Second verse... same as the first (but a bit better)
Agh, back at it again. The 'extra' straps I ordered came in handy. I took the entire frame apart and started over again. Luckily, the holes have been pre-drilled on three of the channels. (Some idiot drilled them and had to take them apart:-)
I read a number of builders logs... and I'm not the only one who has goofed this part up. It looks like everybody starts out with the correct width, then ends up with a different width. It sounds like it changes after clecoing and again after riveting.
The best advice I read was to round the edges of the strap to fit down completely against the bottom of the channel. The plans show it differently, but it worked MUCH better. I didn't spend the entire time fighting to keep the strap the same distance from the channel. I just made sure it was against the bottom. The top channels went on easier.
It only took a bit over 2 hours to redo the entire cabin frame. The width changed a bit, but is very close. I'm not going to worry much about it until after it is riveted together.
Thanks to other builders, I know a number of different ways to adjust the width when the frame is done.
I can hardly wait to take everything apart, debur it, countersink the holes, and prime it:-)
