|
|
|
|
Dan's Web Site
|
Date: 4-1-2007
|
Number of Hours: 2.00
|
Manual Reference:
|
Brief Description: Punch Holes in Firewall for Eyeball Cable Mounts
|
|
I had a heck of a time using the Greenlee punches on the firewall. Either the punches do not have a tight enough tolerance or they aren't sharp enough or the simply don't work on stainless steel. I wanted to punch 1-1/16" to 1-1/8" holes in the firewall for the eyeball cable mounts instead of using Van's recommended approach of just sandwiched snap bushings and RTV sealant but maybe I should have stuck with the simpler method after all. The Greenlee punch worked fine for about 3/4 of the diameter of the hole. Instead of punching that last bit out though, the cutout would fold and wedge between the two punch dies making it next to impossible to pull the dies apart and likewise, fusing them to the bent over piece of stainless steel still attached to the firewall. I had to use a cutoff wheel to finish up what the punch didn't do, and then pry the dies apart in the vice on the workbench.
To make matters worse, the lower hold interfered with the electric fuel pump reinforcement plate. Half the hole was over the plate and the other half over just the stainless steel firewall. I had to fabricate two half-washer spacers,,,one to even out the dies of the punch,,,and the second as a permanent base for the eyeball cable mount.
Definitely a bigger job than it needed to be had I thought of using these eyeball mounts much earlier in the project. Oh well, it all came out well in the end. After cleaning up the holes Daisy helped me tighten everything up by being on one side of the firewall while I worked from the other side. She had never signed my plane yet so here is a picture of her signing the firewall.
|
|
Daisy signing the firewall
|
|
Me trying to clean up the punched holes for the eyeball cable mounts
|
|
Another view of me struggling under the panel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001-2024 Matronics. All Rights Reserved.
|
