Brief Description: Staighten Tank Ribs; Cleco Tank
Today was spent straightening the fuel tank ribs. I think the tip ribs are the hardest to get straight. I've given up on making them perfect. I try to get them as staight as possible with fluting pliers and hand seamers and then let the skin take care of the rest. There always seems to be some minor bowing to the tip ribs because of the angles involved. Once the tank ribs were straightened it was time to wrestle the skin and ribs together. Clecoing the tank together wasn't as difficult as I remember the left tank was. The secret is getting a small punch and using it to align the skin and ribs through the rivet holes rather than trying this with cleco's. The cleco's bend too easily while the center punch does a great job of moving the ribs into alignment without enlarging the rivet holes. Once all of the ribs were clecoed to the skin then the baffle was clecoed to the tank.
