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  #21  
Old 09-23-2016, 07:45 AM
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snopercod snopercod is offline
 
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When I was a field engineer on the Space Shuttle program, one of my jobs was installing the Tail Service Masts [TSMs] on Mobile Launch Platform - #3. This was the former Mobile Launcher -1 that had launched Apollo 11 to the moon but had been converted from a one-holer to a three-holer for the Shuttle. The TSMs are those tombstone-shaped structures on either side of the aft end of the Orbiter through which the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (and a bunch of other stuff) flows during the launch countdown. The TSMs each weigh 67 tons, and had to be set on the MLP within 1/8" in all three axes so all the "plugs" would line up to the Orbiter.

We had a survey crew with theodolites and fancy computers which they used to determine exactly where the TSMs were sitting in all three axes. After the 250 ton crane placed the first TSM on the deck, the survey guys were all scratching their heads because the height of the opening at the top was 3/8" off after they had previously checked everything within a few thousandths of an inch. I happened to be carrying my Stanley 25' tape measure on my belt so I climbed up inside the TSM and measured from the opening down to the deck; It was right on.

When I approached the surveyors with this information, they all laughed hilariously. "We've got millions of dollars of high-tech equipment here and you think your $10 tape measure is more accurate?" They came over to me about an hour later and admitted that my tape measure was correct after all. The coordinate system on the Shuttle is "backwards" in the vertical direction and they had entered a positive number in their computer rather than a negative.

After that, whenever I'd see those guys around the Center, they'd always yell, "Hey! Can we borrow your tape measure?" LOL!
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  #22  
Old 09-23-2016, 10:50 AM
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Weasel Weasel is offline
 
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One time I drilled the cowl hinge from the firewall of a quickbuild -10 kit and riveted the old hinge on a new quickbuild -10 kit in the pre punched holes. Installed the old engine, engine mount and rubber engine mount bushings and cowling.

The spinner lined up to the cowl exactly like it was on the old fuselage.
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  #23  
Old 09-23-2016, 02:02 PM
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OMG I feel so old. Not one mention of a rivet fan so far. That was a basic tool for us non-PP builders. No need for tolerances. Just even spacing that found all the tabs and missed the flutes. Kids...
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  #24  
Old 09-23-2016, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gyoung View Post
OMG I feel so old. Not one mention of a rivet fan so far. That was a basic tool for us non-PP builders. No need for tolerances. Just even spacing that found all the tabs and missed the flutes. Kids...
Yeah, Avery and Cleaveland used to sell a bunch of them before the pre-punched kits came along. Sometimes I wish I had one, but I hardly ever see one for sale.
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  #25  
Old 09-23-2016, 02:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LettersFromFlyoverCountry View Post
You know who I thought about at that moment. Paul Poberezny and Tony Bingelis and all those people who built -- not assemble from kits -- airplanes.
One of my favorite quotes from Mark Frederick (Team Rocket) when asked a building question, "Think garden tractor, not space shuttle!"
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  #26  
Old 09-23-2016, 03:31 PM
sblack sblack is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by humptybump View Post
Disclaimer: I'm a buyer, not a builder. I'm also "work with wood".

The default marking tool in my shop for the past decade has been 0.5mm mechanical pencil. Unfortunately it's not great on aluminum or polycarbonate.

It's a bummer when the construction tolerances exceed the marking device
What is the difference, in terms of difficulty, between putting the mark on the 1 and 1/32" line or the 1" line? 0.5mm is 20 thou (ish). Just because that is more than half of 1/32" you can still like up the center of it with the center of the line, and mark the center of the line with a hole punch. As long as the ruler is put in the right place you will end up with more or less even spacing, even if some of the holes are 20 thou either side of the nominal location. It's all about using judgment. There is no question that the designer had to add the 1/32" to make the spacing work. It was not done as a joke.
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  #27  
Old 09-23-2016, 04:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rv7boy View Post
Yeah, Avery and Cleaveland used to sell a bunch of them before the pre-punched kits came along. Sometimes I wish I had one, but I hardly ever see one for sale.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo.../rivspacer.php
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  #28  
Old 09-23-2016, 06:41 PM
gasman gasman is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mburch View Post
If you own one of these, you know that they are not that accurate between centers........
They just work, and really cut down layout time...... it is fun to build this way....
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  #29  
Old 09-24-2016, 08:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenNabors View Post
So how do you mark 1/64"? Mid point between the 1/32 marks.
Incra ruler. The page shows them using 0.5mm pencil in the holes and it's difficult to find a pen in that size but the but the edges are also scalloped at the markings and a scribe fits in there just fine. No harm in scribing where you are going to cut or drill anyway.
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  #30  
Old 09-24-2016, 08:34 AM
kamikaze kamikaze is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flion View Post
Incra ruler. The page shows them using 0.5mm pencil in the holes and it's difficult to find a pen in that size but the but the edges are also scalloped at the markings and a scribe fits in there just fine. No harm in scribing where you are going to cut or drill anyway.
Nice find! I'm getting one ...
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