Hey Chad.

If you're talking flaps and ailerons....on the table (back riveted).

b,
dr

cjensen said:
How did all you slow builders do it? It happens to be my next step...
 
I presume you mean bottom wing skins.... did it in the jig... find a bucking partner with long skinny arms... :)

gil in Tucson
 
In the cradle - and I hope you aren't the one with the long arms, like I was!

20060507_riveting3.jpg


I used a total of three different people on various days to do the shooting, while I bucked most of the rivets. We ended up with a smattering of dings and smilies in the bottom skin, which look somewhat ugly in places, but I think once it's painted you won't be able to tell.

good luck,
mcb
 
I can personally vouch that short stubby arms (mine) can buck the bottom inner skins in the cradle! :) My wife handled the gun. Can't comment on the bottom outboard since I have not done them yet. However, they don't appear difficult.
 
pain in the neck

mburch said:
In the cradle - and I hope you aren't the one with the long arms, like I was!

20060507_riveting3.jpg


I used a total of three different people on various days to do the shooting, while I bucked most of the rivets. We ended up with a smattering of dings and smilies in the bottom skin, which look somewhat ugly in places, but I think once it's painted you won't be able to tell.

good luck,
mcb
looks like a c-spine MRI in you future. :D
 
table

did them both on the table cause i was a one man gang. i would still do it this way very stress free and no where near as contorting as what i have seen..
half way up, one bay over,half way up ,go back and finish first up, the over just like the plans say. no problems. :D dont forget the duct tape. :D




 
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Uhh, MRI of L-spine here. Chad, I just finished the VS and practiced doing a semi-blind reach on the table for the front spar as in the photo of Cytoxin - heavily taped bar, and used the fingers on the sides to keep the bar even. Worked well, not one bad rivet. Also, if you need a second set of hands/arms, give me a call - I'm around most evenings.
 
Did one last night!

I did the right wing last night. I did the rivets that you can reach through the access holes with the wing in the cradle. All the others I did with the wing on the table. I have an easy way to rotate the wing so it's no big deal.

I did the wing by myself ... six hours straight, start to finish. I'm waiting on the damage to my arms to heal before I do the other wing. :eek:
 
Wing Skin Riveting

I did most of the lower wing skins with the wing on the ground (on a rug of course). I laid along the LE and reached in, aftere putting a towel on the edge of the skin to save my neck. I have fairly short thick arms. The toughest rivets were the ones in the step area because my arms don't fit between the ribs! Once the tough rivets were done, I put it on a table to get the easy ones.
 
Thanks everybody...sounds like putting it on the table would be a little easier at the risk of moving each wing from the cradle to the table. I have a nice big table that is carpeted now...

Carpet-table-001w.jpg
 
mburch said:
...We ended up with a smattering of dings and smilies in the bottom skin, which look somewhat ugly in places, but I think once it's painted you won't be able to tell...
Not to mention you'll have to crawl under the wing to see anything of the bottom skin. That's one nice advantage of a low-wing airplane.
 
very light

i carried mine fron the stand to cradle alone these things are feather weight. i wouldnt do it alone again just cause i could slip or something like that :eek: ..also a quick note to those that may do this in the cradle ...watch out when setting the bucking bar down because of the holes in the spar at the leading edge. i have read of some dropping the bucking bar and denting the l/e or the spar.
good luck chad i think you will find it easy enough on the table.
 
l is better than c

cnpeters said:



Uhh, MRI of L-spine here. Chad, I just finished the VS and practiced doing a semi-blind reach on the table for the front spar as in the photo of Cytoxin - heavily taped bar, and used the fingers on the sides to keep the bar even. Worked well, not one bad rivet. Also, if you need a second set of hands/arms, give me a call - I'm around most evenings.

actually this may look somewhat uncomfortable but you have to realize i had a piece of thick foam in the wing and supported my weight on my elbow so it really was stress free.. if im gomma be paralyzed better from the waist then the neck :D
 
Duct tape rules again...

cytoxin said:
..also a quick note to those that may do this in the cradle ...watch out when setting the bucking bar down because of the holes in the spar at the leading edge. i have read of some dropping the bucking bar and denting the l/e or the spar.
For my left wing I tried the table, and then moved to the cradle. I too have short arms, and I found the going tricky until I found 'the knack'. Luckily, I thought about the main spar holes before I got started and covered the holes with duct tape: it was easy to reach in and remove it once I was done (I left little folded over tabs in the tape so I could grip the furthest end and pull it back off towards me. I'll be doing the right wing the same way in a couple of weeks, maybe less.

Do whatever works for you. Cheers.
 
Picture title

Did anyone notice that picture Bill Repucci sent of the really pretty woman shooting (while I assume he is bucking) is labeled: "Pictures before the wedding"? What do you suppose that means? Did she still marry him?

Michael Wynn
RV 8 (my wife of twenty years doesn't believe in being helpful in the shop)
 
Who took the pictures???

Ummm ... camera + tripod/flat surface + time-delayed exposure == one man gang

;)

I tend to do this for the really difficult parts so that I can remember exactly how much pain/frustration I was suffering! :)

-Rick
 
clamp

jferraro16 said:
Who took the pictures??? :)
the camera on a spotting scope window mount to edge of tool box drawer and it quickly aims at what i need to get to then self timer. :)
 
A table worked for me

I just read this thread a few nights ago and it was perfect timimg. I was about to close the bottom skins on my -8 QB and was thinking of leaving the wing in the cradle to have it vertical. Then after reading this thread I chose the table method but realized that a little bit lower than normal table would be perfect so I could reach over the leading edge farther to buck those trailing edge rivets. So I just raised the floor under my feet by standing on a few 2"X8" boards stacked up. I have long thin arms so I could reach all the rivets but I did have a helper occasionally to ease the reaching stress. Luckily the #3 rivets are easy to set. I keep my rivet gun air pressure at 35 psi for #3's so I never get any smiles or dents in the skin. I finished my left wing today and was happy how it came out. Tomorrow the right wing gets closed!!!
 
Man ... I wish I had long/thin arms. I'm still bruised from closing my right wing last weekend. I'm hoping to be recovered by this Saturday so I can close the other one. Those lightening holes nearer the trailing edge were killer. Next time I think I will take one of these suggestions and try to pad them with tape or something. My arms are too short to come in from the top. :(

-Rick
 
Has anyone ever tried wearing long sleeve's to buck these skins??? Seems kinda silly that we see all these pictures of mangled up forearms...or is this just some sort of right of passage? :D

I plan to wear a long sleeve t-shirt, and then lightly wrap the forearms with some sort of tape over the shirt sleeve, probably of the duck variety...
 
long sleeve t- shirt

would be ok i guess seems but it was too hot for that for me.just use a slit piece of tubing on the offending rib..
 
cytoxin said:
would be ok i guess seems but it was too hot for that for me.just use a slit piece of tubing on the offending rib..
That would work just as well... :eek:
 
Well, I decided to put it on the table, and I did work solo last night to get a start on the wing walk ribs. Turned out great, and I used some pitot tubing to protect my arms from the lightening holes. I had ZERO marks on my arms after setting those hard to get rivets!

9-7-06-001w.jpg


9-7-06-007w.jpg


9-7-06-009w.jpg


9-7-06-010w.jpg


Thanks for the advise everybody!! :cool:
 
looks great

wow that looks really nice chad. keep up the good work, the outter skin is way easier :)