Progress! 10 steps forward, 2 steps back ..

[bkervaski]

We finished the vertical stab, rudder, horizontal stab, and elevators+trim tab .. started on the tail cone this weekend .. but dropped the bucking bar during a rivet and trashed the bottom skin .. ugh .. this hobby needs a therapy hotline!

[asw20c]

Yup, luckily that hasn't happened to me (yet), but I've heard horror stories. Therefore I always put a towel down below in case the bar is dropped.

[bkervaski]

It's a $60 (price of the skin) mistake so not the end of the world .. happy that parts are cheap'ish!

[60av8tor]

I did the same. No chance of recovering the skin?

[coffeeguy]

That piece of skin may be only $60, but it will cost you a pretty penny to ship it. Ask me how I know. On second thought, no, I'm only thinking happy thoughts.

[bkervaski]

Yea, just got the shipping quote, ouch! Now it's a $200 mistake.

I'm sure a painter can fix it but it's pretty bad. I'm used to smileys here and there but this is about 1/4 deep and about 2 inches long. It will have my OCD on overdrive. Can't live with it, already removed the rivets.

[Plummit]

Good job! I wouldn't put up with it either, so while it's somewhat costly, you will feel better when it's replaced.

~Marc

[cajunwings]

Gravity is just going to happen. Those foam mats that go on the flooor around the workbench are cheap at HF. I keep a couple of sets on hand to cut up for all kind of uses. Great for padding/protection in the situation you just experienced.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress (really slow progress at the moment)
57 Pacer

[JHartline]

I would try a rivet gun with a flat set, pressure on the low side, and see if you can tease the dent out. Lay the skin on a piece of MDF and see what happens. This won't be the last dent you put in your baby.

[bk1bennett]

Sorry to hear about that. I will try to learn from your "event" and prepare for the inevitable tool drop when I get to that stage.

Did you consider alternative repair methods? For example, using the trim bundle to create a repair panel at that location may have been cheaper. And the weight impact would be small. If I get in that situation, I am pretty sure I will CONSIDER putting a doubler there with new skin on top. In addition to the $200 cost of skin replacement, you have all the labor associated with removing rivets and re-reviting the skin, right? Compare that to installing a doubler? Just curious.

I haven't built a thing yet, but every aircraft I know of has structural repairs that aren't to print, and I would expect that I will have to do some of that sort of thing to remain sane. Starting over every time I make a mistake is going to challenge my sanity.