After getting to know my new dimpling pliers yesterday, today I set about dimpling all the #40 holes in the rib flanges (except the ones in the main rib tabs that fit under the front spar flanges). 260 holes in all. Didn't take long, but did have a sore hand when done.
Next up I got on with corrosion proofing all the bits. I bought an old desk from a local Roxby lady on "Buy, Sell, Swap", and am now using this as my chemical bench. First up I gave each part a wipe over with isopropyl alcohol to get rid of ink and oils. Then I have four baths set up:
1: Alumibrite - a bit over one minute in here to etch the alclad surface 2: Water rinse 3: Alodine - three minutes 4: Water rinse
After the final rinse the bits are left to air dry. Throughout the process I wore nitrile gloves, and handled each part with a pair of long tongs as much as possible.
The bottom photo shows the left wing ribs after alodining. I placed an unalodined rib in the foreground for comparison.
