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DonFromTX

DonFromTX

Well Known Member
My largest time waster in building this kit, is just looking for the right part. Oh yeah, I have the bags all cross indexed, when the instructions call for a certain bolt screw or nutplate, I know exactly which bag it is in, and where that bag is located. However, when I open the bag, there are for instance maybe 5 different nutplates in the bag. None have the number stamped on it that is called out in the plans however! What I have taken to doing, is to go forward in the plans, try to identify what screws into that nutplate, then choose one that fits that bolt or screw. Sometimes that is not an option, as there are now 6 different bolts in the bag, I must guess which one to use..
I have not found so far a definitive chart that lists all AN hardware with a key to real world sizes, just partial charts with some information on various hardware. I am sure I used to have one of those.
A good example is on page 10-03, figure 2. Clearly calls for six screws, numbered AN526-632R8. Problem is, there are no such screws in the kit, but there IS one close, a AN526 C 632R8. I looked for hours to find the significance of the C as a substitute, no luck with that. I finally just used the "C" screws considering it was "close enough" for airplane work. I don't like "close enough" specs for this project. Has anyone found a real good chart to identify AN hardware, I am wasting hours on this problem alone?
 
Last edited:
DonFromTX said:
My largest time waster in building this kit, is just looking for the right part. Oh yeah, I have the bags all cross indexed, when the instructions call for a certain bolt screw or nutplate, I know exactly which bag it is in, and where that bag is located. However, when I open the bag, there are for instance maybe 5 different nutplates in the bag. None have the number stamped on it that is called out in the plans however! What I have taken to doing, is to go forward in the plans, try to identify what screws into that nutplate, then choose one that fits that bolt or screw. Sometimes that is not an option, as there are now 6 different bolts in the bag, I must guess which one to use..
I have not found so far a definitive chart that lists all AN hardware with a key to real world sizes, just partial charts with some information on various hardware. I am sure I used to have one of those.
A good example is on page 10-03, figure 2. Clearly calls for six screws, numbered AN526-632R8. Problem is, there are no such screws in the kit, but there IS one close, a AN526 C 632R8. I looked for hours to find the significance of the C as a substitute, no luck with that. I finally just used the "C" screws considering it was "close enough" for airplane work. I don't like "close enough" specs for this project. Has anyone found a real good chart to identify AN hardware, I am wasting hours on this problem alone?
Click to expand...

Hi Don,

We just went through all of this for you in the thread on parts storage, if you label each bin in the fishing tackle box with the bag number and line number from the inventory when you sort and count the small parts you can look at the inventory list find the location and get the part. Yes Van's has a bad habit of changing nomenclature from the inventory list to the drawings and if you do not find the part listed call Van's help line and ask what part you are to use, this way you will use the correct part and Van's will some day get tired of the calls and fix the drawings or the index.

Best regards,
Vern
 
Just as long as you don't have too many parts left over. ;)

It does take some time, but it gets much easier as the build progresses.
 
Mechanic's Toolbox Software

I find the Mechanic's Toolbox to be a great reference for part nomenclature and specs. I looked yours up and found:

Part Number Thread Size Overall Length Breaking Strength, lbs. 4

AN526C-632-R8 6-32 1/2 773


The C in there means that it is stainless steel.

I believe I purchased it through Sacramento Skyranch, but you can look at this reference:

http://www.mechanicsupport.com/

Don
 
Hey thanks! That is just what I needed, I ordered the flash drive edition, and they let me download it immediately upon purchase, got it and got it running NOW!
cfiidon said:
I find the Mechanic's Toolbox to be a great reference for part nomenclature and specs. I looked yours up and found:

Part Number Thread Size Overall Length Breaking Strength, lbs. 4

AN526C-632-R8 6-32 1/2 773


The C in there means that it is stainless steel.

I believe I purchased it through Sacramento Skyranch, but you can look at this reference:

http://www.mechanicsupport.com/

Don
Click to expand...
 
Not a big bag fan...

I'm not a big fan for the way Van's ships hardware for sure. During the course of the build, I would seperate all hardware into their own bins instead of the bag method. I had one bin for AN3 bolts (broken out by size), one for AN4s, one tray got all the nuts, one for washers, one for screws, etc. Although a little time consuming for sorting, it sure saves time in tracking down hardware callouts! I sure wish Van's would just give me a bag for each type of hardware with some quantity.
 
"My largest time waster in building this kit, is just looking for the right part. Oh yeah, I have the bags all cross indexed"

Don,

I emptied all the bags and put the individual bits into labelled box storage unit. It doesn't matter which bag it's in, a K1000-3 for example, is still a K1000-3 no matter where it goes.

Saved me a lot of time.

Jamesey
 
Sure, but my problem was deciding which of all those nutplates in the bag was the K1000-3 ones to start with! Once I know that, not too hard to pick the right one out of the bag.
I must agree, after a while, you get familiar with the numbers and can go get the right one.
Jamesey said:
"My largest time waster in building this kit, is just looking for the right part. Oh yeah, I have the bags all cross indexed"

Don,

I emptied all the bags and put the individual bits into labelled box storage unit. It doesn't matter which bag it's in, a K1000-3 for example, is still a K1000-3 no matter where it goes.

Saved me a lot of time.

Jamesey
Click to expand...
 
Bag method does not work

The bag method only works when you first get the kit. It is easy to identify parts in each bag by the quantity. For instance if there are 5 each of one part and 12 each of another part, then you know which is which by the quantity. The problem arises when you start using parts and change the quantity. The solution is to take everything out of the bags and put the parts into cabinets with each part labeled. If you do not want to buy cabinets, you can buy a package of 4 ounce cups and label each cup with the part number. Regardless of the storage method, an index will help to quickly locate a part. The index can be a list on paper or preferably, a computer spreadsheet. The time spent organizing and labeling and indexing will be made up many times over during the project. I did it the hard way and left parts in the bags because I was anxious to start building and was too lazy to index the parts. It took me over two years to build my RV-12 because I spent about a year looking for parts! LOL
Joe
 
zip lock bags

We put the common hardware in plastic divided containers from harbor freight (about $5.00ea). One for rivets, one for bolts, nuts,washers ect. The other parts we put in plastic ziplock bags and used a sharpie to labeled the bag as if it came from Van's that way. We then hung them on pegboard hooks. Its easy to see the parts in the bag and we hung the bags in numeric order. We had two people working on our plane and we were not always working together. We had very few problems finding parts.

Colin
 
I just relabel my old medcine bottles and put the items in them, then I label a bin for each bottle.
 
AN and MS standards

If you REALLY want to know what the "C" means, how the dash numbers are arranged, what an AN515 is etc. I would suggest downloading the actual AN, MS and NAS standards from a source such as:
http://www.everyspec.com/
or
http://assistdocs.com/search/search_basic.cfm

I am lucky enough to have inherited a fairly complete book of such standards and they are a great help. You probably only need a few. Unfortunately many of these standards are being migrated over to AS series standards which are SOLD by SAE at a pretty steep price. But for your purposes the AN, MS standards are still current and applicable even if the actual standard says obsolete or superseded.
 
It sure does help Joe, as many times as I have been to your site, never noticed that down there!
Thanks.
 
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