleco'd in place. (giant hail 20 miles away!) We used a Fein Multimaster with the scraping blade to get the black stuff with mesh embedded in it off, awesome tool.
Today should see it Vulkum'd and riveted.
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preparing for the maiden voyage in 2010...
Thanks guys. Just me and the GF, it would be easier with three people but was perfectly doable with two. I had three pieces shipped, one 32' 032", one 16' 032" and one 16' 040".
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preparing for the maiden voyage in 2010...
Whilst I wait for some longer rivets to arrive and get my hands on wheel well trim I thought I'd press on. (I still haven't found good J trim, the Brunnerent stuff seems OK but the shipping is shocking; also it's occurred to me that my curbside is 0.032" plus 0.040" so I may want 3/32" not 1/16" trim especially as I'm sure the Vulkem between the two takes up some space).
Today I finished glassing over the unwanted holes in the fiberglass end caps and finished off with a few skim coats or Bondo all nicely sanded smooth.
Lastly I removed the lower door hinge and the whole door assembly to get at the side panel better. The 12' curbside is now just hanging on Clekos ready for removal, clean up and templating onto 0.040". Most of the stringers are OK, I'll replace two that took a beating at some point in the past.
I know it's probably not the best time but I'm sorely tempted to pick up either the Makita 9227C or a Dewalt variable speed 7" polisher, a couple of soft 8" buffs and some 3M marine aluminum polish just to see how the old material will clean up..... I figure with the project sitting out all winter if it's a bit shiny it'll keep my motivation up.
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preparing for the maiden voyage in 2010...
CanoeStream has sent me a PM asking what I meant in my comment about there being great stuff in this thread. All those who have added ideas to this thread have good and varied ideas. Here is a change for another one of those great discussions. That beautiful sheet of aluminum being kept in place with all those clecos looks beautiful. However the looks can change a lot when the rivets start falling into place. If you have ever watched a person who has placed a million rivets, it looks so easy and the results are amazing. For the first timer, it can be a disaster. Rivet gun hop, great dimples in the sheet around each rivet location, loose rivets that leak, on and on. Then there is the whole discussion about what the back of the rivet should look like is it has been bucked properly. If you are a experienced aircraft mechanic this may be boring, but to the new-be it can be great knowledge. Are all of you willing to jump in with bits of rivet knowledge?
Don's ramblings.
Sure, I'm certainly interested in hearing from those who are more experienced than I am!
Here is what I will add-- it is absolutely imperative that the riveter and the bucker stay in constant communication with each other, and do things consistently each time.
For example, if you are always counting to three and THEN pulling the trigger, don't ever pull the trigger ahead of that beat. Also, if you are consistently firing one burst of riveting, don't hit it with a second burst when your bucker isn't expecting it. Communicate with your bucker and count it out again. If you DON'T do these things, then there is a chance that your bucker will pull the bucking bar back, or not apply proper pressure. This can lead to unsightly results at best (large indentations in the skin around the rivet), and at worst, you can end up firing a rivet all the way through the skin and blasting a huge hole (fortunately this did not happen to me, I did this on a scrap of test aluminum to see what would happen. Wasn't pretty).
It seems easy, but even after doing over a hundred perfect rivets, I miscommunicated one time and dimpled my skin pretty severely. Oh well, live and learn.
Great idea Don. It can be like looking up a project in a Home Depot manual where everything looks square and plumb and then comparing it with the aftermath of a DIY disaster where every piece of lumber seems cupped and twisted. Luckily for me Airstream must have been in a budget crunch and unable to afford a piece of string to set the rivet lines straight so I know no matter how good a job I do it will still look more artisan than craftsmanlike.
At the introduction session for the A&P course I start next month the instructor showed me the sample rivets they get students to do at the start so that at the end they can see how much better they are. They looked just fine to me so I'm aware that no matter how well I do on this trailer next year I'll see every defect.
So far I'd say communication is the most important factor; like Marcus says if riveter and bucker aren't in sync it's going to end badly, (for the trailer and the combatants). We did a practice run on a mock up section of C channel and set the regulator on the gun which seems to help. Next I think it's harder to mess up when the substrate being riveted is more solid/ secure so I try and start the session off on a window frame, rib/ bow or something that isn't going to flap about. With the panel totally Clekod down I don't think it makes much difference but I've been starting in a central area and working out.
I doubt I'm doing it the correct way but once my bucker says go I'm "brapping" in a few pulses so that my bucker can call stop whilst I can hear her in between the cacophony. I'm getting a feel for the rivet squishing up now which makes timing the duration of the rivet action better.
I'd like some tips on getting Vulkem off the clekos! I have them soaking in mineral spirits and next I'm going to try WD40 but there must be a better way.
It would also seem logical for the riveter and bucker to swap roles occasionally, kind of like a 360 appraisal; I haven't tried this yet but hope to on a smaller panel.
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preparing for the maiden voyage in 2010...
A gallon it is then, thanks Frank, also I'm resisting the urge to get the polisher ASAP and instead ordered the Jestco kit. I spoke with a guy at 3M earlier and he was very helpful but their 8" pads (#05703) are about $40 and up so I could see it getting really expensive fast.
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preparing for the maiden voyage in 2010...
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