fitting step

prkaye · #1 01-26-2008, 06:29 PM

I'm not yet ready to fit my steps, but for fun today after rolling the canoe I took one of the steel steps and slid it through the hole in the fuselage. I noticed that the flate plate of the step won't sit flush against the side-skin, because the skin is curved in this area. Does this mean I somehow got my step-hole in the wrong location (i don't see how... it was a pre-punched hole that had to be enlarged)? Otherwise, how does one get the flat plate of the step weldment to mate agains the curved skin??

kevinh · #2 01-26-2008, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prkaye

Does this mean I somehow got my step-hole in the wrong location (i don't see how... it was a pre-punched hole that had to be enlarged)?

Nope - the hole is probably in the right place.

Quote:

Otherwise, how does one get the flat plate of the step weldment to mate agains the curved skin??

You ain't going to like this - but you need some careful banging with a hammer (while leg is off the fuse). It took me a fair amount of work to get it to match the shape of the fuse.

terrykohler · #3 01-26-2008, 06:37 PM

Phil:
You'll need to do some careful bending of the welded flange to get a perfect fit to the fuselage. Make sure you use heat (a hand propane torch is sufficient) when doing this or you'll likely damage the weld joint. Also, it's a good idea to prime the fuselage where the step will be mounted and also prime the entire step. Zinc chromate is as good as anything for the job.
Terry

flion · #4 01-27-2008, 08:38 AM

You can also do a little trimming here as you likely won't be putting rivets on the curved portion. As for alignment, the step should be level and no fore/aft sweep, though the latter is not critical. If the top and front edges are flat against the skin, it's good.

David_Nelson · #5 01-27-2008, 05:45 PM

Hi Phil,

When it came time to fit/install the steps, I used a propane torch and a small adjustable wrench to apply little bends to the flange as necessary. In my case, I tried to keep the amount of heat to a minimum but still enough to allow bending the flange w/o too much effort.

I thought I had a picture of how it all turned out, but I don't.

Take care,