Rib Deburring - Am I Crazy, Lazy, or OCD?

OK, I have been spending aeons (it seems) deburring the wing ribs on my -10. So far I am one rib short of finishing the *left* wing ribs.

I won't mention the total time I have in this so far, but I just timed my progress on one single rib, and I think I must be an outlier. I spent 50 minutes with a die grinder, files, and sandpaper (220, 400, and 800 grit) finishing one rib.

This has to be overkill, right?

My basic process is:
0. Hit the long tab edges with the scotch brite wheel on my bench grinder (I did this to all of the ribs in a batch and it didn't take too long so I'm not counting this in the time per rib).

1. Smooth the short tab edges with a small file and diamond emery board.

2. Smooth the round inside corners with a fine round file.

3. Smooth the burrs on tab edges with a fiber disc in my die grinder

4. Smooth the ridges around the punched rivet holes with the fiber disc/die grinder

5. Smooth the j-channel cutouts with the fiber disc/die grinder

6. Smooth the inside of the j-channel cutouts with sandpaper wrapped around a round file

7. Cut the edge down on the inside diameter of the lightening holes with a round file, followed by a scotchbrite flap wheel and then by hand with progressively finer sandpaper.

To my eye and fingers, the edges are just barely smooth enough, but I feel like maybe my standard is too high, or that my technique is just too inefficient. The steps I follow and the tools used are flexible, so that I achieve the result my eye is looking for without necessarily following every one, but I still feel like I'm spending too much time on this.

Before I start the right wing ribs and spend another 15 hours on this task, can folks help calibrate my effort? Am I simply too exacting, am I a slow worker, or am I just whining about something that I should expect to be spending almost an hour on each rib?

First off, don't drop your standards, change your technique:
Buy a bag or two of these http://www.surplussales.com/Tools-Accessories/T-Aabrasives.html. 50 for $15. Mount them on an electric variable speed grinder (I used a variable speed rotozip) and go nuts. They don't last long but get the job done. They get all the inside corners and edges sufficiently.

Look I do more than most I suspect. Most of my edges are done with 220. I then do a very quick pass with 320. That's it. I also use a 3" wheel with the die grinder sometimes. I find that emery cloth works best though.

The wig ribs are a lot of work to prep. Just keep at it and lower your standards a little it will go much faster.

I have been using these in my die grinder, and find I'm getting pretty good at feathering the trigger on it. I seem to be using them at a rate of one per 1.5 to 2.5 ribs. Some of them disintegrate quickly--I think that happens when I allow the disc to rotate against a sharp edge rather than over it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-in-fine-grade-fiber-surface-conditioning-discs-5-pc-61504.html




I also use these in my Dremel for hard-to-reach places but they *really* don't last very long.
https://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=512E

RV7AJeremy said:

First off, don't drop your standards, change your technique:
Buy a bag or two of these http://www.surplussales.com/Tools-Accessories/T-Aabrasives.html. 50 for $15. Mount them on an electric variable speed grinder (I used a variable speed rotozip) and go nuts. They don't last long but get the job done. They get all the inside corners and edges sufficiently.

Click to expand...

Those look good; maybe I'll give them a try. But how do you get them into the inside corners if they're 1" diameter?

In the tight corners or slots I use a fine file, then a few strokes with the same file or small piece of piano wire wrapped in your choice of sandpaper. In a slot, you can just fold the paper over the wire. In a small hole or other tight spot, try cutting a long, very narrow strip of sandpaper or emery cloth and wrap it around the wire in a spiral - with or without overlap depending on the room available.

SgtZim said:

In the tight corners or slots I use a fine file, then a few strokes with the same file or small piece of piano wire wrapped in your choice of sandpaper. In a slot, you can just fold the paper over the wire. In a small hole or other tight spot, try cutting a long, very narrow strip of sandpaper or emery cloth and wrap it around the wire in a spiral - with or without overlap depending on the room available.

Click to expand...

Cool idea with the wire! I've been using a fine round file wrapped in sandpaper but the wire would be quite a bit more flexible.

Deburring

I spent about the same amount of time. I did find that emery cloth made things go faster without lowering my standards. Tear off a strip about 10" long and then tear it lengthwise into about 1/4" wide pieces. You can get into the relief cuts and polish them just like you do the toes of your shoes. You do shine your shoes don't you?

Buy several different grades, including some very fine.

+1 for standards

I also spend what most seem to think is "too long" de-burring parts. However, I feel like it's the best way to proceed. I usually de-burr parts before I ever cleco and match drill them. That way, I don't worry about cutting myself or that the parts won't nest properly. Since I have small kids, it's also nice to know that there's no easy way for them to hurt themselves in my shop. I also try to keep the shop clean and tools organized.

Wow - that's pretty meticulous. My -10 is going to fall out of the sky because I don't spend 1/2 that much time.

I do almost all of mine with the scotchbrite wheel on my bench grinder. What I can't do with that I use the die grinder. All the holes get deburred, and then I figure that I get a little more deburring action when i chemically etch it using the scotchbrite pads.

I usually do the lightening holes using a combo of the hand deburring tool and my die grinder

Now I understand why a new Cessna costs almost a half million $.

Seriously, the goal is to remove any stress risers on the edges.

You can usually see and feel the rough stuff on the edges that could cause a problem. Anything beyond removing those stress risers probably comes under the heading, 'Better is the enemy of good enough.' I tried all sorts of stuff to dress edges, and ended up using (for the stuff I could get to) an old HF 1" belt sander with all the guards removed. I just ran the long edges along the 100-120 grit belt as close to parallel to the belt as convenient, with no 'backing' behind the belt so it could flex & move as I worked the part.

Even if you want perfectly glossy edges, you could (should) skip the hole polishing. Don't you have to run a drill through them in assembly, like all the single digit RV's? If so, you get to debur the holes again.

Charlie

RV7AJeremy said:

First off, don't drop your standards, change your technique:
Buy a bag or two of these http://www.surplussales.com/Tools-Accessories/T-Aabrasives.html. 50 for $15. Mount them on an electric variable speed grinder (I used a variable speed rotozip) and go nuts. They don't last long but get the job done. They get all the inside corners and edges sufficiently.

Click to expand...

I don't know why I waited so long to get some of these. These are the absolute best way I have found to quickly get ribs deburred. I have been languishing for some time, avoiding deburring tasks as much as possible because it is just so freaking tedious.

I finally broke down and ordered some of these (got one 50-pack of the 3M ones and another 50 of the generic brand). I am amazed at how well they work. The generic ones are harder and a little coarser. They are great for roughing work and removing the big shear burrs found on some parts. The 3M ones are much softer and more for smoothing. I found that they can be sliced into thin discs (just run a cylinder against the thin edge of a rib or scrap sheet and they can be separated just like using a parting tool on a lathe). The discs are then great for getting between thin gaps, especially in the leading edge and fuel tank ribs.

If you are sick of deburring and despairing of ever getting to the fun work, do yourself a favor and buy some of these. Use them on a die grinder. I bet even a Dremel would work (but would probably take longer and work harder)

Also, note the price noted above is wrong. They are $15 for a bag of 50! What a deal.

de burr insanity

my first and only(so far) year in a and p school we were taught that if you can run your finger nail along an edge and feel no hang ups or anything that stops the movement, that edge is good for service.. I do the fingernail test. I also don't de burr till after the part fit and done, that way if I made a mistake and need to replace the part , then I didn't waste time and resources de burring.
files, 120 grit, then scotch brite( green) and fingers angry... well worth the pain
billythekid

Timing

It is a good plan to do the best job possible but don't overkill. Keep in mind you are just starting and if you do that much detail on each part Van's will have a flying saucer kit out before you finish. Do as recommended by getting the edge off but no need to polish

Good luck, keep at it!!