Brief Description: Drilled out broken tap on longeron
About two weeks ago I was roll tap threading the 6-32 screws for the lower empennage gap seal. The first try with the tap, I broke the tap in the hole. Decided to move on to other items in the meantime. After a brief discussion with a fellow RV-9 Builder and some specialty dentist diamond drill bits, the tap was successfully drilled out after a hour. Thanks to Steve for his info and tools. When I was drilling out the tap I was concerned that I would enlarge the hole. I donned a 5x magnifying hood and had some bright lighting to make sure I did not go to far. When the bit broke through I rounded out the hole as close as possible. I then used a standard 6/32 screw as a sacrificial chase to remove the remaining tap threads. I then used some Boelube and retapped the longernon hole. The hole was re-tapped and the screw hold just like the other ones.
Time to move on and close the books on the lower empennage gap seal work.
