Tip: Match Drilling Made Easy

An easy I found when match drilling to know what has been drilled and what hasn't on big skins. Leave the blue plastic coating on the outside. Cleco every other hole. Drill all other holes. Then mark the drilled with a marker. Then all you have to do is move all the clecos to the holes you have marked. Then match drill all remaining holes. I used this as it was difficult to tell what had been drilled and sometimes moved the clecos to an undrilled hole. Now it is easy to know you got them all.

I found it very helpful to mark after drilling. Sometimes, to include my girls, I'd have a helper follow me as I went.

Also good for failing memories

I use this technique all the time. I also keep the pen handy when drilling solo and find it very useful when the phone or doorbell rings, circuit breaker trips, etc and you have to take an unexpected pause. Easy to come back and see where you left off.

Alan
RV-9A Wings

Never needed a marker.

Simple system. Install x clecos, usually one every two or three holes.
Drill all open spots.

Move all clecos right one hole. drill all spots one space left of clecos.

For really tight curves (like forward fuselage deck), remove one cleco, drill and replace cleco.

Simple.

Match Drilling

After match drilling the Emp. on my -10 I decided that I woud try reaming each hole before I put anything together with Cleco's in the future and I was really pleased with the end results. I had no pushed apart tabs as the cleco's went in much cleaner and with Van's new CNC system all the holes lined up without any problems.

I also found it was much faster since when the parts were first cleco'd together they were ready for riviting.