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Work area

Chofrock

Active Member
Hi everyone,

I have decided to build an 8A, but first I need to convert my garage into a work shop. I have most of a 2 car garage to work with (part of it has been converted into a laundry room, and part of it will be needed for storage).

I thought I had plenty of room, but now I am second guessing myself. I want to double check to make sure I have enough room. Can anyone provide me with the length and width of the fuselage and of the wings?
 
You should have plenty of room, although more is ALWAYS better. I'm in about 1-1/2 of a 3 car garage and I have plenty, and probably more than most. You'll have to move it outside to mate the wings, but thousands of others have done that before you. Storing parts may be an issue, but start hanging things from the ceiling and you should be fine.

Good luck.
 
Shared space with a washing machine? You can so totally make that work....here's what you do....

1) Stop calling it a washing machine. Start referring to it as a "the dip tank". That will confuse her at first, but soon she'll be calling it that too.

2) Start taking your laundry to the laundermat. Do/Say whatever it takes to make her believe you're doing it because you love her, e.g. "If someone else does our laundry for us, that's an extra 20 miinutes a week I can spend with you." Flowers and chocolate help

3) Get a 5 gallon drum of Metal Prep. Punch an extra hole in the top of the drum (this is for the return). Put the hot water pickup from the washing maching in the first hole. Put the washing machine's drain pipe in the second hole. Leave the cold water pipe alone.

4) When you're ready to prime, put all the parts in the washing machine. Also throw a couple of scotchbrite pads in there. If a piece is too long to fit with the lid closed, just bend it in half. Be sure you make a 1/2" radius bend or you may damage the part.

5) VERY important. HOT wash with COLD rinse cycle. During the hot wash, all of your metal prep will be recollected and put back in the drum for reuse next time. During the cold rinse, move the drain from the drum to the regular house drain.

6) Straighten out any parts you'd previously bent to fit into the machine. This may require some minor fluting.

This system can also be used as an alodine recycling system.

Happy Building!

-John

 
washing machine use

You'll also need several rolls of duct tape to make the connections.

Red Green.


(pmercier)
 
cozy is OK

My one car hangar/garage/paint booth isn't small, it's cozy. Besides, it takes fewer steps to get to my tool box and in a few months it will give birth to an RV9.
Bruce
N659DB
 
Bruce....

I am in a 'one-holer' myself, that is detached in the backyard and only a dedicated shop (uh...hangar). Where are you storing all of your built parts?
 
storage

Built parts were stored in the attic, under beds, in closets. Our house is small so I really had to be creative. Fortunately, I just moved up on the hangar waiting list to number 4 from 8 a month ago. Should be at the airport (PXE) in a little while and flying this coming spring.
Bruce
RV9
 
You can do it

I completed the empenage in a 10'x12' trailer house bedroom, ailerons and flaps in a 500 sf apartment, wings in a one car garage, fuse and storage of wings in two car garage, and finally assembly at the hangar. You should be fine. If you want a few laughs there are pictures on my website here.

Good luck!
 
I guess I got lucky!

My house has a full, unfinished, basement / Aircraft Factory which works out great. The only issue now is getting it out, some minor destruction will be required.

The thing actually fits in the basement with the wings on (and as of last night the HS as well) with room to walk around it. So...

I was thinking if you built it in your living room you could use the wings as your dinning room table. ;)
 
Interior Decor

Pot shelves are great for storing the tail feathers. Put a few plants around them and it looks like a lost plane in the jungle, lol.
 
To store your finished parts---------make friends with the local builders or EAA chapter members and you can sometimes find a corner of their hangar to tuck something into. That's the beauty of this whole network of builders. At least where I live it works. Your mileage may vary etc. And could somebody please come up with a ray gun that I could zap my wife into thinking that cars don't belong in the garage? ;)
 
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