|
|
|
|
Michaels Web Site
|
Date: 10-2-2010
|
Number of Hours: 0.00
|
Manual Reference:
|
Brief Description: Right Wing - Updrill for spar mating
|
|
I had my wife help me get the mated spars up on the drill press, and put my woodworking roller stands (adjustable up/down) under the spar ends for support.
I then shimmed for level in one direction, and use the up/down adjustments of the roller stands to get everything level.
It took a LOT of time, trial and error to get it level AND to get the drill centered over the wing block pilot holes, and to clamp it all in place. The spar is very heavy, so no need to clamp really hard.
As I drilled I realized my drill press only has about 2" of vertical travel, but the spar blocks are 3-1/4" thick! So I got part way through the spar blocks and bottomed out, with nearly 2 inches left to go! Damn! A longer drill bit would not have helped. The problem is the drill press travel.
So after cursing a bit I CAREFULLY raised the bed of the drill press up with the crank, all the while leaving the drill bit inside the hole. Then I had to RE-level everything, and try to make sure the bit remained centered in the current hole. I had to use a plastic hammer to gently nudge the spar around until the drill bit was centered.
Then I turned on the drill and finished going through.
I was very afraid that the holes were going to have a lot of play because of the imprecision of the 2 step drilling. But the plans call for a "Good Fit" hole and not a "Close Fit" hole, and the wing attach bolts had only a very minor hint of movement in the blocks. So I'm going to call it OK.
BTW, the bullseye level was good for getting everything close to level, but using a small 6" level to check in both directions was more accurate for the final shimming and adjustments.
|
|
Woodworking roller stands to hold the spar ends
|
|
The root rib attach angle on the drill press, with some shims under for leveling
|
|
I used both a bullseye level (shown here) and a small straight level to check everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001-2024 Matronics. All Rights Reserved.
|
