[Ironflight]

OK, so I am installing my tail for flight - got the stabs on and torqued properly, and now I'm doing the elevators and rudder for the first time with real hardware- I've just used those little bent pins up until now. I've got the cool little tools from Avery to install bolts and washers - but what trick do ya'll use to put the nuts on the rudder hinge bolts?! I keep dropping them, they slide down the insed of the leading edge, end up in the fiberglass bottom...so than I have to take the whole thing off, shake out the stray hardware, and start all over!

Rule number 3...when frustrated - quit for the night!

Paul Dye

 

[Kyle Boatright]

Installing some of these bolts is a real PITA, isn't it?

Try using a little masking or duct tape to tack them onto (into?) a box wrench. Worked for me.

KB

 

[TShort]

Also put some tape over the "hole" in the leading edge to keep them from falling in - or just at the very bottom one.

Thomas
-8 wings

 

[rv8ch]

glassed it in

I experienced the exact same thing. I just finished glassing in that part of the rudder bottom fairing. I've got photos, but I left the camera up in the workshop.

I figured if these nuts can fall in there, who knows what other kind of evil junk will accumulate in there if I don't "seal" it up.

 

[RV7ator]

Duct Tape

Yup, DT. Like Kyle, put a bit of tape on a 3/8 box wrench to keep the nut from falling out, and so you can put a little pressure on it and not push the nut through. Then turn the bolt with another 3/8 wrench. A ratchet wrench works good here once the threads are engaged.

Really good taping technique will also overlap the edge of the washer to hold it in place with the nut on the wrench.

John Siebold

 

[fred]

forceps worked getting the nuts started for me, plus they are handy for getting into lots of small places. fred

 

[Ironflight]

Thanks - All Done!

Yup guys...taped up one side of a small box wrench, nestled the nut in there, put a washer on top, held it up underneath the bolt, and turned the bolt head to get it started. I found that those little ratcheting box wrenches work great for tightening the assembly up - you only get one click per throw though...

Another lesson I learned this morning - I had forgotten the large washers on either side of the center elevator hinge (damn!), and decided it was easier to remove the vertical tail again (even though I had put it on "for good",with proper torqes, etc...) than to try and work around it. Using the rule that everything "hard" is easier the second, or third time through, this probably saved me a lot of useless struggle - and reminded me once again to think through each step in order, to make sue you don't have to back track.

Now the tail is on for good, with everything torqued and safetied - next step is to find a couple friends to go hang the wings!

Paul Dye

 

[akarmy]

I found the a neat set of wrenches called the GearWrench series. If you get the reversable offset models they have a small lip on the back side and hold the nuts from falling through. Then you use another 3/8 wrench on the top of the bolt to turn it and start the threads.

You can get them at Sears, Lowes, etc. They also work great for the wheel pant bolt that goes into the axle nut.

 

[RV7Guy]

Super glue

First I superglue the washer to the nut with a very small drop of glue. Then I use a very small drop of thick CA glue to tack it to my finger and turn the bolt until it starts. A very small amount of glue works great. Dropped them a bunch of times till I used this technique.

Darwin N. Barrie
P19

 

[Rick6a]

First I superglue the washer to the nut with a very small drop of glue. Then I use a very small drop of thick CA glue to tack it to my finger....................Darwin N. BarrieP19

Many of us used that rather inelegant technique often on the production floor. Also, we sometimes had an (approved) roll of sticky tape in a table mounted dispenser, specifically designed for such purposes. You would press the nut onto the tape and the adhesive would easily migrate from the sticky paper to the nut to which you would then affix the washer. Sometimes you even stuck the whole thing to your fingertip. Made it far easier to work in extremely tight spaces. I have not seen that type of sticky tape since I retired. If anyone knows of a source where I could get some, I would order a roll of it for my own purposes. Really comes in handy sometimes.

Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"