I finished bead blasting the straps then I sprayed the parts with Zinc Chromate primer. Now the straps are ready to rivet flaps and apply rubber strips.
The next thing I want to do is make the steel rod pieces for the tensioning hardware. I was trying to refresh my memory how I did the other side so I went back to my log but I didn't document it very well at all. I do remember that I made a lot of scraps the first time around. In fact I used up all the steel rod I had for both sides on just the one side so I had to order more. I do remember that I laid out all the pieces on the length of the rod and drill and taped each piece then cut to length. Then I had to mix and match to find two that would fit together as a pair.
I took a look at Pete Young's log http://tinyurl.com/233uu2x to see how he did it and I had a "palm slap to the forehead" moment. He drilled the pair at the same time - I don't know why I didn't think of that but it makes more sense than making individual pieces. Pete struggled to find a process that works just like I did too. He had some great ideas that I promptly stole!
I made a couple of practice pairs before I ran out of time to do any more. They came out well enough that I may just use them. The holes lined up much better but the bottom was off center a little. I'll work on that a little more next time.
Two key points that I learned from Pete: 1) Drill rod parts as a pair, 2) File flat spot on rod for drilling. I'll document the process next log.
I've spent some time reorganizing everything in the shop and I remember doing something with the tensioning hardware screws. I though I'd left them in the little bags and put them in the fuel hardware box. After spending a lot of time looking for them I figured I must of mistakenly thrown them out. Later I found them nicely together in one of my hardware cases... Doh!
It's going to be a few days now until I can get back into the shop (work this week and weekend plans). I'm already feeling anxious to get back at it.
