C

compren

Active Member
Posting this in case someone might be feeling bad about one of their mistakes. This is a real doozy and might be hard to top.

I got home after work and had everything ready to go. It was time to rivet the aileron stiffeners to the skin. So, got out the back riveting plat, my rivet set, adjusted the pressure on my compressor, oiled the gun, and got to work. Had my 9yr old son plug all the rivets in and I followed up with some rivet tape. I got through the entire first stiffener then stepped back to admire my work. That is about the time it hit me...when you rivet something together, you should probably include all the parts associated with the job. That's right, completely forgot to stick the stiffener on. Wow, I just stared for a second before patting myself on the back for not going on to the second one!

Anyway, they drilled out as best one could hope for and we'll get past this. Just thought y'all could use a laugh at my expense. :)

John
RV-7A
Houston
 
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compren said:
Posting this in case someone might be feeling bad about one of their mistakes. This is a real doozy and might be hard to top.

I got home after work and had everything ready to go. It was time to rivet the aileron stiffeners to the skin. So, got out the back riveting plat, my rivet set, adjusted the pressure on my compressor, oiled the gun, and got to work. Had my 9yr old son plug all the rivets in and I followed up with some rivet tape. I got through the entire first stiffener then stepped back to admire my work. That is about the time it hit me...when you rivet something together, you should probably include all the parts associated with the job. That's right, completely forgot to stick the stiffener on. Wow, I just stared for a second before patting myself on the back for not going on to the second one!

Anyway, they drilled out as best one could hope for and we'll get past this. Just thought y'all could use a laugh at my expense. :)

John
RV-7A
Houston
Click to expand...

You're not the first. ;-)

And you probably won't be the last.
 
Yeah, there's quite a few people who have done that one; myself included.

It's no biggie. Drill'em out and keep going.

The real stupid ones are the ones that cost you lots of money or time. You'll get a chance to experience those mistakes too and then you'll look back on this one and think it was nothing.

FWIW, I did the entire rudder that way before I realized what I did. :D:D
 
It's really hard to invent a new way to mess up....and this one isn't original! You cna guess how I know....:)
 
mistake, what mistake

Mine was just to get more experience drilling out rivets; so many of you here on VAF said I would need to hone this skill to a fine edge. Thats my story and I am sticking to it :D
 
Hah! Been there, done that one. This one is so common I think they now include this step in the build manual.
 
Yours is much better than stupid....
For example they guy we got our partly finished kit from was too stupid to draw a line down the line of rivits and drill the hole for the horiz stab mounting screws along that line so that they would have enough edge distance... Don't have much room to spare. Instead the $%#&$ made the attach brackets too narrow and did not fit the angle of the fus. and drilled the attach hole through the edge of the longeron:eek:

We had to replace the last three feet of the port longeron and design a splice to hold it together. :(

Now that is a STUPID mistake....

Yours, just a small oversight....
Carefully drill out the rivits, add the parts and put her back together and no one will ever know .... Unless they have been here to read this :D
 
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I'll keep this in mind...I see myself doing this....lets go lets go lets go....get er done.......Oh oh,
 
I didn't forget to install the stiffeners. I took it a whole step further, I put them in backwards! Duh!..
 
My trick is to cleco a nutplate in place, set the rivet, remove the cleco only to watch the nutplate fall on the floor. Of course, this always happens where that one rivet is a a real pain to drill out.
 
Not too bad, But I got ya all beat, check out my Rudder trailing edge. on my build log. *(&$%^ happens
 
apkp777 said:
I didn't forget to install the stiffeners. I took it a whole step further, I put them in backwards! Duh!..
Click to expand...

That's pretty good! My approach was similar, first I dimpled the wrong way, then I finished off my good work by priming and installing the stiffeners on the outside.
 
I taped all the rivets for all of the stiffeners on one side of the rudder skin, and even remembered the stiffeners, but moved from the first stiffener to the second without moving it over the backriveting plate.:mad: I keep that rudder skin out where I can see it as a reminder...
 
I've forgotten the backrivet plate once or twice, but managed to stop the gun *immediately* upon hearing the strange sound, and avoided damage.

But as far as stupid mistakes...got a bunch of them. How about drilling the hole for the tiedown on the bottom of the leading edge skin...in the wrong row of holes! Why on earth I did that, I have no idea...the skin was even marked per the instructions, etc. A complete brain fart...and a new skin was ordered.

I kept the old one as "scrap"...and a reminder to *pay attention*. LOL!
 
Variation on a theme

I didn't forget the stiffeners, but I did keep riveting past the end of the backriveting plate. One pull of the trigger and the skin was ruined. Had to replace that rudder skin. Sad thing is, I repeated this mistake later again, but that part wasn't as expensive to replace.
 
This thread is HILARIOUS! I had completely forgotten that I'd done that ... but it's all coming back to me now ... :D
 
I cut two left angle brackets, when I was supposed to make a left and a right. I even marked them "L" and "R" before cutting.

So... I tossed one of them into the scrap bin and then promptly made another left bracket.
 
Goof

I did one whole side of a rudder skin, complete with rivet tape and beautiful flush rivets! Guess I should have noticed the rivets seemed a little long. Sure was pleased with myself - for a few minutes! Later managed to stretch the skin trying to fix a misplaced dimple. It now hangs in the hanger with our Pitts.
 
I was so proud of that rudder skin that I laid in on the carpet and stepped back to admire it. My 90 pound Lab jumped right on the middle of it...

Then there was the time I had my son help me move the HS/elevator assembly. I totally forget I hadn't secured the fiberglass elevator tip he used to lift it. I left that dent on the trailing edge (all six inches of it) as a reminder.

Bob Kelly
 
Inverted Ribs

A few years ago there was a couple of builders who put the ribs on upside down on an RV8 spar. As I remember they didn't discover there mistake till the skins were riveted on. Now this one has bragging rights as one of the biggest errors you can make. I can kind of see how this could happen if you are totally focused finishing the wing and not thinking about how things go together.

Steve Barnes "The Builders Coach"
 
Reversed HS Skins!

Miles,
Great one line "lost bucking bar in the HS" story. I have an HS story too.

Having match drilled both skins to the HS spar and ribs, then preped and primed everything, I riveted the skin to the LEFT HS SPAR & RIBS. Then I picked up the other skin. I was completely shocked to see the skin I was holding was marked up as the LEFT SKIN. I'd riveted the RIGHT SKIN upside down to the LEFT HS SPAR & RIBS - it fitted perfectly!

The story ends well as the LEFT SKIN also fitted perfectly upside down on the RIGHT HS SPAR & RIBS. Thankfully the HS skins are almost exactly symetrical and the prepunched holes are just about perfectly positioned.

Steve
 
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