[N546RV]

Today's first order of business was to taper the HS-810 and HS-814 reinforcements. I had previously laid out my pattern for the taper, but wasn't quite sure how to attack the metalwork. After taking a look at the build logs for a couple locals, decided that the best way to proceed was to go get myself a belt sander and have at it. That purchase was made Friday afternoon, but it wasn't until today that I was able to give it a whirl.

(I know a band saw would make quick work of this, but I don't have one, and I wasn't prepared to invest in one quite yet)

It quickly became evident that the belt sander route wasn't working all that great. Maybe my expectations for the speed of material removal were too high, but it seemed to be going really, really slow. And that was on HS-810; HS-814 looked to have a fair bit more material to remove. I tried using a Dremel with the cutoff wheel, but it took about two minutes to conclude that that thing was way too hard to control.

Then I remembered reading of a builder who roughed the cuts with a hacksaw and then refined with the scotch brite wheel. Off to Lowes I went to fetch a hacksaw. Cutting the pieces with that went fairly well, but being something of a perfectionist, I wanted the taper sides to be fairly straight. So I went from the hacksaw to the belt sander, straightened the edges, and rounded the ends. Then it was on the the bench grinder to get rid of the marks from the sander.

Problem was-and I was gradually realizing this during the process, but too late to save anything-all that perfectionism resulted in me removing a lot of material. The end products are pretty ugly, but maybe not horribly so. But my rounded ends went too far. At least one place I ended up with a radius of maybe 3/16.

End result: I'm chalking both those pieces up to a learning experience and reordering come Tuesday. I'm displeased with not only the finished product, but the haphazard way I went about doing the work.

Lessons learned:

• Just like we have get-there-itis in the air, I think this was was get-it-done-itis. Because I wanted those tapers done, once my plan A failed, I started cooking up alternatives on the fly without really thinking them through. Then, rather than realizing I was getting in a hurry and slowing down, I plowed ahead.
• Relevant to plan A failing: Don't practice on real plane parts.
• After seeing the results of my work, then I came inside and poked around here at VAF. Whereupon I realized that maybe I was focusing on the wrong things here. I sketched out my cut lines from the plans, and at that point my allegiance was to those lines, rather than to the reason for those lines. Had I thought it through, I would have realized that not removing too much material was more important than making a perfectly round radius, or perfectly straight tapers.

End of the day, I guess I'm taking care of the educational aspect of building. Now to go find something else to work on while I wait for my replacement parts to come...and maybe look into investing in a band saw.

 

[rgmwa]

You will find a band saw very useful and it doesn't need to be an expensive one. I've also found out the hard way that it usually pays just to bite the bullet and get the right tool for the job.

 

[resrob66]

Belt Sander worked for me...

If I'm remembering part numbers correctly, you're talking about the two reinforcements on the forward spar that get tapered and eventually bent. I used the belt sander to remove material down to the taper lines on the sides and the radius at the ends. It is a relatively slow process. Used a fresh 80 grit belt. After removing the material on the sides and forming the radius, I used a scotchbrite wheel on the bench grinder to make it smooth. Patience is the key!!

I also went through two sets as I countersunk the first ones way too deep...

Robert

 

[[email protected]]

Hack saw fan here...

I made it through the whole build with a good quality hack saw... a couple of times I wished for a nice band saw but there really is not that much to cut and inexpensive band saws tend to be pretty tempremental for making straight cuts.

 

[Stalldog]

Just clamp the piece in a vise and go to work with a vixen file. You'll be amazed how quickly it shaves away the metal, and it turns out very smooth. Plus, you don't have to worry about losing control of it as you work. Guess I'm just too cheap to by a bandsaw, at least until a more pressing need arises. The softness of the Aluminum is just no match for the vixen.

 

[N546RV]

The day still wasn't a total loss. I decided to move on to the vertical stab and make the most of this long weekend. I'm actually surprised how fast it goes together...well, temporarily at least. Tomorrow morning I start match-drilling skins in earnest.

 

[bruceh]

Band saw is really great to have, no matter what the cost is. In the big scheme of the build, it is noise in the overall cost of the project. Just wait until you start buying avionics and an engine.

I used the band saw for all of the various angle parts that need to be fabricated on the project (lots of these on the fuselage). It will pay for itself in time saved and materials ruined. A good hacksaw is also essential for those pieces that need to be cut that are wider than the throat of the bandsaw. Once you get the rough cut, take it to the scotchbrite wheel on the grinder to get it close to your marked lines, then finish it off with a file, or sander down to the final dimensions. Finally, buff the part with the scotchbrite polish/deburring wheel.

 

[tkatc]

Use the botched hs810 and hs814 as practice parts when you go to drill into the aft and forward ribs. If you are happy with the botched parts then move onto the new parts. If not...then make adjustments before botching up another set of angles. Drilling the forward spar is by far the most challenging part of the HS.