mburch said:
Good idea about using bushings in oversize holes. Did you just make these by cutting pieces off a length of tubing? Also, did you size the I.D. of the bushings to just fit the fastener (e.g. 1/8" I.D. for a pop rivet) or did you also make the I.D. of the bushings oversize compared to the fastener?
thanks,
mcb
I used surgical grade silicone tube 1/8" ID and 1/4" OD. I then cut it to the required lengths (approx 3/16"). I believe that silicone is the best option because it has very good UV resistance, good elasticity, and importantly, excellent deformation recovery.
So the bushings are not oversize to the fastener, nor undersize to the hole...they are a perfect fit.....but they have really good elasticity so they compress easily to allow movement of the fastener inside the plexi hole...and then they recover.
The fact that there is no slop around the bushing means that when you instal the canopy and set the fasteners, the 1/4" hole in the plexi is nicely centred on the smaller hole in the slider frame.
I also countersunk the plexi on the 1/4" holes so that the dimpled aluminium has exactly the same dimension for lateral displacement as the fastener.
In fact I used a small ceramic stone tool (ground to 100 degrees) in a dremel to make all my countersinks. Absolutely no chance of chipping or cracking the plexi. After that I simply used a 100 degree standard hand deburring tool (same as you use for deburring your drilled aluminium rivet holes) to clean them up. Just a couple of light turns by hand does the trick. Beautiful.
At the side curtain location I moved all holes in the aluminium 1/16" closer to the edge (moved them up). This enabled me to move the 1/4" holes in the plexi up 1/16" as well and thus provide some additional edge distance.
If I was doing it again I'd probably fabricate new custom aluminium side curtains to allow even more edge distance on the plexi...not a big job but you'd need access to a folder to make the cranked inside strips.
In reality, even with the standard design I didn't think Vans allowed enough metal to capture the plexi. They make it tough going for everyone.
Anyway, I hope I haven't confused you.
Initially I was very keen to use Sikaflex but the more I researched it the more concerned I became. So I decided to use mechanical fasteners but develop a design that would allow differential thermal expansion without stressing the plexi.