You may or may not know that I've been entertaining myself quite intermittently with the fabrication of the rollbar and other bracketry for my -8 fastback project. Yes, I've been really savoring some of the non-RV specific details with the intent of building some new re-usable skills as opposed to just cranking out another RV. So, being a reasonably skilled oxy-acetlyne welder, it was obviously time to learn to TIG weld. I started down this path a couple of years ago. I intended to be prepared to bank my life on it. Hey, no big deal, we build airplanes in our garage for goodness sake! You can read "slow" instead of "savoring" if you like, but we're still consistently cranking out well over 200hrs/yr flying the award winning RV in the hangar.
Preparation, practice, and what I often tell people "...this part is nothing but an art project...", the parts started to come together. It isn't perfect as I am absolutely not building a show piece. In fact, ultimately, I intend to wear the thing out flying formation in the same way as we are the flying -9. However, in this little exercise, the rollbar, its fit, and welds tell a story of its relationship with its creator. We've come a long way. With its six, not so simple, structural joints, and a couple other bracket attachments, I am quite pleased with the creation. Nothing to hide. As of today, it is complete and I can answer for each and every 1/4" of weld. Obviously my memory with rapidly fade with time as I commit to other minor obsessions.
The final "paint" of this part follows the long standing theme of this project. Just a nice coat of green epoxy primer (Akzo) so as not to cover up anything for those that want to see, and so that I can more easily savor the experience and joy of building long after completion. Disclaimer: This only applies to the interior. This airplane WILL have a shiny painted exterior, probably something simple, bright and flashy. Maybe with formation reference targets painted on it!
But wait, there is more. So, I went on this journey of joining 4130 steel tubing. That is done with great precision and shear beauty in many industries. You 'could' loose months of time of study and exploration of how it is 'really' done. Of course, I did. Luckily, I only have to make myself happy. But how to rapidly make up small practice samples very quickly. I have no idea how many of these joints I made up and stuck together over the last couple of years, but it was a whole lot. Really, my aim was just for adequate. A nice rigid tubing fishmouth jig has been a joy to use (JMR). It is as rock solid now as it was hundreds of cuts ago. I couldn't imagine having to make up test samples by hand, although most of the real parts were indeed fitted with nothing more than a vertical knee mill for the rough cuts and a rotary burr by hand for final fitment. I can never pass up a new tool to explore on the current project with an eye on the next project.
No, this is not all I've been doing, by far. I've been on a similar bus with exploring fiberglass surface finish as well. That is a conversation for another day. "Hey, Tanya, do you want to come out to the garage and help stir this gallon of high build primer?" "Yes, of course, but let me change, because I'm going to get it all over." "Ok, I'll be out there." Relationships are built in all kinds of ways.
