-14 Wing j-channel oops

[BruceW]

I drilled the wing j-channels early per plans and put them aside.
Now putting on the bottom skins and time to prep the lower j-channels.

Somehow on one wing, I switched the short and long j-channel when earlier drilling to the spar flange.
Now the rivet spacing does not work relative to the lower skins. Dang!
So ordered new j-channels.

How to drill the new set of j-channels? Cant use the spar flange any more.
Guess I will use the actual skins (thankfully have not dimpled yet). And carefully.
Any other thoughts/ideas for this dummy?

 

[Carl Froehlich]

I drilled the wing j-channels early per plans and put them aside.
Now putting on the bottom skins and time to prep the lower j-channels.

Somehow on one wing, I switched the short and long j-channel when earlier drilling to the spar flange.
Now the rivet spacing does not work relative to the lower skins. Dang!
So ordered new j-channels.

How to drill the new set of j-channels? Cant use the spar flange any more.
Guess I will use the actual skins (thankfully have not dimpled yet). And carefully.
Any other thoughts/ideas for this dummy?

Yep. Been there, done that. I blame the unnecessary complicated instructions.

Yes, use the skins as a template. Clamp the J channel in a few places to get it about right before drilling. Use the Old School Van’s process (before fully pre-punched ribs) and draw a center line in the J channel. Check as you go that this center line is under the drill hole.

This goes fast, and I offer it is a more mistake proof way than what the instructions tell you to do!

Carl

 

[HAL Pilot]

Another option would be use the holes in the old j channels as a template just set the new ones in the correct setup.